like a good coach (“It takes a while to perform well at this new job. Do your best, but take it one day
at a time.”).
Session 2: Practicing Mindfulness
Session 2 introduces the theory and practice of mindfulness. Mindfulness is “awareness of present
experience with acceptance”
, but that isn’t our usual mode of operating. During much of our
lives, we’re preoccupied with problems that arose in the past and problems that may occur in the
future – regret and worry. This was probably a good evolutionary strategy for survival but it isn’t a
prescription for happiness. Therefore, we begin session 2 by introducing the “default mode
network” – brain regions that are activated whenever we’re distracted and the mind wanders, which
it usually does after a few seconds of meditatio
. Inevitably, we experience more stress when
the mind is wandering than when it’s focused on present-moment experience.
The default mode network activates a sense of “I”, “me” and “mine”, which introduces duality into
our lives and differentiates our personal needs and expectations from what’s happening in the
present moment. And the more we fight or resist what’s occurring in our experience (“This should
not be happening!!!”), the more we suffer. The formula is: Suffering = Pain X Resistance. For
example:
By fighting sleeplessness, we can create insomnia
By fighting anxiety, we can create panic
By fighting grief, we can develop depression
By fighting back pain, we can create chronic pain syndrome
By fighting your daughter’s lousy boyfriend, you get a lousy son-in-law!
Pain is inevitable in life; suffering is optional. Mindfulness is the opposite of resistance; it’s a
methodology to reduce unnecessary resistance and suffering.
There are 3 skills we can learn under the umbrella of mindfulness meditation, at least as it’s
practiced in the western hemisphere
1. Focused attention – concentration
2. Open monitoring – mindfulness
per se
3. Loving-kindness and compassion
Focused attention calms the mind: We practice concentration to help anchor our attention when it’s
being buffeted by strong emotions. Open monitoring expands our field of awareness so we can
know what is happening
as
it is happening. This helps us notice if we’re getting carried away by a
dramatic storyline, and helps us let go of our resistance to the reality of the present moment.
Loving-kindness and compassion are means to comfort and soothe ourselves through the
inevitable pain of life. While mindfulness is aimed at experience itself, compassion is aimed at the
experiencer
who is suffering.
In session 2, we teach MSC participants not only to meet their experience with awareness, but
also with tender, warmhearted or loving awareness. A core meditation of the MSC program is
371
