Find peace, practice mindfulness
Try something for a second. Look at the photo. Hold your paper or your device. Take a breath that moves your belly button. Release it and enjoy that and only that, just for a moment. You’re done.
This story could end here. If it were only that easy. But, instead, as soon as you read “You’re done,” the rest of the day came crashing in: You couldn’t do it and got frustrated, you have a billion things to do, you hear voices, you have to make plans, to-do lists, note the time, tend the coffee maker. It might be a busy day. Easter requires much from many in the name of celebration: dinners, baskets, eggs, visits, services.
But if you’re still with me, perhaps you know there’s a lot of talk in our culture these days about a concept called “mindfulness.” No less than The New York Times, Time Magazine and Oprah have devoted barrels of ink and forests of trees to the value of appreciating the present moment.
Sounds easy. And it is, in some ways, exceedingly simple, to say nothing of inexpensive.
Yet entire publications, websites, books and classes are devoted to helping us practice the art of letting go — of our suffering, stress, negative emotions — to become more grateful, at peace, positive, content; we are to sit quietly, detach our emotions and watch, become more “mindful” of a moment: the taste of coffee, the feeling of the mug, the feel of the air, the sound of the birds, the chatter of others — all without judgment, because the world is what it is, and the sooner we accept ourselves in this moment, the sooner we can see its beauty. Did you get all that? Or did it sound like mumbo jumbo?
How about this: “With technology there is so much we’re putting into our brains that our souls have not caught up,” said Jane Ellen Nickell, 58, chaplain at Allegheny College, which devoted the 2016-17 school year to the concept of mindfulness. “We crave time to let it sink in, to just take time. “A lot of people are dis- covering that,” she said.
Allegheny invited speakers in, including a neurolo- gist, artists, Buddhists, psychologists, musicians, Ti- betan monks and poets, all of whom use or have seen the benefits of mindfulness in their work.
Elsewhere, professional therapists use mindfulness in their practices, schools are experimenting with using mindfulness with unruly children, artists are incorporating what they see when they are in a mindful state and corporations are teaching their employees mindful practices to reduce stress and improve well-being.
Scott Boyd, 46, a licensed professional counselor in Erie, uses mindfulness in his practice, The Counselors Inn. “It means I’m centered on my client, not only on them, but what’s in them,” he said. “I’m looking to see what they are in the present, not their life before, but looking to become aware of their irrational thoughts and how it relates back to what they do.”
He said it’s not about labeling a disorder and applying a treatment or technique, but mindfully watching for the hiccups in their thought process — without judgment. “It allows for me to help in a therapeutic way to bring them into congruence with themselves,” Boyd said. “It requires empathy. Being able to put yourself in their situation in an unconditional, positive regard. It’s necessary to help someone grow and open up to becoming who they are.”
That “mindful watching,” he said, has grown out of Americans’ exposure to Asian beliefs and traditions and is being used in stress reduction for people with cancer, in pain control, even in military training. “It’s about being, not doing,” Boyd said.
Ties to faith
Mindful practice — and it takes practice — isn’t the sole realm of Asian teachings. Every faith incorporates quiet moments of self-reflection, according to Erie Benedictine Sister Anne McCarthy, 60, of Erie.
“For me, quiet, contemplative prayer is part of my lectio (daily mindful) practice,” McCarthy said. “It’s a sitting prayer where we focus on a word, on a breath and that’s a very ancient Christian practice.
“Some people call it the prayer of quiet. We read, reflect, pray, respond and then be in stillness, be in quiet and then respond in action.
“That’s a classic Christian prayer.”
She said even after decades of such practice, it takes work. “It involves calling your mind back continuously,” she said. “When I let myself get caught up in my to-do list and shoulds and projects I wish I had done, I spin out into that.”
She said you don’t have to have any religion to benefit from mindful practice.
“You can have very deep powerful mindful practice that doesn’t have a spiritual aspect,” she said. “Doesn’t have to be about a relationship with God. It’s listening with the heart to what really is.”
She agrees with Boyd that mindful practice breeds empathy for others. “Beauty, pain, suffering, joy of another person,” she said. “I can be present to what’s happening with them in my own body and in my own heart.” Leaving time for mindful moments can bring the meaning of the day into focus.
“Prayer or contemplative practices can open our hearts more deeply to the reality of the suffering, the hope, the joy, the love in the present moment,” McCarthy said. Mindfulness, McCarthy said, is about seeing the beauty of what’s right in front of you.