Tag: mentoring

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Mindfulness Mentoring

Mindful Insights Feedback

I get heaps of positive feedback from people who subscribe to my 52 week mentoring service called Mindful Insights. Below is a recent example.

Hi John
Regarding Mindful Insight week 41, you wanted to know my definition of mindful practice. My definition of mindful practice is to let your heart, mind and spirit be constantly open, accepting life in a mindful way and being able to silence yourself when necessary. I use mindful practice every day. Whenever my mind starts to wonder, I say a little prayer and then return back to the present. I don’t take my phone anymore with me when I leave the house for shopping or out catching up with friends. If I have visitors, my phone is on silent in my bedroom so I can be present with my guests.
The first thing I do every morning is be grateful for being alive and healthy, grateful for all I have and grateful my family is good. Before I hop into the shower, I always take a look outside my back window and look at nature. It always puts a smile on my face, seeing the weather, the birds and the large dam that I back onto. Rainy days don’t make me sad, I actually love them because it brings everything to life. I water my vegetable garden before I go to work, it gives me a sense of peace watching my vegetables grow daily. In summer, I never wear foot wear in my front or back yard, as I love to feel the grass under my feet.
I feel a lot calmer in myself. I appreciate all nature now, I even take out spiders from the house and place them in the grass or garden these days. I have even converted my husband into doing this. Driving to and from work, it is an hour drive each way, I am present in the way that I either appreciate the sun shining through the car window or I appreciate the rain landing on my front window. Whenever it is raining, I always have a tendency to walk in the rain to feel the drops onto my skin, everyone thinks I am mad but I love the feel of being alive.
I am mindful when I cook as I now do it with patience and love. I always do my cleaning with pleasure. I do love cleaning though. And I make sure when entertaining that I am 100% present and enjoy and give out as much love and presence as I can. I now no longer judge people like I used to and being mindful allows me to respond rather than react. I always make sure when I am at the supermarket, that I go to a checkout where there is a person at the register. I always answer them if they ask how I am and I always ask them how they are and I listen to their answer.
Whenever I went swimming, I did lots overseas, I felt the cold water as I slowly walked into the ocean, noticing the saltiness on my skin as I dried in the sun. I sat there, watching the families around me playing in the ocean, noticing the warmth on my skin, the noise around me and the smell of the ocean. I do tend to stop lately, pause and soak up all the atmosphere around me when I am out and about.
I am so grateful for this course as I know I am now a completely different person and everyone can see the big change in me.
Kind Regards – Carmen

In My Certificate Course, You’ll Learn How to:

  • Tune into the deep intuitive wisdom that lies within you
  • Embrace new and exciting change in an empowering way
  • Overcome the false beliefs that people and society have embedded in you
  • Awaken to the power of merging the brain and the heart to make decisions that are true and meaningful
  • Build positive and loving relationships
  • Solve existing problems in your relationships
  • Learn mindfulness mentoring skills to help others
  • Create pathways to a life of happiness and abundance
  • And so much more!

More info about my 1 year mentoring service here. Mindfully Yours – John Shearer MM

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Mindfulness

True Essence of Mindfulness

https://youtu.be/yQXrt1Qf-yg

This two minute clip by Jon Kabat-Zinn explains the true essence of mindfulness. The following snippet is from my mentoring service Mindful Insights:

True mind·ful·ness (2017) – A mental state achieved by focusing our awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment. True mindfulness is characterised mainly by acceptance of our thoughts and feelings without judging whether they are right or wrong. True mindfulness focuses our mind on what is being sensed moment-by-moment, rather than ruminating on the past or the future. The ‘ful’ in mindfulness means being fully present.

My all time favourite definition is from 2009 when I trained to be an ACT Therapist with Dr Russ Harris [writer of The Happiness Trap (which I highly recommend)]:

“Mindfulness is a transformative mental state of awareness which involves focusing our attention with flexibility, openness, and curiosity.”

This simple definition tells us three important things:

  1. mindfulness is a process of awareness, not thinking. It involves paying attention to our experience in this moment as opposed to being caught up in thoughts. In a mindful state, we can let difficult thoughts and feelings freely flow through us, without getting all caught up in them or pushed around by them, and without getting into a struggle with them.
  2. mindfulness involves a particular attitude: one of openness and curiosity. Even if our experience in this moment is difficult, painful or unpleasant, we can be open to and curious about it instead of running from, fighting with or trying to avoid it. [eg: with alcohol or drugs (legal or illegal)]
  3. mindfulness involves flexibility of attention: the ability to consciously direct, broaden or focus attention on different aspects of experience. We can use mindfulness to ‘wake up,’ connect with ourselves and appreciate the fullness of each moment of life. We can use it to improve our self-knowledge – to learn more about how we feel, think and react. We can use it to connect deeply and intimately with the people we care about, including ourselves. And we can use it to consciously influence our own behaviour and increase our range of responses to the world we inhabit. It is the actions of living consciously – a profound way to enhance psychological resilience and increase life satisfaction.

Be Mindful… Pause… Connect! Yours in Awareness Always! – John

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Mindfulness

Benefits of a Mindful Practice

Feedback about the Benefits of a Mindful Practice

I have been receiving excellent feedback from people who have subscribed to my Mindful Insights Mentoring Service. My favourite comment, “It’s great having only one thing to work on each week.” Some of the benefits mentioned are:

  • “Helps me reduce stress.”
  • “Helps me to be in touch with my emotions, but not ruled by them.”
  • “Helps me to be more balanced.”
  • “Helps me live a better life and enjoy the life I have.”
  • “Starts my day off right.”
  • “I feel more creative.”
  • “Helps me to focus on what’s important.”
  • “I am less reactive.”
  • “Helps me sleep better.”
  • “Greater control over my life.”
  • “More peace.”
  • “Makes me feel better mentally and physically.”
  • “Helps me focus on the good things in life.”
  • “My decision making is clearer.”

Mindfulness is not a cure or quick fix. It is a process that requires practice, that’s why it is called a mindful practice. The hardest thing to do when I started my practice was remembering to practice! Several people have commented how they love receiving an insight every Friday. They read over the weekend and practice throughout their week.

I have retired as a mentor with Juvenile Justice to focus on establishing Mindfulness Mentoring Institute. I devote my mornings to teaching and coaching sessions and keep my afternoons appointment free to receive phone and skype calls. Please feel welcome to call for an obligation free chat about my certificate course or mentoring service. I am available 7 days between noon & 4pm NSW time. Phone 0418 864 162

My main message: Be Mindful… Pause… Connect!
Mindfully Yours with Love, Joy & Peace Always! – John

Categories
Mindfulness

Mindfulness Masters

Elephant MM Logo1

What does it mean to be a mindfulness master? What are the qualities of a mindfulness master? Insightful, kind and loving come to mind but it’s hard to be sure unless we ourselves are masters. I started my mindful practice in 2009 and also started an intensive five year study into the many aspects of mindfulness. In 2014, I wrote a book called Mindful Actions and have witnessed many lives transformed through mindful practice. Here is a list of the most prominent qualities that mindfulness masters aspire to. Keep in mind that there are many stages to go through to become a master and everyone, both men and women alike, are somewhere on their path to mindfulness mastery.

  1. Loving, Kind and Empathic

Mindfulness masters are loving, kind and empathic. They genuinely care about other people, regardless of whether people care about them in return. Masters know that other people provide them with the spiritual nourishment needed to continue growing. They fully realise that everyone and everything is their teacher. Masters are so full of love that it has no choice but to overflow to all around them.

  1. Open-Minded and Insightful

Mindfulness masters are open-minded and insightful. They are able to see the world with clarity, without attachment to preconceived ideas about people, places and things. This enables them to observe the world without judgement or jumping to conclusions. Limiting beliefs are replaced with clarity of vision and understanding the bigger picture.

  1. Inner Strength

Mindfulness masters have great inner strength. They have learned intuitive ways of connecting with people and skillful ways of connecting with source energy within. Masters draw inner strength from our divine creator and understands their connection to life itself. They no longer have a need for the power struggles that most people engage in.

  1. Presence

Mindfulness masters are fully present with everyone they encounter. They have developed their own mindful practice and are very skilful in maintaining presence and awareness in all their relationships. Masters use all five physical senses and understand the concept of the silent observer or sixth sense. They trust in the intuitive process, not only from people but also from the energy that is connected to life itself. Masters realise that intuition speaks into the silence between their thoughts.

  1. Leadership

Mindfulness masters lead by example. Having awakened to the point of understanding the nature of suffering, they are committed to helping other people find freedom from suffering. They lead with love and cooperation, rather than fear and control. People follow them because of who they are and what they stand for. Masters value empathy and listening skills very highly as leadership traits.

  1. Happy

Mindfulness masters are happy and joyful. They have a cheerful disposition and are willing to share their joy with others. Masters understand that happiness isn’t the destination… happiness is the journey! They are always optimistic that challenges have a resolution. Masters are also very proficient at turning negatives into positives.

  1. Ordinary

Mindfulness masters are unpretentious. They know their place in the universe, and don’t need validation from others. Masters have nothing to prove to anyone, including themselves. They’re humble nature allows them to be kind and gentle, and be open to everyone they encounter.

  1. Patient and Understanding

Mindfulness masters are patient and understanding. They have learnt to be patient through their own journey. Masters understand that things happen when they are meant to and that the next step comes at the right time. They understand the challenges of creating a rich, full and meaningful life and never condemn people for their missteps or mistakes.

  1. Peaceful and Easygoing

Mindfulness masters are peaceful and easygoing. This is because they are free of fear and other unwholesome emotions. They know that the human condition reaches beyond physical existence, so they no longer have any fear of the unknown. Masters are free of worry because they understand that inner peace comes from within, and not from external happenings. They also have freedom from suffering because they know that inner peace does not depend on material possessions or abundance.

  1. Emotionally Stable

Mindfulness masters are emotionally stable because they no longer have an ego that needs validation. They don’t get angry because they are understanding and compassionate toward those who have not yet fully awakened. Masters understand that the actions of others are often not the actions of their authentic self but actions from their egoic nature.

  1. Mindful of Health

Mindfulness masters are mindful of their health… physical, mental and emotional. They know that the mind, body and spirit must be in harmony in order to maintain balance and vitality. Masters have developed an understanding of physical and mental health and do not depend on others for their wellbeing.

  1. Committed to Mindful Practice

Mindfulness masters never forget how they achieved mindful mastery. They are very aware that it takes continuous effort to maintain their mindful practice. Above all, masters are mindfully aware of themselves and the world around them. They are curious and always willing to learn from others. Masters can see with great clarity and understand the true nature of their existence. At the same time, they recognise that it takes time to observe, investigate and gain the knowledge necessary to achieve mindfulness mastery.

This is not a comprehensive list of the qualities of mindfulness masters but these are the most prominent. The purpose for highlighting these qualities is to give us a compass to guide us on our mindful journey… a vision of the path that lies ahead. It takes real effort and dedication but it is well worth it. Are you a mindfulness master? Please consider joining the team of mindfulness mentors at mindfullyMAD.org (mindfully Making A Difference) Need a little training to be a mindfulness mentor? Take a look at my certificate course.

Mindfully Yours with Love, Joy and Peace Always! – John

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mindfullyMAD.org

Be a Mindfulness Mentor

MM PACE Tree

Be a Mindfulness Mentor

Are you a teacher, counsellor or coach? I encourage you to enrol in my certificate course to learn the keys to be a Mindfulness Mentor. Why not add this skill to your already impressive capabilities? You have clearly demonstrated that you have a heart to make a difference in peoples lives by doing what you do. Now is the time to join the team at mindfullyMAD.org (mindfully Making A Difference) and make an even bigger impact on your clients/students. (this is optional)

Our vision is world mental health without medication. Our mission is love, peace and happiness through the practice of mindfulness. Our objective is to lobby for mindfulness in schools. Our focus is prevention of mental suffering and suicide.

If you would like more information, please send an email to mindfulmad@gmail.com

Mindfully Yours with Love, Joy & Peace Always! – John