Dear students & friends,
here are the core attitudinal foundations of Mindfulness developed by Dr. Jon Kabat Zinn in 2013. We added our thoughts and how we can apply them in our practice.You do not have to print this list or memorize it, we will practice them week by week in our class. At the end of this class you can read the list again, with some experience you will better get what they mean especially for you.
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 can train that muscle while learning Mindfulness.
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. Eating an orange can be boring and not very satisfying. We often eat without being aware of eating. We are rushing through our meals. If we apply Beginner’s mind eating an orange can be an explosion of our senses, a complex experience with many different tastes, sounds and smells.We can be grateful for this orange.
We practice Beginner’s Mind in our exploration of a Mindful Morning and in the Tea Mind Meditation.
3.Trust & Acceptance:
It’s OK to be in this present moment. It’s OK how we are in the present moment. We start from that acceptance. We trust in the present moment, letting go of the idea that the past and future are much more important than the here & now. No need to get scared by the past or the future. They do not have more power than the here & now, the only moment in life we can really experience with all our senses.
We trust in our own capabilities to meet life. Not easy and new for many of us, therefore we learn that in our practices.
4.Non-striving:
Allowing ourselves time and space for experience and for supporting ourselves in the first place.
Not trying to fix things immediately, not acting when we feel not in balance. Not thriving for a better me, a perfect world, a perfect meditation moment.We do not meditate with a certain goal in mind, that would put a senseless pressure on us.
5.Non Judging & Kindness
We are obviously constantly judging ourselves and others and we tend to judge eve the judging. In Mindfulness we try to become aware of the harsh inner voice that we all have that is constantly judging. When we can detect it, this is a moment of mindfulness, that’s nothing bad, that’s great-
We learn to accept our human mind with all its rushing and with its tendency to judge everything, even the seemingly senseless Mediation practice. See if you can bring some humor to it. It’s just a thought- nothing more. And not very kind towards yourself.
We added Kindness to this principle, as we deal with self blame with kindness towards ourselves. Kindness belongs to Mindfulness.
6.Letting go:
We practice letting go of our Clinging to get rid of the feeling of being trapped by Clinging. Not easy for many of us. We learn that by imagining how Letting go would feel like, in our body & mind, and this way we explore the beneficial effects of Letting go for body and mind.
Get in touch, if you have questions.
Books from Jon Kabat Zinn:
Jon Kabat Zinn:
Full Catastrophe Living (new edition 2013)
Wherever you go, there you are 2004
Be kind to yourself
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