The Principles of Mindfulness
Let’s look closer at the core Foundations of Mindfulness developed by Dr. Jon Kabat Zinn in 2013. We reflect on how we understand them and how we may apply these attitudes in our Mindfulness Class NL MINDFUL.
1.Patience:
We don’t put pressure on us. We give ourselves time and space and we allow that things will evolve over time, your Mindfulness practice as well. Learning to have more patience obviously is not easy, we train that muscle while practicing Mindfulness day by day.
2.Beginner’s mind:
Beginner’s Mind is the willingness to see things in their original freshness, as we would see them for the first time. Without Judging instantly and without presumptions. We practice Beginner’s Mind in NL MINDFUL in our exploration of a Mindful Morning: Eating an orange can be boring and not very satisfying, as we often are rushing through our meals. If we apply Beginner’s mind to eating an orange, our meal can become a complex experience with many different tastes and smells.
3.Non Judging:
Dr. Jon Kabat Zinn defined the principle of Non Judging: We are obviously constantly judging ourselves and others and we tend to judge even the judging. In Mindfulness we try to become aware of the harsh inner judging voice that we all have inside.When we can detect it, this is a moment of Mindfulness. We learn to accept our human mind with all its rushing and judging.
4.Letting Go:
In Mindfulness we practice Letting go, because Clinging to something gives us a feeling of being trapped. Not easy for many of us. We can learn that by exploring and imagining how Letting go would feel like in our body & mind. This way we explore the beneficial effects of Letting go. During the Meditations and in daily life we lean to observe thoughts, sensations, feelings from a distance: Letting them arise and Letting them Go again.
5.Trust
In Mindfulness we trust in our own experience. If we feel fearful or angry, we do not suppress our feeling, instead we look closer at this feeling and start an inquiry, without questioning ourselves. In Mindfulness we trust in our own ability to meet life, even if we all make mistakes, that is human.Through the Mindfulness technique we learn, it will be easier to trust to our own capability to meet even difficult moments in life.
6.Non-Striving:
In Mindfulness we allow ourselves time and space for supporting ourselves, not trying to fix things immediately, not acting when we are not in balance, there is time for action later. Not thriving for a better me, a perfect world, a perfect meditation moment. There is no such thing as perfection.We do not meditate with a certain goal in mind, that would put a senseless pressure on us.
7.Acceptance
We reflect on Acceptance in NL MINDFUL with the „Willingness to be with what is“, as Diana Winston calls it, not in the sense of accepting bad things that happen to you. But, In the sense of seeing clearly at what is happening inside and outside. Reflecting on what we can change and what we cannot change.Fighting against circumstances we cannot change like some health issues, is a burden for us. Accepting things we cannot change and dealing with them with a calm mind.
NL MINDFUL Additions:
8.Self Compassion:
We add Self-Acceptance in the sense of Self Compassion to the principles of Mindfulness (Neff/Germer). In Mindfulness we respond to self blame with Self Compassion and Kindness towards ourselves.„Mindfulness means being self compassionate with ourselves- Prof. Mark Williams (Oxford University).
9.Awareness:
Awareness is at the core centre of Mindfulness. Maybe it is not on the list, because Awareness might not be called an attitude, but actually we think it is, because we can set the intention of waking up and becoming aware of the world inside and outside.
MORE ABOUT MINDFULNESS CLASS NL MINDFUL here.
More about Dr. Jon Kabat Zinn here.
Masterclass with Dr. Jon Kabat Zinn here.
More about Diana Winston
UCLA MINDFUL APP HERE
More about Self Compassion with Neff/Germer here.
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