The Paradox of Mindfulness
After my last blog, discussion arose about the identity exploration exercise I suggested and how that fits in with the idea of living in the present. There would appear to be a paradox between living in mindful presence (and dis-identifying with ego), yet also thinking about identity formation and consciously creating a more authentic kind of life. So, the question is: "How can we think about ourselves and our goals without being ego-centric and living in the future?"...
Continue reading Brad Water's article @ Psychology Today
Untapped Assets: The Hidden Potential in MindLESSness
All of us fall into mindless behaviors: fingernail-biting, hair twirling, day-dreaming, TV watching, computer games, and many more. I think we all know that these activities do not generally help us to become more mindful. Surprisingly, these very same mindlessness practices can potentially help us to become mindful if we know how to use them that way.
In Contemplative Psychotherapy, drawing on Buddhist teachings, we understand that the ability to be mindful -- to notice our experience with precision and without judging it as good or bad - is the key to reducing stress, emotional confusion, and many other kinds of suffering. It is mindfulness, too, that is a powerful tool for tuning into our positive qualities such as clarity, openness, and compassion. How then can mindlessness practices be helpful? Isn't it heading in the wrong direction entirely?
Continue reading Dr. Wegela's article @ Psychology Today
No comments:
Post a Comment