Perrysburg Pulse Magazine Perrysburg Pulse November | Page 18

With mindfulness, we readily connect to the present.
Focusing on what’s right in front of us becomes habit.
When we are here, now – we are free. depression and anxiety possible. We empower ourselves
with awareness and choice to respond thoughtfully and
realistically when faced with difficult emotions and
events that inevitably will occur.
Unfortunately, our mind has a negativity bias.
Neurologically, we are wired to predominantly
remember negative experiences, so we can avoid them
in the future. It takes directed effort on our part to
strengthen the positive, flexible parts of our minds that
keep us honed in on the big picture. ACCEPT WHAT IS WITHOUT RESISTANCE
Jon Kabat-Zinn, a leading figure in the mindfulness
movement and author of Full Catastrophe Living,
defines mindfulness as “paying attention to the
present moment, on purpose, with a nonjudgmental
awareness.”
In yoga, we call this act of clear perception and one-
pointed focus – “viveka”. So moment by moment you are:
1. Purposefully choosing to activate your full
attention
2. Focusing exclusively on the present moment
3. Being aware of your experience without judgment
BANISH YOUR INNER CRITIC
It’s easy for us to be unconsciously driven by our harsh
inner critic. This is the judgmental, negative voice in
our mind that can completely dominate our thoughts.
It is often an internalized voice that was installed via a
real or perceived “critic” in our early childhood.
To truly be in a state of mindful awareness creates an
incredible openness and peace in our being. It takes
time to unfold fully, but meditation and learning to
view yourself as a witness, rather than identifying with
your thoughts, is a step-by-step way of reaching this
spacious mindset. Like this, we can take our emotions
and thoughts at face value without feeding our energy
into a stressful, reactionary, automatic response.
Our inner critic sounds like:
• Negative self-talk
• Paranoia and insecurities
• Comparing ourselves to others
• Focusing on what we did wrong, rather than right
Meditation is our chance to relate differently to our
thoughts. By increasing awareness, we develop the
ability to identify the harsh inner critic, interrupt its
message and choose a different path.
DITCH THE DRAMA
Depth Psychology teaches that the most important
take-away from our experiences is the meaning we
choose to give to them. We can train ourselves and our
students to focus less on the melodrama of the story (or
the “content”: the who, what, why), and instead, focus
on the key lessons to incorporate moving forward.
Consistency is key.
It’s better to practice every day for five to 10 minutes
a day than 30 minutes once every two weeks. It’s the
only way to really impact your relationship with your
thoughts. Notice who’s really speaking in your mind.
Learn to ask different questions. Instead of “Why me?”
ask:
• What is the lesson that I am meant to learn here?
• What is the teaching?
• How do I need to rise up?
Is this an uplifting, empowering voice?
If not, you choose to disengage and flip your script.
How is this situation calling me to “level up” into an
even greater level of awareness and empowerment?
TRANSFORM NEGATIVE THOUGHTS
When we experience difficult events in our lives, it’s
common to slip into a mental downward spiral. If
uninterrupted, our initial negative response continues
to generate more and more thoughts to reinforce the
first one and we can feel stuck as a result.
When seeking meaningfulness, consider the yogic
concept of “ahamkara”, the individual ego-aspect (or
“I-maker”) of the mind. This inner force is constantly
trying to make meaning of our experiences through the
lens of the individual self. With this approach to life,
our view becomes inherently narcissistic. We become
the center of our Universe, disconnected from the
wider perspective of others.
Meditation puts a pause in that descending path and
pulls us back to our neutral ground. Developing this
ability makes catching ourselves at earlier stages of
18