with Kate Mitcheom - CNM, MSN, RYT, EMP
Admit something:
Everyone you see, you say to them, “love me”
of course you do not do this out loud,
otherwise someone would call the cops.
Still though, think about this, this great pull in us to connect.
why not become the one who lives with a full moon in each eye
that is always saying,
with that sweet moon language,
What every other eye in this world is dying to hear?
Bear with me I
want to tell you
something about
happiness
it’s hard to get at
but the thing is
I wasn’t looking
I was looking
somewhere else
when my son found it
in the fruit section
and came running
holding it out
in his small hands
asking me what
it was and could we
keep it, it only
cost 99 cents
hairy and brown
hard as a rock
and something swishing
around inside
and what on earth
and where on earth
and this was happiness
this little ball
of interest beating
inside his chest
this interestedness
beaming out
from his face pleading
happiness
and because I wasn’t
happy I said
to put it back
because I didn’t want it
because we didn’t need it
and because he was happy
he started to cry
right there in aisle
five so when we
got home we
put it in the middle
of the kitchen table
and sat on either
side of it and began
to consider how
to get inside of it
Out beyond our ideas of wrongdoing and right-doing there is a field
I will meet you there
When the soul lies down in that grass
The world is too full to talk about
Ideas, language, even the words each other
Doesn’t make any sense.
Rumi
(Working with a partner, take turns either with a hand on their back or shoulder or gazing at them with their eyes closed, then switch)
Know that this person before you has had the full range of human experience
They have known joy and they have known sorrow
They have known grief
They have known success and they have known failure
They have been praised and they have been blamed
There have been times of gain and times of loss
They have known sickness and they have known health
They have known bodily pain and they have bodily pleasure
They have known agitation and they have known calm
They have known love and they have known hatred
They have known friendship and they have known loneliness
They have known passion and they have known indifference
They have known loyalty and they have known betrayal
They have known kindness and they have known cruelty
They have known beauty and they have known ugliness
There are things that they are proud of and things they are ashamed of
They have known fear and they have known courage
All the experiences that a human being is capable of this person has probably known.
The circumstances may have been different, but the feelings much the same.
(It is helpful to end with awareness of breath or loving kindness meditation)
I feel so sad…ah ha
I feel so bad…ah ha
I feel so mad…ah ha – Breathe in, breathe out
My mind is here..ah ha
My mind is there…ah ha
Life is unfair….ah ha – Breathe in, breathe out
I feel so blue…ah ha
Too much to do…ah ha
I’m blaming you…ah ha – Breathe in, breathe out
It moves so fast…ah ha
And nothing lasts…ah ha
Just let it pass…ah ha – Breathe in, breathe out
I want to kill..I want to kill
Afraid I will…afraid I will
Try to be still…try to be still – Breathe in, breathe out
Come back to here…ah ha
Let go of fear…ah ha
My mind is clear…ah ha – Breathe in, breathe out
I feel so sad
I feel so bad
I feel so mad – Breathe in, breathe out…AHHHH HAAAA
Our lives are filled with distractions — email, Twitter, texting we’re constantly connected to technology, rarely alone with just our thoughts. Which is probably why there’s a growing movement in America to train people to get around the stresses of daily life.
It’s a practice called “mindfulness” and it basically means being aware of your thoughts, physical sensations, and surroundings.
Psychiatrist Dr Judson Brewer is a thought leader in the “science of self mastery,” having combined nearly 20 years of experience with mindfulness with his scientific research therein. An internationally known expert in mindfulness training for addictions, Judson has developed novel treatments to help individuals with substance abuse and eating disorders. He has also studied the underlying neural mechanisms of mindfulness using standard and real-time fMRI, and is currently translating these findings into clinical use. In 2012, Judson founded Claritas MindSciences to combine mindfulness and neurofeedback techniques for a variety of conditions; the latest apps are Craving to Quit and Eat Right Now. Judson is currently an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Medicine at University of Massachusetts School of Medicine, where he is Director of Research at the Center for Mindfulness.