Week 7 Recap - “Living Well Through Wise Action”

Hello all,

I want to call attention again to the salt analogy that we referenced in earlier recaps: that a teaspoon of salt in a glass of water would taste pretty awful, but a teaspoon of salt in a gallon is not so bad. This may be similar to the pain we experience. Mindfulness cannot make pain go away, but it can help us take a step back and open up to see the bigger picture, expanding the container of perception to take in a less salty gulp of water.

What we learned

This week we arrived at the  "O" in STOP ACHE GO: "Opening to change, life's beauty and its challenges." As we approach the end of the program, you will be looking towards the future, and wondering about how you will integrate this work in your life outside MTPC.

This week we introduced the Action Plan, which provides you with a template for making life changes, to support the life you want to live that better reflects your own values and personality. This exercise will help you discover a more effective way to make goals for yourself - using SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely), but doing so mindfully. The key here is meeting these possibilities with curiosity and introducing them to what really matters to you.

Home Practice

Formal Practice:

Try to find consistency with any practice that feels good for you, including practicing without instruction.  Use your own inner wisdom to create what you think is most skillful for you. One suggestion is:

  • Open awareness practice with less instruction: Set timer for 30-45 minutes and practice sitting meditation, starting with sounds or breath, proceeding to open awareness, and skillfully returning to breathing as an anchor whenever needed. (We encourage you to begin to use your own wisdom to navigate what arises).

  • Following with 10 minutes of kindness or compassion practice for self & others. You can find recordings at (www.chacmc.org/mtpcprogram). An additional option for practicing compassion can be found here. 

Informal Practice:

  • Begin your Action Plan 

Final Note

Hope everyone has a great rest of their week!

Best,

Ian and the MTPC Team

Featured News: CMC was awarded a research grant titled “Neural and physiologic effects of self-compassion on chronic pain” from the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital.  This grant provides seed funding for a pilot neuroimaging study examining self-compassion training for people experiencing chronic lower back pain.