1. What is a Mindfulness Based Approach & What is Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy?

Introduction

Professor of Management Practice, Lynda Gratton (London Business School), states, ‘The 50 years that many of us can expect to work could be a period of great meaning and satisfaction’ or …’an energy-draining activity. Our working lives are rapidly shifting from a race to a marathon. Burnout for peak performance may have worked for a race-but it does not provide resilience that a marathon takes’ (Chaskalson, 2011).

A wide range of organisations are applying Mindfulness Based training and according to Adams (2012) it is ‘the forward thinking businesses’ who are aware of the many benefits including:

· Greater employee resilience and ability to cope under pressure

· Greater productivity

· Higher levels of job satisfaction and employee engagement

· Lower levels of employee turnover

· More effective decision making

· Better time management

· Enhanced creativity and leadership in the workplace

· More effective communication

· Improved relationships and teamwork

· Lower levels of stress and illness-related absenteeism

· Improved abilities to address conflict in the workplace

· Creating a kinder work environment

When referring to the following aspects of his occupation including: development, delivering to clients, learning, making difficult & complex decisions, problem solving & leadership; Scot Kriens, explained, ‘My work Is my sport.’

Though some occupations hold life and death decisions, the challenges of performance in work and sport have many parallels. In both, people are looking to access their skills and training to perform as best they can, possibly in razor edged, hostile and pressured environments (Scott Kriens is an American businessman. He is chairman and former CEO of Juniper Networks).

Do You Want to Know More About What Mindfulness is?

Definition

Professor Kabat-Zinn (2003) defined mindfulness as, ‘the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally, to the unfolding experience, moment by moment.’ Here's a video showing Jon Kabat-Zinn's work: https://vimeo.com/39767361 or. https://youtu.be/D09HI_WFl5U

Cognitive Psychologists Teasdale, Segal and Williams (1995) described the state of mindfulness as ‘to ‘be’ fully in the present moment without judging or evaluating it, without reflecting backwards on past memories, without looking forward to anticipate the future, as in anxious worry, and without attempting to ‘problem-solve’ or otherwise avoid unpleasant aspects of the immediate situation.’

According to Williams and Penman (2011), 'Mindfulness is about observation without criticism; being compassionate with yourself…Mindfulness is simply a method of mental training.’

When we become aware of what we are doing right now, in the present moment, the mental space for worry and sadness is reduced big time!

See the 'Mind Full or Mindful' poster below which illustrates what mindfulness is generally about (file is attached at the end of this page).

Mind Wandering: Automatic Pilot.

When we practice mindfulness we start to notice the mind is constantly thinking and wandering.

Probably you have noticed your mind has wandered a few times since you have been reading this page. So when we are practicing mindfulness, we notice the mind wanders, for example, thinking thoughts or dwelling on thoughts or getting distracted by thoughts that just pop into our head. This mind wandering happens all of the time. That’s OK, because everybody’s mind wanders.

It’s when we get stuck or tangled up in our thoughts that mind wandering becomes problematic.

Sometimes we refer to mind wandering as Automatic Pilot.

Here's some common examples of Automatic Pilot. Have you ever:

a) Got to the end of a meal without having been aware of it?

b) Got to the end of a page in a magazine or book, only to realize you have hardly read a word of it?

c) Sat in college looking out of the window and before you know it, the lesson has finished?

d) Laid in bed trying to sleep, but found yourself repeating in your mind what happened today, or yesterday or what is going to

happen tomorrow?

Mindful Awareness

Practicing mindfulness helps us 'transform stressful situations by relating to them differently….We can see clearly how thoughts and feelings influence our experiences. We can develop mindful awareness of thoughts, feelings and body sensations as they arise in the present. As we become more aware of ourselves and the world around us, we often can choose to respond to stressful events with greater clarity and emotional equanimity’-or with calmness, composure and acceptance (Semple and Lee, MBCT-Children, 2011).

We usually think of our thoughts and emotions as being us. As we practice mindfulness we start to realize a key insight: we may notice that thoughts just arise and pass constantly, and emotions are simply what we feel (and will pass rather than believing they are permanent). This basically means: thoughts and feelings are not us, they are not who we are. This is really helpful to know, because this means if we can learn skills to help us disengage from them, rather than getting entangled, controlled or overwhelmed by them, we can increase our choices and possibilities for change.

In summary: During the 8 week Mindfulness Based Cognitive Training programme, we develop through training and practice the skill of mindful awareness, which means knowing what is happening in each moment (including thoughts, feelings, body sensations and behaviour). The learning of this skill may be seen as the foundation. From this foundation a further skill may develop called equanimity, or in other words, even-mindedness (Lazar and Vago, 2014) . What does this mean?:

A) In action terms, equanimity is like: stepping back, having a wider view, observing, watching and noticing what is happening with our experience in each moment, whether it is pleasant, unpleasant or neutral.

B) In terms of feelings, 'emotional equanimity’ brings: calmness, composure and acceptance to an experience, whether it is pleasant, unpleasant or neutral; rather than clinging to pleasure or feeling overwhelmed, stuck or lost in thinking, or pushing away pain and/or upset.

So instead of believing the automatic thoughts and feelings, thinking that their negative judgements are real or that they are going to happen, Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy helps us to step back and notice the thoughts and feelings, rather than trying to sort them out or push them away, which allows them to pass; then we start to view negative thoughts for what they are, just thoughts (and feelings).

When we become aware and accept that thoughts are just thoughts and that they will pass, we begin to notice more often, the positive and pleasant events that occur in our lives.

“You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.”

― Professor of Medicine Emeritus Jon Kabat-Zinn

Most people don't realize that the mind constantly

chatters. And yet, that chatter winds up being the

force that drives us much of the day in terms of

what we do, what we react to, and how we feel.

― Professor of Medicine Emeritus Jon Kabat-Zinn

Thoughts Are Just Thoughts. Thoughts Are Not Facts.

Mindfulness is Not about trying to stop thinking. 'Just as our eyes see and our ears hear, our mind will think. The practice is actually to change the relationship to our thinking, to let our thoughts ''be' and not grasp tightly on to them as facts' (Carter, 2013).

Through training and mindful practice we see the negative thoughts for what they are,

just thoughts,

rather than identifying with them,

believing them to be true or that they are going to happen.

Thoughts are not facts.

Thoughts are just thoughts.

Thoughts arise, develop and pass,

just like clouds in the sky.

References