I must not fear.Fear is the mind-killer.Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.I will face my fear.I will permit it to pass over me and through me.And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.Only I will remain. Litany Against Fear from Frank Herbert’s […]
The Litany Against Fear
Mindful Walking
Mindful Walking utilizes mindfulness and ecopsychology as emotional regulation skills. This is especially true if you are able to do this exercise outdoors. Mindful walking may be used to de-fuse potential emotional aggression. If you feel that one of your triggers has been activated, and you can take a break, go outside and do a little mindful walking! The goal […]
Consequences and Letting Go
Consequences and letting go is about recognizing the choices we make that lead to consequences we don’t want to experience. Such choices have a tendency to be self-sustaining. That is because we usually make choices in the belief that those choices will make the problem better. But if we continue to make choices that we know aren’t going to make […]
The Cost-Benefit Analysis Worksheet
The Cost-Benefit Analysis Worksheet can help with difficult choices. Our choices are a consequence of what we can change and what we have to accept. Mindful acceptance teaches us that we can only change ourselves, not others. If others in our lives are causing problems yet they are unwilling to change, then we either have to accept that fact or […]
As I Think, so I Feel
“People feel disturbed not by things, but by the views they take of them.” –Epictetus, 1st Century Philosopher As Epictetus reminds us, as I think, so I feel. Thoughts cause feelings and feelings can cause behaviors if we let them. Events and circumstances serve to trigger thoughts, which then create feelings. Events and circumstances do not cause our feelings. The […]
Mindful Self-Control
“Happiness is the absence of the pursuit of happiness.” –Chuang Tsu Self-control is a requirement for happiness. This quote by Chuang Tsu reminds us that if we are happy, there is no need to pursue happiness, and that if we are pursuing happiness, then it is obvious that we must not be happy! So how can self-control lead to happiness? […]
Mindfulness and Control
“He who angers you conquers you.” -Elizabeth Kenny Mindful Ecotherapy relies on the 7Cs of family resilience. These resilience factors help you to better weather the storms that come with life. The second ‘C’ of the 7Cs of family resilience is “control.” If someone has the ability to anger you, then that person just controlled you. If you allow others […]
Validating vs. Condoning
One of the skills of mindful communication is Validating vs. Condoning. Look at the picture above and describe what you see. Did you see an old lady, or a young lady? If you saw both, which did you see first? Now assume your partner saw the old lady in the picture, and you saw the young lady. Which of you […]
Body Communications
Body communications are a way of learning about how our bodies respond to emotional situations. Automatic processes are processes that we have engaged in so often that we don’t even have to think about them anymore. Remember when you first learned to drive a car? You were probably nervous, trying to remember all the rules of the road, what all […]
Mindful Communication Skills
To be mindful is to be present in the moment. Mindful listening means being present in the conversation, without assumptions or conclusions, and without trying to anticipate what your partner is going to say, or without ‘reading into’ the conversation (assuming things that weren’t really said). Mindful listening is a practice that involves fully focusing your attention on the speaker […]
Translate »