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It is possible that, when working in the service of others, you have experienced unpleasant situations when interacting with another person. Perhaps feelings of weariness, nervousness, blocking or not knowing what to do have appeared at some moments. You might have felt attacked orunderestimated sometimes or might have felt like your own mind boycotted youthrough feelings of uselessness or ineffectiveness. 

There are plenty of studies that support the idea that the help offered to others is measured by own self-care. Learning to interact with others, with our personal vulnerability and boundaries shaped as thoughts and feelings, can turn out to be a requisite to help connect with the clients in a specialway that helps create transformative moments.

Have you ever taken a wrong turn with your car while deep in thoughts; or searched for your mobile phone and, a few moments later, realized you were actually holding it in your hand; or caught yourself having no clue on the topic of the conversation you’ve just had? In other words, have you ever felt, as you were not fully living through what you are doing? If you have, then do not panic. What has happened to you is that your mind has wandered away from what you were doing in those moments- a natural occurrence that happens to most people sometimes.

Probably you are asking yourself what the so-called mind wandering is…

We call it mind wandering when thoughts unrelated to the current task and dissociated from current sensory information take place in our mind. [Read more…] about MIND-WANDERING AND MINDFULNESS

To empower means “to make an individual or social group powerful or stronger”, “to give power”. Therefore, it is a term that seems to be quite appropriate for those who suffer or go through complex situations in their lives. In the field of mental health and social services, nobody questions this concept and, nowadays, it has been applied to multiple collectives: battered women, disabled persons, people in a situation of social exclusion, children suffering bullying, etc.

But, what is empowerment made of? How can we empower in a real way? How can we avoid the mere content of the word and focus on what is important for the person who is suffering?

In order to shed light on these questions, we should go back to the meaning. [Read more…] about SET A COURSE! EMPOWERING PEOPLE THROUGH MINDFULNESS

When starting with mindfulness practice it can be quite challenging. Especially if we have never been involved in a daily regular practice of any kind of meditation. Mindfulness practice offers us quite a spacious place to just BE with ourselves. This intimate encounter with our body, emotions, and thoughts comes also with some challenges.

The first challenge that we might come across is that we can get bored or perhaps annoyed with the practice, the audio recording or ourselves. This can feel irritating and somehow we might even get the feeling that this is not what is supposed to be happening within the practice or it is not how we have imagined it to be. But if you encounter this kind of unpleasant feelings, they are actually as welcome as any other. Such experiences, no matter how challenging, provide us an opportunity to work with negative emotions. This is the practice. This is where we need to bring our attention closer to, taking a non-judgemental stance. So how can we stay curious and nurturing when facing boredom or irritation? [Read more…] about First steps in mindfulness practice: the joys and the struggles