Moment by moment by moment

Since I last wrote a lot has occurred and in many ways nothing! I am referring to the daily practice of mindfulness. A colleague when I asked him whether he had considered mindfulness, said "well its better than sitting round doing nothing". What a wag! And yes he was being funny, but maybe for many people that's what they think mindfulness is, just nothing.
Well when it comes to physical effort of course that's right, but the real effort seems to come with the developing practice of bare attention or awareness.
So why bother? Well I can attest that there are real benefits to this practice and they seem at first small and subtle but accumulate over time. As the daily practice in the formal sense becomes more regular , it becomes almost a need as those periods of stillness and quiet seem so precious.
The calmness becomes a very welcome product of those episodes of awareness, remembering of course that it is a product of awareness and not its aim. As John Kabatz-Inn says this isn't a "dime store relaxation method". The awareness is the desired aim, but it doesn't always bring calm. I find it can be invaluable in unearthing issues of concern that can be on the edge of my awareness. Issues that seem to niggle and result in agitation or restlessness but never coming to full awareness. However, being with them and allowing to emerge can result in their becoming present and if dealt with by noticing rather than reacting with aversion they can be integrated into awareness.
Of course some discomforts are only to present and a visit to the dentist was perhaps the most trying place to be present in the moment. Yet again a curiosity about the experience and all the sensations , sights and smells was a fascinating time.
More of the daily practice on my next post.

Mindful matters.

So its been a while and I am glad to say its been a positive time. I have found the practice of mindfulness very interesting and also useful. It is strange to think that long journeys commuting to London from here in South Wales can be a place to practice, but they can. With a CD of meditation practices on my IPad, I can use the time to practice my practice!I guess that means so can you if you decide to follow this way of developing mindfulness/awareness.
What though are the tangible benefits? Like many people I find that the practice of "bare attention" can reveal not only much about myself but also much about what surrounds me. Perhaps an example will help.
I undertook my practice as usual in the time between Newport and Bristol on the train. Its a handy 20 minute space where I can close my eyes and practice the breathing exercises that help develop practice.
It was a rather uneventful  journey, and a very grey and drizzly early morning as we approached Didcot on the journey to London. Yet I noticed that looking at the grey skies of Berkshire just how many textures and shades of grey there were in that early morning sky. It was a really positive moment of awareness. It didn't make my journey any quicker , but strangely pleasant.
So there is much to be seen and more to experience if we truly are aware of where and importantly who we are.

It's been a while.

In my last post, I was saying that I had adopted the practice of Mindfulness. I used the Williams and Penman book "Finding peace in a frantic world", it was clear , easy to read and the audio material very helpful. However, I found I needed to really get to grips with this in a more structured way. I enrolled on an 8 week course here in sunny Bridgend for the bargain price of £120!
I think my motivation was to get more information but really I felt the need to be back in a group. I find I spend much of my time working alone and I missed the experience of learning in the company of others. So I enrolled and managed to clear seven out of eight evenings needed to attend.
No surprises in that it entailed practice of mindfulness, reflection on progress and homework. it was great to be back in a group and even nicer not to have to facilitate it but just enjoy it. My fellow students were a mixed bunch of people, many had health problems and real issues of stress and anxiety. I felt a bit of an interloper really as I was not in a similar place, but in the course of the programme I had a bereavement and a health scare that tested my practice.
The course ended and we were invited to attend a full day of practice at a local Friends House (Quakers). that was really enjoyable and required lots of attention. So what now?
I continue with a daily practice of meditation and find it remains beneficial. It seems preferable to be trying to be in a mindful place rather than a mindless one!
I have now offered to facilitate a Mindful Pause at the RCN HQ on world mental health day, and though I cannot teach the practice of Mindfulness I think a taster session will be fine.
I am now considering further training and possibly another formal course and perhaps a direction to consider is becoming a teacher of Mindfulness. there is a path here that could be taken and which I believe could be fruitful.
So sorry for the gap in postings, but I have been busy.

I need help!!

So mindfulness has proved a really useful adjunct to my daily life and indeed at times has really helped with the demands of work and life itself. Yet, its been a struggle at times to realise its benefits when I am not the most consistent of people. I have found breathing spaces absolutely invaluable and cues in my day like waiting for Tubes and green men (at traffic lights, not from space!) to show to allow me to cross the road have been really good to assist the "cracks" in the day to stop and pause.
I have decided now that its time to undergo a formal training course and I intend to start in a few weeks time a 8 week course here in sunny Bridgend.
I will be posting the process and am really keen to see how it will boost my practice and enable me to find the integration I need.
Due to a variety of factors I started my day today with a Breathing Space and it took me 30 minutes to find the peace to consistently note my breathing. I think that shows how I need to practice more and how everyday life and mental "chatter" can be so intrusive and toxic to what we need.
So a possible new direction and further being explored , so more to write soon.

Show less restraint!

Since june of last year I have been busy leading a consultation process for the DH which culminated in a guidance document being launched by Care Services Minister Norman Lamb on the 3rd of April. Its all about reducing restrictive interventions. I guess most people will think of restraint , but its more than that . it can embrace physical but also chemical processes and the most common such as environmental. That's very much about practices such as blanket security processes such as locking areas, denying access to places (kitchens etc) and just being inhibited in what you can do.
But why have these practices crept into place. Its been a 300 year old debate about the balance between freedom and autonomy and the risk to self and others when in places of care and treatment. It remains a distinctive feature of mental health services that we have the ability to compel and coerce and also have a client group that at times wishes to not only endanger others but also themselves to the point of destruction.
I have met many people in this process over the last year that are really trying to do the right thing by those they care for and yet seem frustrated by what they are required to do and also the environment of scrutiny and resources allocated for their role.
Its been a 300 year old journey, but still far from over.

Slip , slop and slide!

Unusual title I know but kind of captures what's been happening over the last six months or so. Its been a long gap and of course I think I have eluded to my difficulty with consistency before. however, all is not lost and I have found my initial training in mindfulness very helpful. Since last I wrote I have been for a job interview (2nd place alas), and yesterday I sat in the car in the M6 for three hours going nowhere but watching my poor car get a bit low on fuel and also rather hot.
it was interesting to note how my anxiety levels were slowly rising as I considered all manner of potential outcomes and yet settled after some very brisk "noticing" to just be there and wait.
So a clear indication for me that mindfulness has everyday utility and also effective.
I will post more shortly about some more ideas (honest)

Week four of Mindfulness training 6/9/13

The observant among you will have seen there is a huge gap in the posting sequence. I am afraid that my annual leave and a return to a busy work schedule has knocked some of this off course. Now that shouldn't have happened and I guess if you value something (or indeed someone) then that's a pretty lame excuse.
However, all is not lost in the world of mindfulness training. I can sense that some learning has occurred and the practice of meditation is really a way or indeed a path to greater awareness of the moment.
I am using a audio recording to practice and it commences with a gentle sounding bell to denote the commencement and the closure of the session.
In the book you are urged to find "bells" in your everyday life that can signal brief moments of clarity and mindfulness. One that it suggests is that of the red man at road crossings when you are walking. It gives you approximately two minutes to note your current situation and root yourself in your breathing
So if you are in London and see a man calmly standing at a red signal despite every one else dashing across then that will probably be me!