Mindfulness
Have you ever been stuck with a song you can't get out of your head or a tune from an ad, or a general barrage of events or situations from the day, when your mind is overcrowded with 'stuff'? Or you bring the events of work home and the work day goes around in your head? Mindfulness and its practice can show you a way to stop this and gain your connection to a present awareness that lies beneath all the emotional and mental hubbub. It can develop clarity, enhanced mental and emotional acuity, better thinking skills, reduced stress and improved well-being.
When you first learn mindfulness, you may experience unwanted thoughts, impressions, distractions creeping in to your mind . If you start to think about the thought, or get annoyed with your self because of this, it stops you from paying attention, luring you away from being . Just acknowledge whatever comes up, let it go without interpretation or judgement, your focus stays in the present . As with all new skills, the more we practice it, the easier it becomes. You develop the ability to step away from habitual, unconscious emotional and physiological reactions to everyday events, to comprehend things as they are without embellishment . You interact with the world rather than react-with self-generated insight instead of automatic or 'cruise control' responses to the world around you.
There are many descriptions about mindfulness , some are; living in the present moment; engaging fully in what you are doing rather than getting lost in your thoughts; and allowing your feelings to be as they are, letting them come and go rather than trying to 'control' them.
When we observe our experiences without trying to push them down, make them into something else or ignore them, even the most painful thoughts, feelings, sensations and memories become less threatening or unbearable. Mindfulness enables you to become present in all aspects of your daily life. It helps you to be more alive and connected to what you want from life and who you are.
When we cultivate mindfulness we cultivate ourselves, it becomes an act of self-kindness. The past loses its sting, the present stops being so difficult and the future, fearful and overwhelming . Mindfulness in the most recent form comes from out of mindfulness based forms of psychotherapy and stress reduction techniques and have no religious overtones or connections. There are other equally valid forms of mindfulness that come out of the Christian, Islamic , Buddhist, Bon, Hindu and other religious traditions. I teach Mindfulness as a practice without it been tacked on to a religion or dogma. However with some clients I show them how it can be included as part of their religious or spiritual beliefs.
Mindfulness reveals how to be with your own company and that at first might be quite challenging but it gets easier the more it is done. Mindfulness gives the individual a direct and non-judgemental view of themselves as they are. After a client finds the most appropriate mindfulness approach, and they have experience with it, I then show them how to integrate it into their daily lives and create their own personal mindfulness methods based upon an established foundation. The Mindfulness techniques that I teach can be used to help with recovering from a serious illness, dealing with chronic pain, issues with career , business or work, habits that cause problems, and to help heal problems with anger and shame. Wherever you feel that there is a need, Mindfulness can help you with it. Whatever it is.
Mindfulness can assist you to let go of long held emotional burdens and to find ways of discovering happiness in your everyday world. Some people use the mindfulness approaches I teach to help them heal longstanding emotional wounds, which have often not responded to other approaches. Mindfulness methods are also helpful in assisting the resolution of conflict between people, as well as in relationships of kinds and in business.
I use mindfulness methods with people in businesses of all types in all areas of their business activities. People report improved well-being, creativity, mutual co-operation and better working environments. I also teach mindfulness to visual and performing artists and people in the public eye. Mindfulness can be used in any aspect of human experience or situation to help in gaining insights into obstacles enhancing, healing or bringing understanding.
If you want to know more or book a session go to 'Consult with Christopher' to find out how.