mindfulness

Cultivating a different relationship with stressful things

MINDFULNESS:
1. Moment to moment non-judgmental awareness
2. Cultivating a more comfortable way of relating with stressful things

Can create struggle over things we can't change
We have these human brains that can think about the past and the future and prevent us from being in this present moment
This very moment, here and now, is what we have
We can add insult to injury if we judge ourselves to be a failure because we add pain
Is my judgment serving me well? Can add to discomfort and stress
Only we can change things is if we are aware: Our habits, thoughts, sensation, emotions
There is a benefit of being aware of experiences moment-by-moment
Cancer itself is not stressful - It's how people deal with it
The stress arises out of how a person RELATES to something
How we relate is the source of struggle and suffering

We have pain and then we add this bad feeling about it
Just allow experience to happen - don't judge it
AWARENESS is the foundation
Not about just having stressors in life, but about how we relate to them
Cannot control what happens - it's here - where we create stress is about how we relate to the reality of the situation - the struggle over the actuality of the experience