Unit IV Therapeutic Measures for building values

Mindfulness 

Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.

The Definition of Mindfulness

Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.

Mindfulness is a quality that every human being already possesses, it’s not something you have to conjure up, you just have to learn how to access it.

The Types of Mindfulness Practice

While mindfulness is innate, it can be cultivated through proven techniques. Here are some examples:

1. Seated, walking, standing, and moving meditation (it’s also possible lying down but often leads to sleep);
2. Short pauses we insert into everyday life;
3. Merging meditation practice with other activities, such as yoga or sports.

The Benefits of Mindfulness Practice:

When we meditate it doesn’t help to fixate on the benefits, but rather to just do the practice, and yet there are benefits or no one would do it.

When we’re mindful, we reduce stress, enhance performance, gain insight and awareness through observing our own mind, and increase our attention to others’ well-being.

Mindfulness meditation gives us a time in our lives when we can suspend judgment and unleash our natural curiosity about the workings of the mind, approaching our experience with warmth and kindness—to ourselves and others.

8 Facts About Mindfulness:

1. Mindfulness is not obscure or exotic. It’s familiar to us because it’s what we already do, how we already are. It takes many shapes and goes by many names.
2. Mindfulness is not a special added thing we do. We already have the capacity to be present, and it doesn’t require us to change who we are. But we can cultivate these innate qualities with simple practices that are scientifically demonstrated to benefit ourselves, our loved ones, our friends and neighbors, the people we work with, and the institutions and organizations we take part in
3. You don’t need to change. Solutions that ask us to change who we are or become something we’re not have failed us over and over again. Mindfulness recognizes and cultivates the best of who we are as human beings.
4. Mindfulness has the potential to become a transformative social phenomenon. Here’s why:
5. Anyone can do it. Mindfulness practice cultivates universal human qualities and does not require anyone to change their beliefs. Everyone can benefit and it’s easy to learn.
6. It’s a way of living.  Mindfulness is more than just a practice. It brings awareness and caring into everything we do—and it cuts down needless stress. Even a little makes our lives better.
7. It’s evidence-based. We don’t have to take mindfulness on faith. Both science and experience demonstrate its positive benefits for our health, happiness, work, and relationships.
8. It sparks innovation. As we deal with our world’s increasing complexity and uncertainty, mindfulness can lead us to effective, resilient, low-cost responses to seemingly intransigent problems.

 Practical Advice for Maintaining Mindfulness

• Intention – the strong intention to try not to forget
• Familiarity – going over and over the same process so that we remember it automatically
• Alertness – the alarm system that detects when we’ve lost mindfulness.

Effort

This is the first factor of the eightfold path that we use to help us develop concentration. We put effort into getting rid of distracting thoughts and emotional states that are not conducive to concentration, as well as try to develop good qualities. In general, if we want to accomplish anything in our lives, we need to put in effort. Things don’t come from absolutely nothing, and nobody said it was easy. But, if we’ve developed a bit of strength from working with ethical self-discipline in terms of how we act, speak and deal with others, it gives us the strength to put effort into working on our mental and emotional states. 

Wrong Effort

Wrong effort is directing our energy into harmful, destructive trains of thought that distract us and make it difficult if not impossible to concentrate. There are three major types of destructive ways of thinking:

• Thinking covetously
• Thinking with malice
• Thinking distortedly with antagonism

Right Effort

• Right effort is directing our energy away from harmful, destructive trains of thought and toward the development of beneficial qualities. For this, we speak in terms of what are called the “four right strivings” in Pali. In Sanskrit and Tibetan literature, they’re called the four factors for attaining correct riddances, – in other words, for getting rid of our shortcomings 

• right effort is to put effort into:

  • Avoiding disturbing and destructive ways of thinking
  • Ridding ourselves of bad habits and shortcomings we may have
  • Developing good qualities that we already have, and those we’re deficient in
  • Ridding ourselves of obstacles to concentration

Concentration

The third aspect from the eightfold path that we apply for concentration is called right concentration (yes, concentration itself). Concentration is the actual mental placement upon an object. Once we get a hold on whatever we want to concentrate on, mindfulness keeps it there so we don’t lose it.

Even if we think we can multitask, nobody is able – unless you’re a Buddha – to put 100% concentration on all the things that you’re multitasking.

the main obstacles to concentration were our own mental states – mental wandering, daydreaming and so on. Now there is so much more, and most of these come from external sources like cell phones, Facebook and email. It actually takes effort not to be overwhelmed by it all, and to be able to do this we actually need to recognize the detrimental features of these media. The most obvious one that many people might have experience of is that attention spans are getting shorter and shorter. Twitter has a limited number of characters and the Facebook feed is constantly updating.

Object of Focus: Breath, Body, Sound - 

Take a deep breath” — a phrase we are all too familiar with as a last resort to relieve stress and frustration. And it's probably good advice

Breath work refers to deep, diaphragmatic breathing or belly breathing. Breath work encompasses a range of breathing exercises designed to enhance physical, spiritual, and mental health

• Focused attention. 

• This form of meditation is fairly straightforward because it uses the object of our breath to focus attention, to anchor the mind and maintain awareness. Notice your mind starting to wander? Simply return to the breath.

• Body scan. 

• Often, our body is doing one thing while our mind is elsewhere. This technique is designed to sync body and mind by performing a mental scan, from the top of the head to the end of your toes. Imagine a photocopier light slowly moving over your body, bringing attention to any discomfort, sensations, tensions, or aches that exist

• Sound bath meditation. 

• This form uses bowls, gongs, and other instruments to create sound vibrations that help focus the mind and bring it into a more relaxed state.

Focused meditation involves focusing on something intently as a way of staying in the present moment and slowing down the inner dialogue

STOP technique: Stop, Take a Breath, Observe, Proceed 

The STOP Technique is a mindfulness-based practice designed to help you defuse stress in the moment. Creating space in the day to pause, slow down a racing mind, and get back into the present moment has been shown to be incredibly helpful in reducing the the negative effects of stress. Taking a brief pause—even for less than one minute—can help you gain perspective and determine the best possible action you can take next. Over time and with practice, this way of responding becomes a habit. As Sharon Salzberg says, “Mindfulness isn’t dicult, we just need to remember to do it.

 Stop 

Stop what you are doing: Press the pause button on your thoughts and actions

” Interrupt your thoughts with the command ‘stop!’ and pause whatever you’re doing.

Take a Breath 

Take a few deep breathe to center yourself and bring yourself fully into the present moment. Notice your breathing for a second. Breathe in slowly through the nose, expanding the belly, and exhale slowly and deeply through pursed lips. 

Observe 

Observe what is going on with your:

Body

what physical sensations are you aware of (touch, sight, hearing, taste, smell)?

Emotions

What are you feeling right now?

Mind

What assumptions are your making about your feelings? What is the story you are telling yourself about why you are having them?

Become the observer of your thoughts, emotions and physical reactions. What thoughts do you notice? What emotions are present? How does your body feel? Tune in and sit with whatever arises for a few moments. 

Proceed

Proceed with whatever you were doing, making a conscious, intentional choice to incorporate what you just learned.

Mindfully consider how you’d like to respond. What’s one thing you can focus on right now? What’s your most important and urgent priority? Narrow down your focus and take it one small step at a time

Working with body sensations: Body Scan

Body scan meditation is a good way to release physical tension you might not even realize you're experiencing. Body scanning involves paying attention to parts of the body and bodily sensations in a gradual sequence from feet to head.

By mentally scanning yourself, you bring awareness to every single part of your body, noticing any aches, pains, tension, or general discomfort. The goal is not to relieve the pain completely, but to get to know and learn from it so you can better manage it.

How to Do a Body Scan Meditation

As with all forms of meditation, doing a body scan is meant to be simple. Below are some instructions to get you started.

1. Get comfortable. Lying down is preferable, particularly if you're doing a body scan meditation before going to sleep. If that's not possible or comfortable, sitting comfortably is also an option.
2. Take a few deep breaths. Let your breathing slow down, and start breathing from your belly instead of from your chest, letting your abdomen expand and contract with each breath. If you find your shoulders rising and falling with each breath, focus more on breathing from your belly, as though a balloon is inflating and deflating in your abdomen with each breath. For more practice, try these breathing exercises.
3. Bring awareness to your feet. Now slowly bring your attention down to your feet. Begin observing sensations in your feet. If you notice pain, acknowledge it and any thoughts or emotions that accompany it, and gently breathe through it.
4. Breathe into the tension. If you notice any uncomfortable sensations, focus your attention on them. Breathe into them, and see what happens. Visualize the tension leaving your body through your breath and evaporating into the air. Move on when you feel ready.
5. Scan your entire body. Continue this practice with each area of your body, gradually moving up through your feet until you reach the top of your head. Notice how you feel and where you're holding your stress. If there's any tightness, pain, or pressure, continue to breathe into any tightness, pain, or pressure you're feeling. This can help you release tension in your body now, and be more aware of it in the future so you can release it then, too.

Benefits of a Regular Practice

Best when performed daily (or even several times a day), practicing body scan meditation is associated with many mental and physical health benefits. Research shows that stress reduction is one of the primary benefits of body scan meditation, which in turn can have physical benefits including reduced inflammation, fatigue, and insomnia.1

In this way, this body scanning works to break the cycle of physical and psychological tension that can feed on itself.

The body scan meditation is a very useful and effective meditation that can help you return to and maintain a relaxed state when you become too tense.

Tips

• Practice this body scan meditation anytime you feel stress or several times throughout the day as a regular practice.
• If you don't have a lot of time, you can do an abbreviated version of this body scan meditation by just sitting and noticing any place in your body that you're carrying tension, rather than moving from part to part. This will become easier the more you practice the body scan meditation.
• The body scan meditation can promote body awareness, stress awareness, and relaxation. Practice it often.