‘There’s two ways to wash the dishes. You can wash the dishes in order to clean the dishes or wash the dishes in order to wash the dishes.’ Thich Nhat Hhan.

Mindfulness seems to be the buzzword in Psychotherapy…. and life.

Core Process Psychotherapy is Mindfulness based, there is an understanding that awareness and mindfulness is inherently healing.

To be aware and mindful of the present moment is a beautiful tool to freedom. Instead of reacting in a mindless state of habitual behavior, there is a chance to feel what is happening with awareness and create room for the feeling to be present and pass rather than holding on to it and staying in the pain and suffering that it can cause.

‘All things being equal, I chose the man who salts his food before he salts it ‘ JP Morgan

This really is a great example of noticing before doing, bringing space into a situation

One of the easiest tools to start becoming mindful is by doing 5 minutes each day of mindful breathing. Just sit somewhere quietly with you fit firmly on the ground and feeling connected to the floor, close your eyes and gently concentrate on your breath. As you breathe in quietly say ‘In’ in your head and as you breath out say ‘Out’. If your mind starts to wander which it is very likely to do, just come back to your breath . As your mind settles you can start increasing the time.

If you would like to deepen this further, a highly recommended book by my clients is ‘Mindfulness: Finding Peace in a Frantic World’ it comes with a CD and offers a very useful 8 week course in Mindfulness.