In life, it's inevitable that you will experience moments of stress.
Both conflict and connection will occur in everyday life. And both kind and unkind thoughts will arise in reaction to your experiences.
What you do with those moments are your choice. Consistently making skillful choices when they occur can have a significant impact on your experience of life and relationships with others.
When feeling stressed or triggered by circumstances, there is an easy practice to interrupt your automatic reaction to what has happened.
In MBSR, we practice “the pause” to respond rather than react when presented with situations that are unwanted.
In this way, we are able to choose to experience the connection or to respond skillfully to the conflict.
Try the STOP practice to use when such moments occur in daily life.
Practicing the Pause
🍃Stop🍃
Choose NOT to take immediate action. Notice that you have the choice to pause before responding.
🍃Take a Breath🍃
Focus your attention on the sensations of the body breathing – feeling the full length of your inhale and the slow release of your exhale.
🍃Observe🍃
Notice the thoughts, emotions and sensations that are present in that moment. Where do you feel it in your body? What is the content of your thoughts? What are the distinct emotions that have arisen?
🍃Proceed🍃
With more awareness of your inner reaction to the stressful event or trigger, make a choice to respond that feels skillful and compassionate to yourself and others.
I find the practice to be especially helpful when my thoughts want to take me down a path of self-judgment or regret. I'd love to hear how it's working for you!
Let your wisdom lead,
Robin
PS.
If you’d like more free practices for cultivating mindfulness in your life, click the button below.
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