By Dr. Ron Passfield
Resentment towards another person, organisation or group can hold us captive and lead us to give away control of our emotions to others. It also has the ability to linger and smoulder long after the initial catalyst has passed or even been forgotten. Our resentment may flow from someone or a group that has frustrated … Continue reading “Mindfulness for Overcoming Resentment”
We have so many opportunities to feel joy for others and to extend our desire for their joy to grow and continue. However, we can be held back by feelings of envy or jealousy about their good fortune, especially if it comes at our own expense, e.g. when someone gets “our” carpark spot during the … Continue reading “Feeling Joy for Others”
At the recent 19th International Mental Health Conference, Dr. Shahina Braganza explained how she and her colleagues introduced mindfulness into the Gold Coast Health Emergency Department. Her presentation, oneED – Can we Embed a Wellness Program into a Busy Emergency Department?, was one of the highlights for me at the Mental Health Conference. The wellness … Continue reading “Mindfulness in Busy Workplaces”
Phillip Moffitt, author of Emotional Chaos to Clarity, writes comprehensively in a blog post about the tyranny of expectations. He suggests that expectations lock us into a limited future with a fixed view of desired outcomes. We have expectations of ourselves and of others and they, in turn, have expectations of us. In contrast, possibilities … Continue reading “The Freedom of Possibilities Versus The Tyranny of Expectations”
I was reflecting recently about why I get upset and disappointed when my sporting team loses a match. I become annoyed when I perceive that the refereeing is biased (of course, this perception is strongly influenced by my own bias). In part, I think that my emotional state is influenced by my expectations about how … Continue reading “The Problem with Identification”
Expectations play such a significant place in our lives – we have expectations of ourselves and others in our daily activities. We expect ourselves to be able to perform well (or exceptionally) in our work, our sport and home life. We have expectations of others in terms of their words and actions and the level … Continue reading “Managing Expectations through Mindfulness”
One of the aspects of self-awareness that is important to master is the assumptions we carry with us that impact our thoughts, perceptions, interpretations, emotions and behaviour. We can be aware of the negative impact on us of the assumptions of other people but be blind to our own assumptions and their negative impact on … Continue reading “Identifying Our Assumptions through Mindfulness”
In an earlier post, I described a meditation process for handling fear that Tara Brach described by the acronym, R.A.I.N. – standing for Recognise, Accept, Investigate and Nurture. In the current discussion, I would like to introduce a mindfulness meditation for addressing fear that is discussed and facilitated by Diana Winston. In the meditation podcast, … Continue reading “Handling Fear with Mindfulness”
So much of our daily lives is taken up with focusing on things that are external to ourselves – social media, meetings, conversations about recent events, driving our car or trying to catch a train or bus to work. Our thoughts are often racing as we plan, evaluate and critique. As a consequence, we spend … Continue reading “Focusing Inward to See Clearly”
So often we can be off-balance, caught up in concerns about the future or worry about the past. Alternatively, our minds can be racing from one thought to another. If we lack awareness in the present moment, we will miss opportunities, make poor decisions, create work and stress for ourselves and find that our productivity, … Continue reading “Being Grounded”
