What is mindfulness? It comes from the Pali word sati. It connotes awareness, attention and remembering. It is your present moment awareness of your thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations and your environment. It affords us the opportunity to notice our thoughts and feelings without judging them. Scientific studies have shown that mindfulness can help reduce stress, boost the immune system, increases the brain’s gray matter, which is linked to learning, memory, emotion regulation and empathy. We enter a therapeutic relationship in hopes of relieving suffering. Mindfulness based psychotherapy teaches the client to recognize what is happening in the present moment and to be less reactive. Therapy can change your relationship to your suffering. Suffering often is a result of conflict between how things are and how one desires them to be. Mindfulness is an incredible tool to help people understand, tolerate, and deal with their emotions in healthy ways. It helps people alter their habitual responses by taking a pause and choosing how they act. Bringing mindfulness to psychotherapy offers the client an awareness of their present moment experience with acceptance. It is only through self acceptance can one change. Tracey can teach you mindfulness tools to use in your everyday life.
Useful Resources:
Bayda, E. (2012). At Home in the Muddy Water: A Guide to Finding Peace Within Everyday Chaos. Shambhala Publications.
Bayda, E. (2002). Being Zen. Shambhala Publications.
Davidson, R. J., Begley, S., & Amari, F. (2012). The emotional life of your brain. Brilliance Audio.
Goldstein, J. (1983). The experience of insight: a simple and direct guide to Buddhist meditation [1st Shambhala ed.].
Gunaratana, H. (2012). The four foundations of mindfulness in plain English. Simon and Schuster.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994). Wherever you go, there you are: Mindfulness meditation in everyday life. Hyperion.
Kornfield, J. (2001). After the ecstasy, the laundry: How the heart grows wise on the spiritual path. Bantam.
Salzberg, S., & Goldstein, J. (2001). Insight meditation: A step-by-step course on how to meditate. Sounds True.