Join Us for Mindful Mondays

Why do we struggle in life? That’s a question that many religions, philosophers, and scholars have tried to tackle for centuries. You’d be hard-pressed to find any human being who hasn’t experienced their fair share of pain and difficulty. It often comes in the form of trauma, abuse, neglect, break-ups, betrayals, disappointment, failures, illnesses, loss, and grief.

Regardless of the type or severity of their hardships, people typically find ways to survive. But, unfortunately, some of the ways we adapt our thoughts and behaviors in order to survive get in the way of our ability to thrive.

When we feel pain or discomfort, we tend to try to avoid it, suppress it, or repress it; or, we find some distraction through drugs, alcohol, food, sex, or any number of other substances and activities.

Mindfulness is about bringing unconditional, nonjudgmental attention to our experience in the present moment. Its aim is to help us learn how to tolerate, accept, and even appreciate our pain, and emotional experiences. Mindfulness work teaches us how to really show up in our lives without being constantly distracted by fears of fantasies and without wishing for things to be other than they are.

So, how do we go about this work? There is no one “right” way, but many people begin to cultivate mindfulness through the regular practice of meditation. Many experts believe that you can begin to notice changes in your moods and perceptions with as little as 10 minutes a day of meditation.
That’s why each Monday The Meadows will offer you the opportunity to meditate with one of our experts. Watch The Meadows Facebook page for a live, 10 to 15 minute, guided meditation every week.

 

Guided Meditation on Forgiving

Joyce Willis will be leading our first Mindful Monday session on Oct. 24 at 12:30 Mountain Standard Time (3:30 p.m. Eastern) Joyce is a therapist at The Meadows with 18 years of experience with mindfulness and meditation practices. She began her journey in 1998 when a doctor told her she needed to slow down after suffering a severe asthma attack. She realized that she had spent years trying to be superwoman, and didn’t quite know how to slow down. This led her to pick up Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn’s book Full Catastrophe Living.

Since then, she has trained with Kabat-Zinn and other leaders in the field of mindfulness like Jack Kornfield and Ronald Siegel. Through her Mindful Monday sessions, she hopes to help people connect their emotional, spiritual, mindful, and physiological selves with compassion and respect.

 

Want More Mindfulness?

The Rio Retreat Center at The Meadows offers an incredible, transformational, 5-day workshop on mindfulness called Mind & Heart: A Mindful Path to Wholehearted Living. It is led by The Meadows Medical Director, Dr. Jon Caldwell, whose clinical practice is rooted in the timeless teaching and contemplative traditions of mindfulness meditation.

During the workshop. Dr. Caldwell leads participants through several enlightening presentations and experiential exercises focused on cultivating mindfulness and compassion. Ancient and scientifically-verified practices will be applied in unique ways to help heal past wounds. People with various levels of experience with mindfulness and meditation can benefit from the workshop.

All that is needed is a curious mind, a willing heart, and an intention to heal!
For more information on the Mind & Heart Workshop or on any of The Meadows personal growth workshops, please call 866-457-3202, or reach out online.

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