Tag: Full Catastrophe Living

An Evening With Jon Kabat-Zinn – Part 2

“As long as you’re breathing, there’s more right with you than wrong.” Jon Kabat-Zinn delivered the first Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course in an American hospital in 1979. It was originally designed to catch people falling through the cracks of the healthcare service, a clinic in the form of a course, helping people with all manner of conditions. It gave patients hope and empowerment, and treated them as people, not diagnoses or body parts, re-establishing the common humanity that can easily be lost within healthcare. Jon and his colleagues successfully brought meditation into medicine, an idea that is continuing to develop with life changing results. Since then, similar eight week mindfulness courses have spread around the world, not limited to healthcare. 145 MPs have completed an MBSR course; perhaps the wisdom will start filtrating Parliament? “Human beings are technologically phenomenal. Why can’t we take care of people? Why can’t we realise what the causes of suffering may be before we create the catastrophes, and address them?”Jon said. “Much of our diet is the news and there seems to be fantastic compassion after events, but zero wisdom beforehand.” He suggested localised greed, hatred and delusion are often motivators, which we need to move beyond if we are to change. “How do you know if you’re doing harm unless you’re awake, you’re mindful, you’re heartful?”Read More

An Evening With Jon Kabat-Zinn – Part 1

My formal mindfulness practice began five years ago when I read ‘Full Catastrophe Living’ by Jon Kabat-Zinn, ‘the father of mindfulness’. I quickly discovered the positive impact this had on my health and wellbeing. It was a large part of my jigsaw puzzle that until then had been missing. It is perhaps no coincidence that it came during the same year when the rest of my life had been taken to pieces; I was being forced to contemplate a new way of being in light of a neurological diagnosis and complete change of life circumstance, and Jon’s work opened the door to what continues to be a wonderful, nourishing and inspiring journey. Jon’s presence can be felt even through his books and recordings, and it has always been a dream of mine to experience it in real life, to meditate with him and have the opportunity to thank him for the profound influence he had on me at an incredibly difficult time.Read More

‘What do I need?’ – A Technique for Self-Care

Consciously Connected - what do I need?

George is a middle-aged man who lives in the States. He has a severe, progressive condition that affects all aspects of his day to day life, yet he is functioning on a higher level than many others with comparable disease. George practises mindfulness and is included as a case study in ‘Full Catastrophe Living’ by Jon Kabat-Zinn. ‘Within the limits of his disease, he is actively meeting life’s challenges rather than sitting at home and bemoaning his fate. He takes each moment as it comes and figures out how he can work with it and stay relaxed and aware.’ An example of this is how George does the weekly grocery shop for himself and his wife. He takes his time. He rests. He asks for help when necessary. He gets the shopping packed into light bag loads which he is then able to lift from the trolley to the car. The daily tasks he completes in this way bring value and meaning to his life as he is able to contribute to the running of his household, whilst self-managing his condition. Read More