Tibetan Buddhists describe our essential nature as like the sky; vast, luminous and clear. From time to time however we all find ourselves caught up in the complexities of our own mental elaborations and the clarity of our ‘essential nature’ becomes obscured by clouds of self absorption and the emotional storms of “I, me and …
This practice helps us to see how often we habitually take up a stance that is negative, oppositional or defensive in some way. This can take the form of thoughts (I don’t agree with what he is saying), body language (tensing muscles, arms crossed), speech (“That’s a stupid idea”), or action (shaking the head, rolling …
Mark Tully assesses Henry David Thoreau’s influence, 150 years after his death. Advocate of the simple life, champion of emancipation, and fervent opponent of government interference in the lives of citizens, Thoreau’s 19th century ideals have inspired civil rights leaders from Mahatma Gandhi to Martin Luther King. He is also much revered in mindfulness circles …
An article setting out the rationale for MBCT and outlining the treatment approach has been published in this month’s British Journal of Psychiatry. Moreover, it also gives a brief overview of the efficacy of research to date in the UK and a glance towards future challenges in terms of delivery to a wider audience, specifically …
Our hands are always busy. They have a tendency to reveal our states of mental ease or discomfort. Many people make nervous hand gestures, such as rubbing or wringing their hands, touching their face, tapping a finger, cracking knuckles, or biting their nails. When people first learn to meditate, they often find it difficult just …
Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan, has been a man on a mission ever since he did a 5 day mindfulness retreat back in 2008 led by Jon Kabat-Zinn, the founder of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction. His new book which was published last month ‘A Mindful Nation – How a Simple Practice Can Help Us Reduce Stress, …
We tend to take their existence for granted and see them merely as a decorative part of the wallpaper of our lives, however trees are indispensable to our continued existence as a species. Be aware that what trees breathe out, we breathe in. Their very presence oxygenates our world and enables humanity to exist. It …
Mark Tully meditates on the art of being still, and the benefits of quiet contemplation, as medical science borrows from the practices of religious traditions. He talks to Mark Williams, Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Oxford who teaches ‘Mindfulness’ techniques and whose research has shown that daily meditation can reduce the occurrence …
This is a fascinating practice and says something quite profound about how we have this habitual tendency to get mentally ahead of ourselves. I’m not going to say too much more about it at this stage, but I look forward to your observations with an eager sense of anticipation…. Instructions The shorthand for this practice …
This mindfulness practice acts as a bridge between formal meditation practice, (where we take time out to sit with thoughts, feelings and sensations in the body) and the heat of battle as it were – our moment to moment experience, where we don’t always have the time or opportunity to go off and sit formally, …
Generosity or the act of giving is of immeasurable benefit to the giver for it opens up the heart, diminishes for a minute one’s self absorption and places value on the well being of others. The simple gesture of offering a flower, a few hours of volunteer work, a kind thought or a simple meal …
We know instinctively how to use loving eyes when we are falling in love, when we see a new baby or cute animal. Why do we not use loving eyes more often? In this practice we discover that our habitual way of looking at things is not particularly loving. More often than not it can …
Each person is born with an unencumbered spot, free of expectation and regret, free of ambition and embarrassment, free of fear and worry, an umbilical spot of grace where we were each first touched by God. It is this spot of grace that issues peace. Psychologists call this spot the Psyche, Theologists call it the …
The Haven’s Clinical and Research Director, Dr Caroline Hoffman, recently conducted a study on Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). The findings of the extensive research have now been published online by the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The research shows, for the first time, a statistically significant improvement in physical and emotional wellbeing. The results indicate that the …
Jon Kabat-Zinn talking at the Wisdom 2.0 conference in Silicon Valley at the end of February 2012.
This practice is about exploring our psychological attachment to the media that we use on a daily basis.
This practice is about the art of waiting and pausing, checking your internal state and using situations, that in the past you may have found frustrating, to your own best advantage.
This post brings you up-to-date with the latest developments at Embrace Mindfulness. Mindfulness Taster Session Monday 2nd April, 7.00pm-8.15pm For anyone interested in finding out a little bit more about mindfulness and what a full course entails, I will be running a taster session. This will provide you with an opportunity to experience mindful meditation …
Now safely back home in the USA, Goldie Hawn’s high publicity UK mindfulness tour has been on the receiving end of a bit of negative press recently, courtesy of the Daily Mail’s Portrait of a Very Unlikely Parenting Guru. More specifically, the actress has been variously ‘observed’ by the newspaper, for letting her hair down …
In case you missed it, here is the link to the podcast of Goldie Hawn talking about Mindfulness and her new book Ten Mindful Minutes on Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour. The segment is first up and around 12 minutes long Podcast Woman’s Hour with Goldie Hawn – 6th March 2012 For more information on the …