Mindfulness practice is really involved with an object. You use an external object or the breath or ones senses to practice mindfulness, so you are constantly going back to the object to the object of mindfulness and not allowing the mind to run off in all directions. Mindfulness simply anchors the mind, so that it does not get to indulgent in thoughts etc. However from the Buddhist point of view, mindfulness is something that becomes transcended through development of awareness.

MEDITATION OF SIMPLY NOTICING HELPS US TO SETTLE

Emotions, no matter how they manifest, are not something that simply happens to us , but rather are something that we create and use strategically for a particular purpose.

NOTHING BREAKS LIKE A HEART

Doesn’t it seem that something positive can often emerge from a broken heart?

OUR HABITUAL, ROBOTIC WAY OF DEALING WITH ADVERSITY MAY NOT BE AS EFFECTIVE AS WE THINK.

Dwelling on our own experiences will never empower us. We are so habitually prone to negative ways of thinking and interpretation that we have to consciously and deliberately do something to reverse this tendency.

THE MINDFULNESS STRATEGY

THOUGHTS DO NOT JUST COME AND GO THEY LEAVE IMPRINTS

INTENTION by Shantideva

"May I be a guard for those who are protectorless,

A guide for those who journey on the road,

For those who wish to go across the water,

May I be a boat, a raft , a bridge

May I be an isle for those who yearn for landfall,

And a lamp for those who long for light,

For those who need a resting place, a bed

For all who need a servant, may I be their slave"

DEATH - DYING - FEAR AND WELLBEING

The fear of death is all pervasive. It is something that we all will experience and have to confront sooner or later. Denying it, trying not to think about it does not make it go away. There are some that are so fearful of death, that death becomes a neurotic preoccupation.

The available literature on death and dying has been increasing, but people are handling death less and less. This seems to be the irony of the whole situation, there is a fundamental ambivalence about death for the contemporary person.

In some sense we are trapped and bound, where does this bondage lie, it lies in our experiences, in our not being able to deal with or understand our experiences properly. Often we do not even know that we are imprisoned, We may, in fact, think that this prison is our home.

TO BE OR NOT TO BE - THAT IS THE QUESTION

Wellbeing does not come about in a haphazard fashion just as happiness and unhappiness are intimately linked, so too is Wellbeing and Distress

When addressing Wellbeing, we have to also address The Four Topics which are the foundation of "The Insight to Wellbeing Initiative" that aide in the formation of what constitutes Wellbeing. We can learn to become aware of how we see and experience things and we can learn ways to aid the mind to restore its own sense of equilibrium - its sense of balance.

COMPASSION REMAINS DEAD UNLESS IT IS AWOKEN

If we are to be effective and capable in daily life, if we are to live up to our ideals, if we are to be of actual help to others, we need to train. There are specific methods practiced over many centuries, to generate equanimity, to create a little spaciousness amidst our habitual clutter.

COMPASSION AS A NECESSITY FOR ALL WORK CULTURES

In our pursuit of well-being, through our ups and downs, we may learn something - that genuine happiness demands that we allow ourselves to feel a sense of “profound disappointment” as we begin to realize that life doesn’t lend itself to our personal preferences. We are not in total command.…It is very hard for most people to accept that truth.

People ask what mindfulness is. The more contemporary or the more popular answer is 'Being in the present - Being in the NOW'. No one is told exactly how this can be achieved. A fundamental aspect of mindfulness meditation is this notion of "Remembrance" This refers to the use of memory as an aide to increasing mindfulness. The opposite of mindfulness is forgetfulness AND our forgetfulness is due to our well entrenched mental habits. We are not psychologically equipped to be in the present and mindful without the aid of memory.

RELATIONSHIPS

Whatever we do there are always repercussions, and not only can we hurt each other because of this reciprocal causation, but we can also empower each other.

We can act in ways that lead to the benefit of others. Simply because things do not work in our favour does not necessarily mean that we should walk away.

We actually need others in order to develop ourselves as human beings.

It is not true that we only develop when we feel loved, cared for, appreciated, respected and admired; we also grow when we are despised, belittled , held back and denigrated.

Sometimes we need to address these aspects of ourselves that appear quite ugly and full of self interest in order to progress.

With compassion we are trying to generate an unbiased, impartial empathy for all, as we expand to include others the more courageous we become. We must make our heart bigger, bigger than the Sky Tower, big enough to include everyone. To hold a big heart means we are able to hold the poignancy of life, all of it's beauty, the mystery, the pain of it all with out shutting down.

Depression is something we all experience. For some people depression is mild, while for others it is very intense and debilitating. For some people it lasts for a short time and then disappears, while for others it may persist over many years, or even an entire lifetime. We generally think of depression as a terrible state to be in: it is something we think we have to overcome, and we go to great lengths to hide it from others.

If we want to live our life more fully, we need to deal with our past and just let that go, so that we can take full advantage of the present. Otherwise, we allow the past to color all of the present situations and experiences, our relationships, job situations, and our perception of the world.

Defining open-mindedness