You’ll never believe it. I was down the pub last night and I bumped into John. We started having a bit of banter, as you do, when all of a sudden he starts telling be about this ‘new way of living’ he’s discovered. Apparently he’s been going through a bit of a tough time recently dealing with ‘a lot of shit in his life and was feeling a little overwhelmed by it all. I stood there and listened for a while waiting for his Pubosophy.
After sometime he exclaims ‘MINDFULLNESS! man that stuffs not some hippy shit it really works.
He starts to breakdown with his usual candour. “It’s living in the moment, focused on what you are doing and not being preoccupied with other shit”. Ah being present in the moment I get you. Well that’s how John sums it up but it is a little deeper than that.
The practice of mindfulness was primarily developed through meditation techniques which focus the attention around the breath. Based on the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn in the 1970’s modern mindfulness practice has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety, relieves pain and can help individuals to think clearer. I should know just like John and most of us I believe today I’ve had a lot of shit to deal with. Mindfulness has helped me overcome a lot of issues and made me a more whole person. Does that make me sound like either a healthy alternative to white bread or someone into whole food. Not that there is anything wrong with either.
My first introduction to mindfulness was Jon Kabat-Zinn ‘s hefty but brilliant book Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness. This book really opened my eyes to the possibilities of meditation and mindfulness, before this I thought it was burning joss sticks, ring little bells and drinking herbal tea. But Zinn’s book backed the claims with data; actual scientific data from studies conducted by various institutions. This is what made me sit up and listen.
So I began to do daily meditation and slowly over time I found my stress, anxiety and anger, I used get pissed off at the smallest things, began to subside. That’s not say I still don’t have moments but I certainly noticed some big changes especially with my anxiety which used to be really bad. Now when I get in situations where I would have normally find myself getting really worked up I find myself much more in control. This is in part to do with mindfulness practice but also some other physiological techniques which I’ll discuss in another blog. I was thinking more clearly and generally feeling a lot better about life. My blood pressure dropped which was good as the doctor want to put me on pills, I prefer natural methods when I can. I must admit that when I lapse in my meditation which I do from time to time, I’m lazy and easily distracted at times. I can notice the old behaviour patterns returning however they are not as strong and now I can recognise the signs I can deal with them much better, again some other techniques I have learnt also contribute to this heightened awareness.
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There is tons for literature and information out there, there are online courses, articles and of course books. Here are a few that I have read Full Catastrophe Living for me is probably the most comprehensive and if you like a book which you could use to fend off an intruder (600+ pages) then this is the one I would recommend. In it Zinn explores how mindfulness practice can improve both emotional and physical health backed up with examples and scientific research. The techniques in the book are from the Mindfulness-based stress reduction program developed by the University of Massachusetts Medical Center’s stress reduction clinic. I would also recommend downloading the accompanying MP3’s which contain guided meditations.
Other recommendations include Wherever you go there you are also by Jon Kabat-Zin at 200+ pages it is less weight than Full Catastrophe Living but still covers all the basics of mindfulness practice. Another good book about Mindfulness is What’s Beyond Mindfulness? By Stephen Fulder. Which Zinn describes as “A deeply nurturing and illuminating book.”
Like John says “it might not be everyone’s cup of tea and it might not work for everyone.” But there is no harm in trying and who knows you may just find out a few things about yourself on the way.
One piece of advice I would give for anyone who tries mindfulness practice is to be patient it can take some practice before you really start seeing the benefits. Also be consistent try do your meditation everyday.
