MountainGate Therapy
Mark Rinzan Pechovnik LCSW
Mindfulness ...
Mindfulness describes the state of being present. In mindfulness we stay with what is, rooted in calmness and confidence. It is not a cure-all but the foundation from which the investigation of our lives can begin.
We are not born into a mindful state of being, nor should we expect ourselves to automatically stay with our present experience. A child’s attention wanders just as does an adult’s. Mindfulness is a learned skill. It can be acquired only through practice, time and experience.
No one can teach mindfulness unless they practice it. Indeed, just as laughter is infectious, we experience an increased sense of awareness just by being in the presence of a someone practiced in mindfulness. In our therapeutic relationship, mindfulness is experienced in the room together, setting the stage for a safe and grounded exploration of your life.
Try to be mindful, and let all things take their natural course. Then your mind will become still in any surroundings, like a clear forest pool.
- Ajhan Cha
When we can sit and understand and appreciate our own lives, we can take better care of ourselves. In taking care of ourselves better, we can care for those we love in the most skillful and productive way. When we create space for ourselves so that we can live fully and freely, we can let others live more fully and freely as well.
Scientific Research ...
“... Research suggests that people with higher levels of mindfulness are better able to regulate their sense of well-being by virtue of greater emotional awareness, understanding, acceptance, and the ability to correct or repair unpleasant mood states (Baer et al., 2008; cf. Brown, Ryan, & Creswell, 2007; Feldman et al., 2007). The ability to skillfully regulate one’s internal emotional experience in the present moment may translate into good mental health long-term.” - Jeffrey M. Greeson, Ph.D., M.S.Mindfulness Research Update: 2008 .
“... Work over the past twenty-eight years has shown consistent, reliable, and reproducible demonstrations of major and clinically relevant reductions in medical and psychological symptoms across a wide range of medical diagnoses, including many different chronic pain conditions [Kabat-Zinn, 1982; Kabat-Zinn, Lipworth and Burney, 1985; Kabat-Zinn et al, 1986], other medical diagnoses [Kabat-Zinn and Chapman-Waldrop, 1988]; and in medical patients with a secondary diagnosis of anxiety and/or panic [Kabat-Zinn et al, 1992; Miller et al, 1995], over the eight weeks of the MBSR intervention, and maintenance of these changes in some cases for up to four years of follow-up.” University of Massachusetts Medical School - http://www.umassmed.edu/Content.aspx?id=42426
The practice of mindfulness increases choices. Learning to be with what is
allows us to make the next best move.