Introduction to Mindfulness - Dean Amory

Week 6
We began with sitting meditation. There was very active engagement
with this exercise by the group.
Members tuned in very quickly to how they were feeling and shared
this openly afterwards. We moved directly into yoga practice, outside
in the garden, and returned to group room where people shared any
changes they noticed in how they were now feeling. The idea was to
give them an experience of the “impermanence of feelings”: Feelings
come and go; it can be enough to notice them, to acknowledge that
whatever I am feeling is simply what I’m feeling, to continue to bring
my attention back to the present moment, through focusing on the
breath, through engaging in some activity, and to notice how feelings
shift and change.
With emotions that are intense and painful, it was also important to
learn specific coping techniques. For this reason we would be
showing a DVD on “Coping with emotional storms” by Thich Nhat
Hahn in the second half of the session.
Identifying key situations, events, that can provoke a relapse into old
thinking and behaviour patterns Different situations, events and
emotions can set off a chain reaction that leads to relapse. Each
person needs to know what sets them off and to take evasive action
before it’s too late. It is helpful to know one’s personal “relapse
signature”, i.e. those warning signs that tell me I may be moving
towards danger.
The above examples revealed a range of behaviours, thoughts and
strong feelings (some which appeared to come out of nowhere) that
people could identify as important warning signs of possible relapse.
We then tried to develop these insights a bit further by having
members draw out their personal “relapse maps”, i.e. that chain of
thoughts feelings and behaviours that seemed to carry them towards
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