“Finding peace is about meeting life, no matter what arises, with an open and responsive heart. It is steadiness of mind and a calm understanding that allows us to be with the constant changing and shifting landscapes of our world. Peace does not mean indifference or apathy, rather it is a spaciousness of mind that empowers loving-kindness and compassion.” SHARON SALTZBERG
Why does resilience matter? “Resilience has been described as the “capacity to remain flexible in our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors when faced by life disruption, or extended periods of pressure, so that we emerge from difficulty stronger, wiser, and more able” (Pemberton, 2015, p. 2). (From PositivePsychology. READ MORE HERE) And, as psychology recognizes, resilient individuals going through significant life events do not always recover effortlessly; they often find a new path. Even when knocked by what has happened, the darkest times can lead to growth. (Neenan, 2018)
How does mindfulness meditation strengthen our ability to meet the moment and build our resilience so that we can continue on and meet the next moment? This inquiry has been so alive with me with so much sorrow across the planet in the face of tragedy, both man-made and nature-made.
Mindfulness practices of meditation, deep breathing, and conscious relaxation train us to focus our attention on the present moment with an attitude of non-judgement, or kindness. This skill helps us all meet life’s challenges but particularly when paired with practices that focus on accepting difficult thoughts, feelings, and sensations without reacting in unhelpful or unhealthy ways. We build our ability to access compassion, for ourselves and for all beings.
“Recent research shows that “mindful people can better cope with difficult thoughts and emotions without becoming overwhelmed or shutting down (emotionally). Pausing and observing the mind may (help us) resist getting drawn into wallowing in a setback.” Put another way, mindfulness “weakens the chain of associations that keep people obsessing about” problems, freeing up the capacity for positive emotions and solutions. That’s the conclusion of researchers Badri Bajaj and Neerja Pande. Writing in the journal Personality and Individual Differences. Their research confirms that psychological resilience is more pronounced in mindful people”. (From “What is resilience and Why is it Important to Bounce Back” in PositivePsychology, Jeremy Sutton, Ph.D.)
Freeing up our mental, emotional and physical energy gives us more space to access and savor the positive and creative emotions of hope, happiness and even joy, enables us to be more present with family, friends and colleagues and to find the big solutions together to the challenges at hand. And that’s a beautiful thing!
“Discovering more joy, does not, I’m sorry to say, save us from the inevitability of hardships and heartbreaks. In fact, we may cry more easily, but we will laugh more easily too. Perhaps we are just more alive. As we discover more joy, we can face suffering in a way that ennobles rather than embitters. We have hardship without becoming hard. We can have heartbreak without becoming broken.” BISHOP DESMOND TUTU
Come join me for Mindfulness Practice Monday evenings on Zoom! All are welcome for these small group, free, donation based practice sessions. Contact meHERE for more information. ✨🙏✨ Deb
Deb Cook’s Deep Peace Practice 