.
A word that’s popping up all over the place, from ads selling tea, day spas, and sound systems, to corporate mission statements, hip how-to books, and workshops for caregivers, parents, and assistant managers. A 2500 years old concept central to the Buddhist eight-fold path, it refers to the intention of bringing awareness to thoughts and actions in the present moment.
“Becoming mindful has to do with letting go of ambitions to control, solve problems, or achieve anything. Instead we choose to bear witness. A witness … is passive in the sense of deliberately not manufacturing anything. Rather a witness is willing to observe, be receptive to, and learn from whatever arises. … We enter into the confusion and mystery of whatever is happening with a curious, experimental attitude, not knowing what might be discovered, but welcoming, appreciating, and savoring what is. We slow down, and let go of automatic reactions that normally tell us what something is and what it means.”
source: Johanson, G. and Kurtz, R. (1991). Grace unfolding: psychotherapy in the spirit of the Tao-te ching. New York: Belltower, p.13. Ron Kurtz developed the Hakomi Method, an approach to psychotherapy grounded in the wisdom of East and West.
No Comments Yet
No comments yet.
Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI
Leave a comment
