Introduction to Mindfulness - Dean Amory

Week 2
Reactions to the first meeting were generally positive, but some
people were disappointed as they hoped that this course might
provide a simpler, faster solution to their emotional distress. One
lady, who subsequently reported finding great benefit in the course
overall, commented “Last week I was disappointed, I wanted
something life-changing, quick!”.
Group members were very vocal about their positive and negative
experiences of attempting a brief mindfulness - “checking in exercise”
during the past week. There were several reports of finding it hard to
make time - “I struggled just giving it time, to give it to myself is very
hard, I can do it here”, “I was doing it, but only for a few minutes on
the bus or something”. One person noticed how distressed his
thoughts were – “My head was mental, I was having insane
thoughts”, and another picked up on how judgemental he was being
with himself – “It’s good, I get calm, but by the time I get to the hall
door it’s gone, then I start beating myself up for not being able to do
it”.
It was important to hear a wide range of reactions and it was
important that the team accepted them all with equanimity - to react
calmly to each one, without appearing to be selectively favouring
some and discouraging others. The challenge for the team was to
model a “mindful” response to whatever experiences people were
having, so that the group could gradually recognise that this was what
we meant by being non-judgemental.
Body scan exercise:
TB used stick drawings to illustrate how the mind can very often be
in a different time zone to the body and asked group members to
reflect on their own experiences of being “disconnected”. He then
asked the group what it was like to live like this (given that we all do
so much of the time). One person responded “It’s not living, you’re
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