Introduction to Mindfulness: A 14-Day Journey

DAY 2 Beginners Mind

“BEGINNER’S MIND: An open, beginner’s mind allows us to be receptive to new possibilities and prevents us from getting stuck in the rut of our own expertise. No moment is the same as any other - each one is unique and contains unique possibilities. Are you able to see the sky, the stars, the trees, with a clear and uncluttered mind?” by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Full Catastrophe Living.

“If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything.

In beginner’s mind there are many possibilities; in the expert’s mind there are

few.”  by Zen monk Shunryu Suzuki

Object Mediation

 Hold an object in your hand.

 Really look at the object, noticing everything about it.

 Notice the weight of it.

 Is it smooth or rough?

 What size is it?

 Notice the colour, shape and texture of the object.

 Does it feel warm or cold?

 When your mind wanders, gently bring it back to the object.

 What does it smell off

 Is it shiny or dull?

 What material is it made of?

 What is it used for?

 Does it have a name?

 Bring your awareness back to the room.

DAY 3

Formal and Non Formal Mindfulness Exercises

Mindfulness has formal and non-formal exercises, it is a non-judgmental

awareness and involves paying attention to the present moment with kindness

and curiosity.

Formal Exercises

Formal exercises can include sitting meditation, walking mediation and lying

down mediation but there are many informal ways people can practice

mindfulness in their lives. Non formal mindful exercise are about turning

everyday activities into mindful activities.  Washing the dishes, eating a meal,

driving, sitting at the traffic lights etc...

Non Formal ideas

Eating a meal

Have a conversation and really listen

Brushing your teeth

Tune into your body and notice how you feel

Waiting for the computer to switch on / off

Take 10 deep, slow breaths

Making and drinking a cup of coffee

Red traffic lights – Taking the time to breath

Notice 5 things you can touch, see or hear

Washing up

Notice 5 things you can smell or taste

Take in your surroundings

DAY 4

Benefits of Meditation

Research shows that meditation has great benefit to you if practice regularly. It

can decreases tension in the body, helps you to relax, which helps to reduce the

cortisol levels, lowers stress and anxiety.

It can helps with headaches, migraines, joint pain and muscle aches, plus

anything that experiences tension in the body. Slows down the heart rate and

regulates breathing.  Lowers the risk of diseases including high blood pressure,

heart attacks and strokes.  Lowers blood pressure, improves immune system,

boosts the presence of antibodies within the blood, which helps fight infections

and decreases stress, depression and anxiety.

One Minute Breathing Mediation

When you are stressed or anxious your breathing increases, getting you ready

for danger. Slow, relaxed, deep breathing allows your body to relax. Helping to

calm you down, reduce stress and anxiety. 

Instructions:

 Sit or lay in a comfortable position

 Close your eyes

 Breathe through your nose 

 Slow your breathing down.

 Breathe in for the count of  3

 Breathe out for the count of  3

 Repeat

Note:

If you have any breathing difficulties then do not force you breathe, just focus on your nature breathing without manipulating it in any way.  Just noticing your in breathe and your out breathe.

DAY 5

Habit Re-leaser

Habit releasers can help reveal some of our automatic thought and behavior.

Automatic habits can trap you in negative ways of thinking.   

Habit releaser are about doing something in a different way to forcing you to

think about the current situation. 

Ideas for Habit Releasers

 Wearing your watch on the opposite arm.

 Going for a walk, somewhere you have never been.

 Writing with your non-dominate hand.

 Eat you meal with your opposite hand.

 Brush your teeth with your opposite hand.

 Stick a sticker on your watch.

 Put away your mobile phone for an hour. 

 Take a new route to work.

 Go somewhere you have never been before.

 Become a meal critic, eat at a different place each time you go out. 

DAY 6

Gratitude

Keeping a gratitude journal focuses your attention on developing more grateful

thinking. It can help us not to take things for granted. Teaches us how to look

for the good in situations instead of always looking at the bad.

We spend so much of our life moaning and criticising ourselves and others. Just

by focusing on what is good in your life, you can start to appreciate what you

have.   

A simple way of doing this is to write down 3 things a day that you are grateful

for, it could be as simple as:

 Fresh Air

 Family

 Friends

 Car

Or could be a nice act that someone has done for you.

On the next page is a weekly gratitude journal, simply print out as many pages

as you wish and start to fill them in, you could do it first thing in the morning or

just before bed, completely up to you.

DAY 8 Non Judgemental

“NON-JUDGING: Being an impartial witness of your own experience requires that you become aware of the constant stream of judging and reacting to inner and outer experiences that we are normally caught up in, observe it, and step back from it. Just observe how much you are preoccupied with liking and disliking during a ten-minute period as you go about your business.” by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Full Catastrophe Living.

“Dwell in stillness and to observe without reacting and without judging.” ― Jon Kabat-Zinn, Wherever You Go, There You Are

Story - The Cookie Thief

Mindfulness in Eight Weeks by Michael Chaskalson

This story is about a women who was waiting at an airport one night.  With

several long hours to go before her flight, she bought a book and a bag of

cookies, and found a place where she could sit and read.

Deeply engrossed in the book, she suddenly realised that the man sitting beside

her was taking cookies from the bag that was sitting between them.  Not

wanting to make a scene, she tried to ignore him.  But it didn’t stop with just

one or two cookies – it went on and on.  She read and ate and the man continued

to eat too.  She kept on trying to ignore the situation but found she just got

angrier and angrier.

Finally, there was only one coolie left.  The man took the last cookie, broke it in

half and, with a smile on his face, offered her one half while he ate the other. 

She took it grudgingly, angrily thinking about how rude he was.

She was about to say something but her flight was called.  Gathering her

belongings, she heading for the gate, refusing to look back at the “Cookie

Thief”.  Fuming inwardly, she boarded the plane and kept on with her reading.

In the middle of the flight, she reached into her bag and found an unopened

pack of cookies inside it. “If these are mines,” she realised, “then the cookies

we were eating were his! And he tried to share them with me…” To her shock

and dismay she realised that she’d been the rude one there as well as the thief.

DAY 9

Positive Attitude and Affirmations

Positive attitude can helps you cope with day to day life. Allowing you to focus

on the positive side of life, instead of focusing on your worries and negative

thinking. 

With a positive attitude you can see the best in all situations and people.  A

positive mind can be developed.

Developing a Positive Attitude:

With Mindfulness you can start to learn to master your thoughts.  Make the

choice to be happy and start to believe in yourself.  Find reasons to be happy. 

Surround yourself with happy people. 

Repeating affirmations that inspire and motivate you can help you develop your

subconscious mind and look at life more positively. 

Positive affirmations can help you to change negative thoughts and achieve

your goals.

They are easy to create and use, you need to say and repeat them often.

DAY 10

Thoughts and Feelings

We have on average 60,000 thoughts a day, a lot of these thought can be simple “I need to buy bread on the way home” or “What shall I have for dinner?” but equally a lot of our thoughts can have emotions and feelings attached to them. Thoughts can make us physically and mentally ill, when we are stressed or worried we quite often get run down, headaches, sore throats and worse.  Our thoughts are linked to our well being so it is so important to be able to be aware of our thoughts and feelings that come with them.

Words and Thoughts Meditation

Find yourself a comfortable position. When you are ready, close your eyes.  Now take a deep breath in through your nose and out through your month. With each breath relax and clear out your mind.  One more time, breathe in and breathe out.

Tune in to my voice.  I am going to say a set of words one at a time.  I will say one word and then pause for a moment.  Then I will say another word and pause for another moment and so on.  Notice what come up in your mind when I say a word, such as a thought, feeling, urge, image, or sensation.  Continue with me from word to word.  At the end I will ask you to open your eyes and return your attention to the room.

Rose - Coffee – Sun – Seaside – Money - Winter

Work – Wind – Pets – Love – Mindfulness - Lavender

Open your eyes and come on back to the room when you are ready.