Here and Now
The Northern Hemisphere is heading into fall. The United States is experiencing the fall of democratic ideals that the country was built on. There has been a tsunami of fear, anxiety, rage, and the desire to turn away, to pretend that fascism is not at our door, that the power grabs will ultimately be defeated. Each of us has an internal dialogue that gets us up in the morning to carry on!
For those of us who have become well acquainted with, and perhaps studied the way the human mind works, this moment in time has called forth the need to share with you the wisdom we have experienced through our dedication to mindfulness practices. Mindfulness allows us to become grounded: in goodness, in morality, in self-care, in community, in activism. By understanding our mental and emotional reactivity we can fashion the tools to keep ourselves courageous, engaged, focused, and kind.
As Steve Biko famously said: “The greatest weapon in the hand of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed”. Please consider enrolling in a class, a course, or one-on-one consultation to help rise above your qualms, fears, numbness, what have you. We need you.
Upcoming Events:
- Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation practices: Why is “mindfulness” getting so much attention these days? Well, because forty years of science research around practicing these meditations has proven that the human mind has “neuro-plasticity”- with attention and practice we can change how we are in our mind and body. It is possible to develop methods and insights to increase calmness and mental/physical health by understanding and reducing the chronic stressors in life. To see the dates and register, Click here
- Our fall Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction course will begin on Sunday October 5th and run through November 30th. Class will meet from 2:30pm – 5:00pm in-person (one exception: class #6 will be held on Saturday November 15th with the classes Day of Mindfulness Retreat on the 16th) in beautiful Port Townsend, WA. Register early- space is limited to 10-12 students! As a preview, watch either or both of the informative videos: How I rewired my brain in six weeks and Healing and the Mind with Bill Moyers and Jon Kabat Zinn! Register here.
- The “essential” 5.5 hour-long Day of Mindfulness is scheduled for Sunday, November 16th. Register here- Mindfulness Retreats..
- Resources For Managing Chronic Pain, an 8-week course we will offer on Zoom will be scheduled in early 2026. We will follow “The Pain Management Workbook” by Rachel Zoffness. The PBS program, “Tell Me More” interviews Ms. Zoffness here.
Ongoing Resources to Support a Mindful Life:
- Consider attending our twice-monthly hour of mindfulness meditation practices in our virtual Thursday evening meetings from 7pm – 8pm. Register to receive the Zoom.us invitations on the Group Meditation page here.
What is Mindfulness?
The practice of mindfulness, defined by Jon Kabat-Zinn, is “paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally.”
Our attention is multifaceted. When we are studying, involved in a sport, practicing a musical instrument or painting a scene, our mind is focused and our body is engaged with the activity. We are “in sync”- in body, mind and spirit. Typically, we spend 50% of our mental activity ruminating on the past and predicting the future. This is how our brain is wired- how our brain evolved over millennia- keeping us safe using our senses and past experiences to anticipate danger and improving our chances of survival. 21st Century minds must deal with a fast-paced, technologically driven environment where our attention is pulled from being present, “in the moment” by our cell phones, emails, meetings, newscasts, POLITICS, and ads. Mindfulness settles our minds and focuses our attention. Mindfulness serves us well in today’s world.
Olympic Peninsula Mindfulness offers classes and activities to assist you in exploring, creating and maintaining mindful awareness and meditation in everyday life. Explore the Forest Therapy and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction classes.
Poet Mary Oliver describes mindfulness in
“A Summer Day”
Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean– the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-‐
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.Tell me, what else should l have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
