#Mindfulness is a hot topic. You could even say, it’s trending. I’m fortunate to be teaching at a school where SELM is one of our five pillars, and I’m even more grateful to have a Mindful Mentor at our school. I’d love to share with others all my knowledge and ‘know how.’ Unfortunately, I’m just figuring things out myself. Instead I thought maybe sharing my journey could possibly help others. I also thought a place to compile my ideas would be in and of itself a part of my own personal journey of being mindful.
My first instinct always, is to analyze. Find out the how, what and why. To explain and to understand. As familiar as I am with inquiry, int his particular context, it was a challenge to stop, slow down, and just be present with my students. I realized how important it was to be invitational in my language. I also realized, it was impossible to teach mindfulness if I wasn’t practicing mindfulness myself.
Currently, I am taking MBSR (Mindfulness-based stress reduction). It has taken me a little over a year haphazardly practicing mindfulness, trying to teach mindfulness and learning about mindfulness, to fully accept and embrace the non-judgemental aspect of it. It has been a real struggle to just stop. To stop the judgement. To stop getting upset when my mind wanders, or when I fall asleep during a practice. To stop comparing my practice to others and finally, to stop making up my own stories/reasons to explain things that are not in need of an explanation. It’s a bit of a revelation. Without writing it down I don’t think I would have come to this awareness.
Ms. K Hansen 