MULTI-MINDFULNESS: AN INNER BALANCE

Integrating mBraining and mindfulness into multi-mindfulness.

Mindfulness is incredibly popular these days, whether it is in education, in work, to reduce stress, find calmness, enhance learning or improve performance. The research is growing to show how effective mindfulness can be, to help you manage your life on a day to day basis.

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is incredibly simple and gentle. It is not really a technique, more a way of being that you cultivate and learn. Mindfulness is all about being fully aware, here and now – not to change anything or to judge – just to notice in the moment. And it takes practice.

What is mBraining?

mBraining is a new field of human development and understanding developed by Grant Soosalu and Marvin Oka. They have developed a set of techniques, called

‘multiple Brain Integration Techniques’ (mBIT), which puts this new knowledge and theory of mBraining into practice, using your multiple brains – head, heart and gut.

Is mindfulness missing its full potential?

As a Master Trainer and Master Coach of mBraining (using your multiple brains – head, heart and gut), as well as being a Mindfulness facilitator, I (Suzanne) was curious if both fields could be integrated into Multi-Mindfulness practices to enhance awareness even further. I was curious to discover the way Western mindfulness has brought us to a ‘head based’ mindfulness and that it might be missing its full potential. So, I approached the co-developer of mBraining, Grant Soosalu to co-write this article to give another perspective.

Integrating mBraining and Mindfulness into Multi-Mindfulness.

So, what would multi-mindfulness look like and feel like? How can we bring greater awareness to our heart and gut, as well as to our thinking? What would life be like if we had calmness and presence at all levels of intelligence?

Mindfulness is all about being fully here and now, experiencing and attending to all that is in this precious moment, noticing without judging it, right or wrong, just experiencing, accepting and appreciating all that is. It’s about systematic appreciation and understanding. It comes from an intention to be fully awake, fully present in your body with a deep sense of interoceptive awareness (a measure of body awareness and the internal state of the body, for example a persons’ awareness of their heartbeat).

So, what is Multi-Mindfulness and how we can create a daily practice? 1. Getting started.

Becoming aware of your breathing is a great way to start a mindfulness practice. A multi-mindfulness practice is no different. Sitting in a comfortable position, put your attention on your breathing. Not with the intention of changing it, but just noticing and experiencing it more fully. Noticing the speed, the depth, the rhythm.

Spend two minutes just noticing your breathing.

2. Moving attention to the heart.

Now move your attention to the area around your heart. You can even place the flat of the palm of your right hand over your heart area, so you can physically feel your heart-beat with your hand. Just notice what you can feel and what you can sense from the heart.

Again, the intention is not to change anything here – but just to listen and feel deeply to be aware of the intelligence that is your heart – to become conscious of this beautiful area of your being.

Spend two minutes listening and feeling deeply into your heart, being conscious in your heart.

3. Moving attention to the gut.

Now move your attention to your abdominal cavity. Again, spend two minutes paying attention here. Place your attention deep down into the softest part of your belly and just notice what you notice.

Maintain an intention of curiosity, gentleness and calmness, an openness that is accepting of whatever you notice, feel free to just notice whatever you notice.

These three actions are the basics of Multi-Mindfulness.

It is as simple as that and a starting point for taking back control. To bring you back to a quiet stillness, an equilibrium, an inner balance and an awareness from which you can be even more deeply conscious and allow wiser choices to emerge to bring equilibrium to your life as you re-enter daily reality.

Do get in touch and let us to know what differences you have discovered using Multi-Mindfulness.

Dr Suzanne Henwood is the Director and Lead Coach and Trainer of mBraining4Success. Grant Soosalu is a co-developer of mBraining. Suzanne is also the CEO of The Healthy Workplace and a Master Trainer and Master Coach of mBIT (Multiple Brain Integration Techniques) and can be contacted via her website.