GUESTHOUSE · Jon Kabat-Zinn
Program Insight
A peek into the NL MINDFUL program:
The concept Guesthouse by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn
was inspired by the 13th-century poet Rumi’s
poem The Guesthouse.
In life there are always new arrivals at the door.
Pleasant ones, difficult ones.
Waves of Life
Life can feel like a heavy load.
News, uncertainty, work, 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 differently.
Approaching
We often want things to be different.
But often, we cannot change a situation for now.
By Putting out the Welcome Mat,
we approach difficulties in life,
as they are here anyway.
We shift from avoidance towards
approaching.
Allowing
We often try hard to push away the negative.
This takes a lot of energy.
We normally tend to 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.
No need to approve a situation.
Allow what you are feeling.
How we relate
In stressful moments, we are likely
to be 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 level of stress hormones in our body.
We stabilize our mind by
protecting ourselves, kindly, gently,
getting in touch with hope.
Stories of the Mind
Thoughts are compelling.
They may 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.
Small Islands of Calm
During the day, anytime:
Step Back & Breathe.
Notice. Listen. Just be.
Just pause.
Be here. Observe.
Opening up to what is here.
Allowing tense areas to soften.
Connecting with your breath.
Breath by breath.
Moment by moment.
Being
Mindfulness is not about
achieving goals or perfection.
It is about allowing ourselves to be.
Moment by moment.
Breath by breath.
Aware of what is here right now.
Connecting with our body
and sensory awareness.
Seeing clearly what is here,
inside and outside.
contact
Fragen · Termine
persönlich · vertraulich
contact@nl-mindful.com
Mindfulness Training ·
Achtsamkeitstraining
Hamburg · Uhlenhorst
Hartwicusstraße 3