7 Habits of Mindful Perfectionist

7 Stages of Mindful Driving

7 Mindful Research Attitude

Presentation on Mindful-Gym at International Mindfulness Conference, Rome

Slides available from HERE.

International Mindfulness Conference, Rome (8-12/5/2013)

Created with flickr slideshow.

I'm Still Human: Understanding Depression with Kindness

Open publication - Free publishing - More depression

The book is available from HERE or NOW.

PMR Made Clear & Simple

When we are under stress, one of the changes in the body is muscular tension, especially those around the neck, shoulders and face. This can lead to physical pain, restlessness, tiredness and more stress. When the breathing muscles are tensed, it can also lead to difficulty in breathing. Oxygenation of the brain will be poor, and this naturally worsens the stress reaction. One effective way to overcome this is by using a relaxation technique known as Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR). PMR was first introduced by an American physician by the name Dr. Edmund Jacobson. This is an effective technique for relaxing the muscles in the body, which in turn calms the mind. Since its introduction in the nineteen thirties, there have been many versions of PMR. The one introduced here consists of 10 basic postures, and each posture involves alternatively tensing and relaxing a different group of muscles in the body. The subsequent figures and instructions will guide you on the basic steps involved in PMR.

Video available at You Tube from HERE
DVD book available from HERE or NOW.

Mindful-Gym House - Nalanda Family Fun Fair

3G-Gratitude Project

See HERE

M.A.R.S. Workshop

See HERE

FREE Mindful-Gym (2012-2013)

BMHA will be conducting its 4-week Mindful-Gym course FREE for the community starting from 2012. The program is supported by the Ministry of Health (MOH) through the National Health Promotion Board (LPKN). For those of you who are interested to participate in the program, kindly look out for further announcements. Preview of Mindful-GYM.

3G GRATITUDE: Card Game For Cultivating Happiness

For more information

http://www.klbmha.com/mindfulness/3g-gratitude-workout

MINDFUL-Gym Tracks

All 9 tracks can be accessed HERE

MINDFUL-Gym for UPM Medical Students

This was presented on behalf of the Department of Psychiatry at the Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, University Putra Malaysia (UPM) on 1/6/2011. Participation in the 4-week MINDFUL-Gym program (N = 53) was significantly associated with reduced level of stress (GHQ & PSS), increased level of mindfulness (MAAS), and higher marks in the end of psychiatric posting exam. Slides can be downloaded from HERE. Happy MINDFUL-Gyming.

MINDFUL-Gym™ Acronym

MINDFUL-Gym™ Acronym for programming Mindfulness...

Perfectly imperfect acceptance

It's perfectly perfect to be imperfect

It's also perfectly perfect to be perfect

i accept all my imperfections & perfections

but it's perfectly perfect to have imperfect acceptance

-cheng kar & sook chin-

Self-Esteem, Self-Compassion & Non-Self

Self-esteem is a popular mental health concept in western psychology & there has been numerous books written on this topic. However, Buddhist psychology seems to emphasize more on self-compassion & non-self. Are these western & eastern concepts compatible? How can self-compassion & self-acceptance enhance our mental health? What does non-self really mean from a Buddhist perspective? How does it contribute to happiness? The presentation will shed light on this interesting cross-cultural mental health topic. Click HERE for dowloading.

This is a useful link on SELF-COMPASSION
- A. Professor Dr. Kristine Neff's website
http://www.self-compassion.org/

You can download many of the journal papers related to self-compassion from:
https://webspace.utexas.edu/neffk/pubs/listofpublications.htm

How To Forgive Yourself?

Forgive for Good, Fred Luskin, Ph.D. lays out 9 steps to forgiving for you!

1. Know exactly how you feel about what happened and be able to articulate what about the situation is not OK. Then, tell a trusted couple of people about your experience.

2. Make a commitment to yourself to do what you have to do to feel better. Forgiveness is for you and not for anyone else.

3. Forgiveness does not necessarily mean reconciliation with the person that hurt you, or condoning of their action. What you are after is to find peace. Forgiveness can be defined as the “peace and understanding that come from blaming that which has hurt you less, taking the life experience less personally, and changing your grievance story.”

4. Get the right perspective on what is happening. Recognize that your primary distress is coming from the hurt feelings, thoughts and physical upset you are suffering now, not what offended you or hurt you two minutes - or ten years -ago. Forgiveness helps to heal those hurt feelings.

5. At the moment you feel upset practice a simple stress management technique to soothe your body’s flight or fight response.

6. Give up expecting things from other people, or your life, that they do not choose to give you. Recognize the “unenforceable rules” you have for your health or how you or other people must behave. Remind yourself that you can hope for health, love, peace and prosperity and work hard to get them.

7. Put your energy into looking for another way to get your positive goals met than through the experience that has hurt you. Instead of mentally replaying your hurt seek out new ways to get what you want.

8. Remember that a life well lived is your best revenge. Instead of focusing on your wounded feelings, and thereby giving the person who caused you pain power over you, learn to look for the love, beauty and kindness around you. Forgiveness is about personal power.

9. Amend your grievance story to remind you of the heroic choice to forgive.

From Refusing to Forgive: 9 Steps to Break Free
by Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D.

My New Song: Count The Blessings...

Count the blessings
The rainbow of life
Let's put on a smile
With Joy...

Count the blessings
The fragrance of life
Well-come, well-go
The ripples of life

Chorus:

Magic of life, shiny and bright

Should we be light, with the cravings of life

Magic of life, the fireflies of life

Full of wonders, never better

Count the blessings
The music of life
Melody of Journey
To survive...

Count the blessings
The sunshine of life

Goodbye i say

To the shadows of life

Enhancing Mindful Self-Acceptance

Artwork by Rita Loyd

Article by Carson & Langer

(1) Actively observe novel distinctions. The act of observing new distinctions increases positive affect and also increases interest in the event, object, behavior, or situation (Langer & Pietrasz, 1995). Actively noticing new things in the environment (or actively noticing new aspects of things previously taken for granted) is a hallmark of mindful thinking. As active mental exploration becomes a way of life, it becomes easier to explore those aspects of self that have previously been kept hidden or avoided. Active exploration is judgment-free; as individuals continue to actively explore new aspects of self, they will enhance self-acceptance.

(2) Think of yourself as a ‘‘work in progress.’’ When one thinks of oneself in rigid immutable terms (e.g. ‘‘I am no good at math’’ or ‘‘I am not attractive’’) he or she becomes mindless and paves the way for self-fulfilling prophesy. Studies in Ellen Langer’s lab indicated that when rigid words such as ‘‘is’’ and ‘‘am’’ were replaced with ‘‘may be’’ and ‘‘could be,’’ participants responded with increased production and creativity (see Langer & Moldoveanu, 2000, for a review). Individuals can replace rigid words with possibility words in their self-narratives. The very act of replacing the certainty of convictions with the possibility that things ‘‘may be’’ true opens up the possibility that things may not be as one currently interprets them. This, in turn, creates a mindset open to personal change and acceptance.

(3) Contemplate puzzles and paradoxes. Life is full of paradoxes. For example, individuals may both love and hate their parents or their bodies. They may at once feel victimized by—yet responsible for—an illness or a seemingly intolerable situation. Actively thinking about paradoxes increases one’s ability to tolerate ambiguity (and decreases the anxiety associated with uncertainty). Increased tolerance of ambiguity is another hallmark of mindfulness. The contemplation of paradoxes (example: the healing but destructive properties of time) allows one to accept paradox within him- or herself and leads to self-acceptance.

(4) Add humor to the situation. Humor itself relies on mindfulness by forcing people to see a new and unexpected side to a given situation. (This is why a joke already heard and remembered, without being newly considered, is rarely funny.) When individuals notice humorous aspects of themselves or their situation, they are more likely to accept those aspects.

(5) View the situation from multiple perspectives. When people are stuck in a rigid interpretation of their situation, they are less likely to be accepting of it. One way to become more mindful is to try to view problems from the perspective of different individuals. This may include the perspective of others involved in the situation (and, if appropriate, the humorous perspective of fictional observers, such as a dentist or a hairdresser).

(6) Consider alternative understandings of problematic aspects of yourself. How many ways can a ‘‘negative’’ aspect of self be viewed as useful? In what contexts could the problematic factor be considered beneficial? All problems can be seen as useful in some contexts. Viewing purported negative aspects of oneself or one’s life as having a silver lining may serve to increase self-acceptance. The difference between an ordeal and an adventure may be in how one looks at it.

(7) Keep a catalog of moments of joy. The catalog can be written descriptions of joyful moments, photographs, or simply a mental file of memories that are easily accessible. Keep the catalog handy and open it often. A growing body of research indicates that an increase in positive mental state, even a mild increase such as one experiences from remembering positive events, markedly influences mental flexibility and creative problem solving (Langer, Janis, & Wolfer, 1975; also see Isen, 2000 for a review). The accumulation of moments of joy helps one to be accepting and grateful for his or her experiences.

(8) Start a ‘‘mindfulness’’ journal. Make a point to begin or end each day by writing down the significant events of the day. Look back on the events with the purpose of observing new things and new perspectives about them. Practice at mindfully viewing events and situations in retrospect will enhance the ability to mindfully experience events and situations at the time they occur. Keeping a journal also helps individuals to observe continuity and direction in their lives, enhancing self-acceptance.

Carson, S., & Langer, E. (2004). Mindful practice for clinicians and patients.
In L. Haas (Ed.), Handbook of primary care psychology (pp. 173–186).
London: Oxford.