GUESTHOUSE

MEETING LIFE

The concept Guesthouse by Jon Kabat-Zinn,
was inspired by Rumi, 13th-century poet.
Guesthouse is part of our Mindfuness program.

WAVES OF LIFE

In life, there are always new arrivals
at the door, pleasant ones, 
difficult ones.
Sometimes, life can feel
like a heavy load:
news, uncertainty, work load, family.
The waves of life sometimes get higher,
loss, illness, separation.
Not everything can be changed,
not everything can be solved.
But we can learn to meet life.

APPROACHING

Often, we want things to be different,
but cannot change a situation for now.
By Putting out the Welcome Mat
as Jon Kabat-Zinn calls it,
we approach difficulties in life,
shifting from avoidance towards
approaching.

ALLOWING

We often try hard
to push away the negative.
This takes a lot of energy.
We normally repeat in our mind:
How on earth is this happening to me?
Allowing ourselves to be with what is,
can soften the stress response.
Not in the sense of approving,
instead: recognizing what is here,
allowing how we feel.
If we try to push emotions away,
we may end up maintaining them.

RELATING

In stressful moments, we are likely
to blame or judge ourselves.
Habitual self-criticism is stress
for body and mind.
It would be wiser to be supportive,
as we would do with a good friend.
Kindness towards ourselves can lower
the stress response in our body.
We stabilize our mind by
protecting ourselves, kindly, gently,
getting in touch with hope,
self-confidence and courage.

STORIES OF THE MIND

Thoughts are compelling,
they tend to take over.
Negative thoughts may lead to
lower self-esteem, guilt, fear,
poor sleep, poor appetite or
social withdrawal.
Thoughts are just thoughts,
stories of our mind.
We are not our thoughts.
We don’t suppress them,
but we don’t feed them either.

WATERFALL

Imagine stepping out of
a noisy waterfall,
just a few steps away:
the sound is getting quieter,
we are no longer inside the noise,
we can observe from a distance,
without being swept away.
In the same way, we can observe
thoughts, sensations, emotions
with some distance.

STEP BACK & BREATHE

Anytime, anywhere
during the day
Just pause.
Notice. Listen
Just Be here

Observing kindly
Opening up to what is
Allowing body & mind to soften
Connecting with the breath
Breath by breath
Moment by moment

Just this moment
Just thie breath

BEING

Mindfulness is not about
achieving goals or perfection.
It is about allowing ourselves to be.
Moment by moment.
Aware of what is here right now.
Connecting with the body
and sensory awareness.
Seeing clearly what is here,
inside and outside.

contact

NL MINDFUL
Mindfulness · Hamburg
Hartwicusstraße 3

Get in Touch
Fragen · Termine
contact@nl-mindful.com