Introduction to Mindfulness - Dean Amory

energy to others and make it safe for them to bring out painful
emotions that they cannot cope with alone.
- During the time that painful emotions are not present, we should
take advantage of this to practice mindful walking and mindful
sitting. With each in-breath, with each step, we can say “I have
arrived” and with each out-breath, each step we can say “I am
home”. This helps us to develop an easy rhythm and to remind
ourselves that we are choosing to arrive in the present moment,
rather than keep running away. This is an “act of revolution”
because it reverses the way we normally live.
Post-session analysis:
The group feels like its really dealing with fundamental issues of
concern to relapse prevention.
We could do a lot on the subject of relapse prevention, maybe having
them literally write down the chain of thoughts-feelings-behaviours
that lead to relapse, and also a list of actions they could take to pull
themselves out of a nose dive. Mindfulness enhances their capacity to
be aware when trouble is looming, or to see themselves walking
themselves into danger. The DVD described ‘internal’ coping
mechanisms which could help them weather whatever storm hits;
there are also probably some practical ‘external’ coping mechanisms
they could employ to avert a relapse.
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