03 Sep Welcome
Hello and welcome to my blog page! I love to share not only my knowledge, but also my own experiences with you. As I sat down to write what would be my first blog entry for my website, I felt it was important to express the meaning of my practice. I try to live my life with intention and purpose and my work is no exception!
Life is full of distractions that keep us from being present in the moments of our life–distractions are anything that pulls us away from the life we want to live. They can be external, such as noise, activity, other people, material things, approval, and achievement; but they can also be internal, such as feelings of shame, anger, worry, and thoughts or judgements about ourselves or others. Unfortunately, we cannot control the presence of distractions in our lives, but we can control where we focus our attention. Learning to pay closer attention to the present moment in particular is how we practice mindfulness.
Mindfulness has gained support in research over the last several years and is being used in a number of different approaches to therapy such as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to name a few. Psychologists, teachers and coaches are also teaching mindfulness as a life skill to manage stress or anxiety and increase focus. For me, mindfulness is like being still; this does not necessarily mean free from movement or thought–although that is also sometimes necessary but being in an internal state of calmness and peace, despite all the crazy distractions that might be going on around me.
Traditionally, the word “still” can be understood to mean peaceful, quiet, or calm; but “still” can also describe something that is enduring and present “in spite of” or “even though”. When water has ripples and waves, the images it reflects are distorted. However, when it is still, water reflects objects exactly as they are. I aspire for Still Waters to be a place where you can learn the skills you need to calm the water so that you can see a true reflection of yourself and that which surrounds you. When you know how to calm the water, you can be in a place of stillness and peace in spite of what is going on around you. Stillness is where healing takes place through learning about yourself more deeply in the pursuit of a life that is more purposeful and meaningful.
No Comments