Unconditional Presence: a path to healing and authenticity

                “If your everyday practice is to open to all your emotions, to all the people
             you meet, to all the situations you encounter, without closing down, trusting
             that you can do that…then that will take you as far as you can go…and then
            you will understand all the teachings that anyone has ever taught."  
                                                                                                                    Pema Chodron


                    
                                           

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          What is Mindfulness?

         Mindfulness is an ancient Buddhist practice which helps us cultivate an appreciation
         for each moment we are alive.  By focusing our awareness on the breath we can learn to
         be present in our bodies and witness the thoughts, sensations and emotions that move
         through us.  This does not require us to be Buddhists as all religions and spiritual practices
         teach some form of meditation, contemplation, centering prayer, or silent practice, to help
         us connect with the deeper source of our being.  

          In psychosynthesis, a transpersonal psychology created by Roberto Assagioli, we are taught
         that, "I have a body but I am not my body, I have feelings but I am not my emotions, I have
         thoughts but I am not my thoughts. I am more than my body, my thoughts and emotions;
         I am a souce of pure consciousness."  Indeed, as we develop what I refer to as a "witness" we
         come to ask, "If we can observe our bodies, our emotions and our thoughts, who is it that is
         doing  the observing?  

         In mindfulness-based psychotherapy we begin by creating a place of curiosity, spaciousness,
         non-judgment,  and inner stillness and observe what needs attention in our lives from there.
         We have all heard the saying, "that you can't solve a problem on the same level it was created"
         or received a solution, seemingly, "out of the blue" after we finally gave up tryng to fix it with
         our mind.  We may still need to leave a relationship that isn't working , find a new job or cope
         with an unexpected illness, but we will have access to a larger picture than we would if we were
         trapped in our thoughts, or filtering the experience through a prism of old hurt.  With practice
         and an attitude of self-compassion we begin to  notice how recurring,  unintegrated  thoughts
         and old wounds can cause us to create the same painful, self-defeating experiences over and
         over again.    

         At some point in our journey we realize that other people can inspire and support us, but     
         ultimately, the answers and guidance we are looking for has to come from within our own heart; 
        our own inner knowing and connection to the universal whole.   We realize that the thoughts,
        emotions and body sensations we observe are just passing through; that nothing is solid state
        or permanent and it makes little sense to identify our Being with transitory experiences.  
        What we have that is real and lasting is this gift of pure awareness  and the present moment. 

       

        "Be the silent watcher of your thoughts and behavior. You are beneath the thinker.
     You are the stillness beneath the mental noise.  You are the love and joy beneath
     the pain."    Eckhart Tolle