Are You on a Mindful Path?
This journey through life is more of a circuitous route than a straight path, and the sense of misdirection can sometimes be confusing. Certainly, there are times when we can all use assistance. We find ourselves depressed, anxious, or simply stuck and seem unable to drag ourselves out of it. An unexpected job loss, an addiction, a break up, serious illness, the death of a loved one or age itself undermines our stability. Or, God forbid, we have been the victim of something horrendous: physical assault, sexual abuse, or some other tragedy. Ideally you could power through your current situation relying of inner strength, spiritual or religious resources, and the support of loved ones. But if that were the case, you probably wouldn’t be reading this.
Therapy is essentially a rebalancing act, and the first move is to find your center so you can go forward in a meaningful way. The present moment is the only place where this can occur, although this is often the last place we look. Instead, we glance backwards, wishing our past, especially our childhood, had been different, or we fantasize a future where we finally achieve our romantic/financial/physical ideals and are happy. Both these scenarios overlook the fact that happiness is to be found not in revisiting the past or imagining a future but in living fully the present moment.
Therapy is not about changing anything essential about you because nothing essential about you can change. Instead, therapy is the journey to discover that essential self, make peace with its limitations, and embrace its possibilities.
Third Wave Therapy
Third wave cognitive behavioral therapies are a group of emerging approaches to psychotherapy that represent an evolution and extension of traditional cognitive behavioral treatment approaches. Third wave therapies prioritize the holistic promotion of psychological and behavioral processes associated with health and well-being over the reduction or elimination of psychological and emotional symptoms, although that typically is a “side-benefit.”
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
ACT is a behaviorally-oriented therapeutic approach that aims to modify how a person relates and responds to their internal experiences (i.e., thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, and urges) in order to more fully engage in values-based behaviors
Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)
Through the practice and application of meditation people learn to cultivate a more mindful approach to experiencing difficult thoughts and emotions in order to develop healthier behavioral patterns
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
DBT is a form of cognitive-behavioral therapy effective in treating intense emotional reactions and relationship difficulties
How I can help
Mary Pipher said, “Happiness is a choice, and it’s a set of skills. And once we’ve made the existential choice to be happy, we can develop the repertoire of skills we need to achieve our goals.” If you’re stuck or looking for new solutions, now is the, time to reach out for help. There is a way out of your present condition, but it will probably require acting and thinking in a different manner than you are currently doing.
I take a mindfulness-based approach combining ancient wisdom systems with modern therapeutic interventions. I believe profoundly there exists a resolution to what you are struggling with, a path to where you want to go. I work with clients to develop concrete strategies that they can apply to whatever challenges they are facing. Along the way, I help my clients develop the skills (that is, the virtues) to live more fully and joyfully in the present.
What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is a state of open, flexible attention on the present moment. When you’re in a state of mindfulness, you are in a state of observation of your internal experiences. You observe your thoughts and feelings from a distance, without judgment, and without intervening or controlling them.
Mindfulness has many synonyms. You could call it awareness, attention, focus, or presence. The opposite, then, is not just mindlessness, but also distractedness, inattention, and disengagement.
Mindfulness can be thought of as both a state of mind and a state of being (or acting). For example, when you practice mindfulness meditation, you’re sharpening your focus and training your brain to be more mindful long after you’re done meditating. When you’re acting mindfully, you are acting with intention and awareness of the entirety of your present-moment experience, both internal (i.e., your mind and body) and external (i.e., your environment).