Category: Mindfulness

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One-Mindful Living: Making Every Strawberry the Last One

strawberries

I love strawberries. I can nibble on them all day long. Sometimes I find myself sitting at the computer, typing away, casually eating strawberries without really noticing them.

Then it happens. I reach into the bowl and realize I’ve already eaten the last one. In that moment, there’s often a small sense of disappointment. The thought comes quickly: “If I had known that was the last strawberry, I would have enjoyed it more.”

But why?

That final strawberry doesn’t taste any different from the others. What changes is your attention. When you know it’s the last one, you become fully present. You slow down. You savor it. You become one-mindful by being focused on a single experience, fully engaged in the moment.

What If Every Moment Was the Last Strawberry?

What if you could live this way all the time? What if every experience, every conversation, every meal, every breath, was approached with the same level of awareness? As Ray Charles famously said, “Live every day as if it will be your last, because one of these days, you’re going to be right.”

If today were your last day, how would you respond to others? What would matter most? Would your priorities shift?

When you reflect on life this way, something important happens: you begin to focus on what truly matters. You naturally slow down. You become more intentional. Each moment becomes more vivid, more meaningful…more alive.

Each day becomes the last strawberry.

The Practice of Being One-Mindful

This way of living is what mindfulness practitioners call mindful awareness, and what we can simply describe as being one-mindful.

To be one-mindful means focusing on one thing at a time with full presence. It is the practice of bringing your complete attention to the experience directly in front of you.

Jon Kabat-Zinn (1994) describes mindfulness as consisting of three core elements:

These elements work together to cultivate one-mindful awareness. You intentionally direct your attention to the present moment and engage with it openly, without judgment or expectation.

In doing so, you begin to experience life as it actually is, instead of being filtered through assumptions, distractions, or mental noise.

Returning to Direct Experience

According to Shauna Shapiro and colleagues (2006), mindfulness involves observing your moment-to-moment internal and external experiences. This reflects a philosophical idea from Edmund Husserl called a “return to things themselves,” or encountering experience directly, before interpretation.

When you are one-mindful, you are no longer lost in thoughts about the past or future. Instead, you are grounded in the present moment. You are not analyzing the experience. You are living it.

The moment simply is what it is.

Living One-Mindfully

Being one-mindful doesn’t require changing your life circumstances. It requires changing how you show up to them. You can practice this while eating, walking, listening, or speaking. You can make every strawberry the last strawberry by fully entering into the experience of eating it.

When you do, ordinary moments become extraordinary. And life, as it is right now in the present moment, becomes enough.

References

Brown, K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2003). The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(4), 822–848. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.84.4.822before or what may come in the future. The experience simply is what it is, with no interpretation required.

Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994). Wherever you go, there you are: Mindfulness meditation in everyday life. New York: Hyperion

Shapiro SL, Carlson LE, Astin JA, Freedman B. Mechanisms of mindfulness. J Clin Psychol. 2006 Mar;62(3):373-86. doi: 10.1002/jclp.20237. PMID: 16385481.

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Fully Participating

Fully participating can be described as a state in which we are in the present moment, devoid of thoughts or anxiety about the past or the future. Fully participating is most closely associated with Baer’s “act with awareness” factor of the Five Factor Model of Mindfulness. To participate fully in any activity is to be aware in every moment, and to act out of that state of awareness, with purpose and intention.

Mindful awareness allows you to experience every aspect of an activity. We have a tendency, when in thinking mode, to see things and activities as either “all bad” or “all good.” This is not necessarily an accurate depiction of reality. In reality, there is a little good in most bad things, and a little bad in most good things.

In Mark Twain’s book, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Tom gets his friends to help him whitewash a fence by convincing them that fence painting is one of the most fun and enjoyable activities in the world. There is an element of truth in Tom’s deception. Most activities aren’t inherently good or bad. We’ve taught ourselves to think of them in such terms, but we can also teach ourselves a different way.

Think about an unpleasant activity that you have to engage in on a regular basis, such as washing the dishes or taking out the trash. Can you think of any pleasant aspects of these activities? For example, the last time I hand-washed dishes, I found myself fascinated by the bubbles in the sink. I watched the way the light played across them, generating myriads of rainbows that danced and moved across the surface of the bubbles. I was so entertained by this, that I was done with the dishes before I knew it.

There are enjoyable aspects to every experience, if we train ourselves to look for them. Even if we find ourselves caught in an activity in which we can find no pleasure at all, at least we have the pleasure of thinking about how good we’ll feel when the activity is over!

Mindful Awareness teaches us the art of acceptance. Emotional reactions to our circumstances are natural, but that doesn’t mean that we have to respond to these emotions. The mindful skill of acceptance teaches us that we can experience these emotions without engaging in cycles of behavior that lead us to negative consequences. Acceptance teaches us that we are not our thoughts, and that we are not our emotions. At any time we can choose which thoughts and emotions we wish to respond to.

If, at any time, we should engage in thoughts and behaviors that lead to negative consequences, this does not mean that we have become bad persons. This simply means that we are human beings, and as humans we are entitled to make mistakes. Each mistake is an opportunity for growth and learning. Forgiveness is a skill and an art. The place to start with learning the art of forgiveness is in learning first to forgive ourselves when we make mistakes.

Clients with chronic pain issues can benefit from the art of fully participating by realizing that the pain is not something alien, but a part of their daily experience. Instead of fighting the pain, they learn to accept it. A result of this acceptance is that their perception of the pain lessens because they are no longer fighting it. By fully participating in each moment, chronic pain sufferers get back a part of their lives that the pain had taken away (Isenberg, 2009).

Fully participating can also help clients with chronic anxiety problems, stress or depression. By learning to accept the depression or anxiety, clients lean not to fight the problem. By not fighting the anxiety or depression, we avoid setting up the self-perpetuating cycle of avoidance and anxiety enhancement. If the client learns not to try to avoid depression and anxiety, and instead accepts it openly, then there is nothing to fight against, and the downward spiral stops before it begins.

Fully participating can also be very useful to therapists. Grepmair, et al (2007) found that therapists who practiced Zen meditation themselves actually had better success rates with their clients than therapists who did not practice meditation.

One potential explanation for this is that those who practice mindful meditation have developed their capacity to fully participate. By being able to fully participate in what the client may be telling them in a given session, they are better able to offer solutions.

The more the therapist is able to participate in a given session, the more validated the client feels. If you’ve ever experienced a therapist who kept glancing at the clock during a session, you know what an invalidating experience that can be. By learning to fully participate in each session, a therapist or counselor strengthens the client/clinician bond and enhances the chance of success for an intervention.

Grepmair, Ludwig & Mitterlehner, Ferdinand & Loew, Thomas & Bachler, Egon & Rother, Wolfhardt & Nickel, Marius. (2007). Promoting Mindfulness in Psychotherapists in Training Influences the Treatment Results of Their Patients: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Controlled Study. Psychotherapy and psychosomatics. 76. 332-8. 10.1159/000107560.

Isenberg, Sarina & Maragh-Bass, Allysha & Ridgeway, Kathleen & MPH, Mary & Knowlton, Amy. (2017). A qualitative exploration of chronic pain and opioid treatment among HIV patients with drug use disorders. Journal of opioid management. 13. 5. 10.5055/jom.2017.0363.

Ortet G, Pinazo D, Walker D, Gallego S, Mezquita L, Ibáñez MI. Personality and nonjudging make you happier: Contribution of the Five-Factor Model, mindfulness facets and a mindfulness intervention to subjective well-being. PLoS One. 2020 Feb 4;15(2):e0228655. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228655. PMID: 32017791; PMCID: PMC6999907.

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Mindful Describing

mindful describing

“Whatever you are doing, ask yourself, ‘What’s the state of my mind?’”
– Dalai Lama, 1999

Mindful describing is a skill of mindfulness. Baer et al (2006) described five factors associated with mindfulness. These factors are: observe, describe, act with awareness, non-judge and non-react. These five factors can be measured by several instruments, and have been shown to be good predictors of psychological symptoms and/or psychological resilience. While these five factors are interrelated, they are also distinct and separate domains. For example, the skill of observing is separate from the skill of describing, but one cannot describe without first observing, therefore these skills overlap to some degree. Taken together, these five factors, or skills, constitute a state of mindful awareness.

Mindful Describing

Mindful describing may be defined as focusing on the details of an event or activity, sensing the components of that activity, and then defining the experience.

The skill of mindful describing first involves observing the smallest details of an object, event or activity. When we are in a state of mindful awareness, we approach each daily activity as if we are experiencing it for the first time. To practice the art of describing, approach each new experience by examining as many dimensions of it as you can. You can probably readily identify with the fact that the color of an apple is red, or perhaps yellow or green, but have you ever thought about what an apple sounds like? Is there a distinct quality of an apple that would make it identifiable only by sound? What would a blind person’s experience of an apple be? When you think of apples, do you have any emotional reaction to them? Do you have any positive memories about apples? What about negative memories? By identifying and labeling these feelings and thoughts about apples, we become more aware of our internal experiences relating to apples.

mindful describing

Labeling Thought Processes

When we gain experience with this technique, we can apply it to other areas of our lives as well. For example, by looking at your negative thought processes, and identifying and labeling them as such, you are better able to recognize them simply as processes, and not as part of who you are as a person.

A child’s experience of the world is vastly different from an adult’s experience of the same world. To a child, the world is new each day. Children approach the world each day with a sense of wonder. As we get older and learn about things, we learn what to expect by learning how things usually work. This is usually a good thing. For example, if you learn that dogs may bite, you will probably approach a new dog with caution, as a matter of safety. But what if it’s a friendly dog?

Mindful Describing: Our Assumptions

Our assumptions can work to protect us, but sometimes our assumptions can work against us as well. If you approach all dogs as dogs that might bite, you’re naturally going to avoid dogs more. You may even miss an opportunity to play and roll in the grass with a friendly dog because your assumption may be “all dogs bite.”

What about people and relationships? If you’ve been hurt in a relationship, your assumptions might include “all people bite.” Such an assumption will color the way you approach new people. If you assume that all people are unfriendly, how is a new person likely to react to you? By learning the art of describing, we can focus more on the whole person (or dog!) and see that each individual has both positive and negative qualities. We can choose which qualities to focus on based on the assumptions we make in our interactions with them.

Beginner’s Mind

While it is probably impossible to achieve a state where we are totally free of any assumptions, the more assumptions we make, the more we increase the risk of making an incorrect assumption. Therefore one of the goals of Mindfulness is to achieve what is known as childlike mind or beginner’s mind. In this state we start each day with a blank slate, and allow the day to write on it what it will.

From an attitude of beginner’s mind, we can then more fully use the skill of describing, by seeing things in a new way, as if for the first time. The more we use the skill of describing, the more open we become to seeing things in new ways. Once we learn to see things in a new way, new solutions to old problems may present themselves.

Baer, Ruth & Smith, Gregory & Hopkins, Jaclyn & Krietemeyer, Jennifer & Toney, Leslie. (2006). Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness. Assessment. 13. 27-45. 10.1177/1073191105283504.

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Mindful Observing

mindful observing mindful describing

Mindful Observing begins by learning to pay attention to an object. Any object will do. In fact, the more mundane the object is, the better for practicing observing skills. The idea of observing is to be entirely present in the moment with the object being observed, using all of the senses. If you can engage senses ordinarily not associated with the predominant characteristics of the object, then so much the better. For example, most people know what an orange looks like, and tastes like, but have you ever considered what an orange sounds like? If you were blindfolded and someone held an orange up to your ear and squeezed it, would there be a distinct sound that would identify the orange to you? The purpose of observing in this way is to see things in a way we have never seen them before.

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is a blending of Mindfulness and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy techniques. It was developed in 2002 by Segal, Williams and Teasdale for the treatment of depression. It was specifically developed to prevent recurrence of depressive symptoms after a successful therapeutic intervention. MBCT is composed of eight sessions, or lessons. During the first session, participants are taught to differentiate between Doing Mode and Being Mode. They are also taught the mindful skill of observing, as a way of moving from Doing Mode to Being Mode.

The first step in observing is to eliminate as many assumptions as possible about what we are observing. We all make assumptions every day about the world around us, and many of these assumptions help us to navigate and survive in the world around us. When a traffic light turns green, you automatically assume that the person coming the other way will stop. If that assumption is incorrect, we put ourselves in great danger. But if we did not make that assumption, we would never be able to go anywhere. So our assumptions are useful to a point. But what if our assumptions are incorrect or unhelpful?

Suppose you are at work one day and your coworker, Bob, frowns at you. You could assume that you have done something to upset Bob. If that is your assumption, you will probably interact differently with Bob than you would if you had assumed that perhaps Bob is just having a bad day and his facial expression has nothing to do with you. If you assume that Bob is upset with you, and you act accordingly, what is likely to happen if you discover your assumption was incorrect? Will you act differently with Bob based upon your assumptions about his intentions? Will Bob act differently with you based on his assumptions about your intentions?

When practicing the skill of observing, the observations should be made without drawing any conclusions regarding their content. Observing should be done without making any assumptions.

One way of engaging in observing is to picture yourself an artist, about to draw the object that you are observing. It may be an object you have looked at a thousand times, but if you look at it through the eyes of an artist, suddenly you will see it in a new way. You will begin to notice how light and shadow fall on the object, and how colors transition into each other. You will notice the depth of the object, and its perspective. Now explore the object with the rest of your senses. Pick it up. How heavy is it? How does it feel as your skin makes contact with it? Is it hot or cold, soft or hard? Smell it. Does it have a distinct aroma? What does it sound like? What does it taste like? Observe the object as if you have never seen it before, with Beginner’s Mind, free of assumptions about the object.

When you have gained some practice with observing objects, you may move on to observing your own internal states. What are you feeling at this very moment? What is your emotional state? Remember, the goal is to simply observe this internal state, without drawing any conclusions or making any assumptions about it. Practice the skill of observing with both your thoughts and your emotions. The more skill you gain with observing, the more you come to realize that emotions and thoughts are just mental processes. They are not who you are. They are not your identity.

Kingston et al (2007) looked at the effectiveness of using Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) in the treatment of residual depression. They found that those who continued to practice MBCT had a continual decline in the recurrence of symptoms of depression. One significant departure from these results was in the area of rumination. While rumination scores decreased in the test population as well, there was a statistically significant correlation between higher rumination scores and rates of relapse. In other words, those who were more prone to ruminate were more prone to relapse.

Rumination could be defined as “coming to conclusions about observations of my own internal state,” as rumination is associated with worrying about a particular problem or observation. Since the goal of observing is to note your internal state without drawing conclusions about it, or without making assumptions about it, observing tends to reduce the tendency to ruminate.

Mathew, Kate & Whitford, Hayley & Kenny, Maura & Denson, Linley. (2010). The Long-Term Effects of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy as a Relapse Prevention Treatment for Major Depressive Disorder. Behavioural and cognitive psychotherapy. 38. 561-76. 10.1017/S135246581000010X.

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The “What” and “How” Skills of Mindful Awareness

skills of mindful awareness

There are six skills of mindful awareness in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). They are divided up into “what” skills and “how” skills. The “what” skills are what you do to be mindful, and the “how” skills are how you do what you do to be mindful. The worksheet linked below lists and briefly describes each of these skills.

What and How Skills of Mindful AwarenessDownload

The “What” Skills of Mindful Awareness

Observing

When we are preoccupied with thoughts of the past or the future, we are in thinking mode. Thinking mode takes us away from experiencing the world directly with our senses. In thinking mode, we are living in our heads instead of living in the moment.

The first of the skills of Mindful Awareness teaches us to focus on the world experienced directly by our senses: touch, taste, smell, hearing, and sight. Experiencing life in sensing mode introduces us to a richer world. It’s impossible to be bored or apathetic if you treat each experience as if it is happening to you for the first time, through your senses.

The skill of observing involves shifting out of thinking mode and into sensing mode by observing what you are experiencing in the present moment through all of your senses.

Describing

diagnosis skills of mindful awareness

The next of the skills of Mindful Awareness involves observing the smallest details of an object, event, or activity, then describing the experience in a non-judgmental fashion. Describing means approaching each daily activity as if you are experiencing it for the first time. Explore as many dimensions of it as you can. When we gain experience with this technique, we can apply it to other areas of our lives as well.

For example, by looking at your negative thought processes and identifying and labeling them as such, you are better able to recognize them simply as processes, and not as part of who you are as a person. DBT teaches you to describe experiences without judging them or labeling them as “good” or “bad.” Instead, you can label them as merely thoughts or feelings, while remembering that thoughts and feelings are not facts.

Participating

Mindful Awareness allows you to experience every aspect of an activity. We have a tendency, when in thinking mode, to see things and activities as either “all bad” or “all good.” This is not necessarily an accurate depiction of reality. Most activities aren’t inherently good or bad. We’ve taught ourselves to think of them in such terms, but we can also teach ourselves to think differently.

Think about an unpleasant activity that you have to engage in regularly, such as washing the dishes or taking out the trash. Can you think of any pleasant aspects of these activities? There are enjoyable aspects to every experience if we train ourselves to look for them. Even if we find ourselves caught in an activity in which we can find no pleasure at all, at least we have the pleasure of thinking about how good we’ll feel when the activity is over!

Life occurs in the present moment. Mastering the art of participation allows us to get the most out of life in the present.


 
The “How” Skills of Mindful Awareness

Non-judgmental

The first of the “how” skills of Mindful Awareness teaches us the art of acceptance. Emotional reactions to our circumstances are natural, but that doesn’t mean that we have to respond to these emotions. There’s no such thing as a “wrong” feeling. What may be “wrong,” or less effective, is how we choose to respond to the feeling.

The mindful skill of being non-judgmental teaches us that we can experience emotions without engaging in cycles of behavior that lead us to negative consequences. We can choose which thoughts and emotions we wish to respond to, and which just to sit quietly with, in “being mode.”

Being non-judgmental means seeing the world as it is, without judgments or assumptions. When we can do so, we have achieved Beginner’s Mind or Child’s Mind, which is the art of experiencing everything as if seeing it for the first time, without judgment.

One-mindful

Being “one mindful” simply means focusing on one thing at a time. Being one-mindful allows us to live in the present moment.

Emotional dysregulation often occurs because we tend to focus on all the emotionally overwhelming aspects of a situation while thinking we have to do something to fix it. Wanting to fix it is “Doing Mind.” Being one-mindful allows us to shift to “Being Mind” and just be with the emotion without having to do anything about it.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. If you focus on the thousand-mile journey, you’ll become so emotionally overwhelmed you’ll never take the first step; but if you instead just focus on the step that’s in front of you, and then the next step, and then the next, you will eventually complete the entire journey.

The most effective way to do this is to first ask yourself, “What is the smallest thing I can do in this situation that will make a difference? Do that, and then if you have any energy left over, you can focus on the next step, and so on, until the journey is completed.

When you learn to do this, you will have learned to be one-mindful.

Effective

This is probably the most important of the skills of mindful awareness because it teaches us to focus on solutions, not problems. We can talk about problems all day, but until we start talking about solutions, nothing will ever get solved. The way to solve a problem is to take positive, intentional steps towards finding a solution.

A mindful life is a life lived deliberately and effectively. It is a purposeful life. Being effective means solving problems in a purposeful, intentional manner. The way to be effective is to begin by asking two questions:

  1. What is my intention in this situation?
  2. Are my thoughts, feelings, and behaviors going to help me to achieve this intention?

When we live using the skills of mindful awareness, our thoughts, behaviors, and actions always support our intention. When we learn to do this, we have learned how to be effective.

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Whether you’re seeking to reconnect with the natural world, cultivate inner calm, or find restorative tools for personal growth, our content offers practical guidance, inspiration, and community support. Join us to explore the transformative power of nature and the skills of mindfulness, and start your journey toward balance, resilience, and deeper connection today!

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Wise Mind

embodied mindfulness

Wise Mind is a concept often used in mindfulness-based ecotherapy. One of the skills we develop in the practice of mindfulness is the skill of acceptance. Acceptance allows us to experience emotions without feeling obligated to react to them. This is done by noting the emotion, and then letting go of the negative thought processes that the emotion generates.

We can benefit from mindfulness by learning to accept the flood of emotions that blocks rational thought. The goal of acceptance isn’t to become a totally rational person, devoid of emotion. Instead, the goal is to practice Wise Mind.

Wise Mind is the balance of emotional mind and rational mind, in perfect harmony.

To illustrate this concept, let’s suppose that a destitute woman has been arrested for stealing a loaf of bread with which to feed her hungry children. If we approach this situation from Rational Mind, we are only using logic and reason. There is no emotional content to our approach to the situation in Rational Mind. In this situation, Rational Mind would say that she broke the law, and there are penalties for breaking the law, therefore she should be punished.

Wise Mind, on the other hand, would allow logic and reason to be tempered with emotion. In this case, Wise Mind would allow some sense of compassion for the mother and her plight. While the woman in this scenario may have broken the law, she did so because she had love for her children and did not wish to see them go hungry. Wise Mind would recognize this and allow for some leniency.

On the other hand, what does Emotional Mind look like?

I’m sure we all know of someone who is subject to wild mood swings. Such a person is ruled by emotions that often run out of control. Imagine that this person is cut off in traffic. They may become very angry and chase down the offender, horn blaring and lights flashing. Perhaps this person even tries to run the offender off of the road.

In such a case, this person is being ruled by Emotional Mind. If this person could learn to live in Wise Mind, then he would realize that while the person who had cut him off in traffic had done something dangerous, it may not have been intentional. It could be that this person was distracted. Even if the person had done it intentionally, there is no need to increase the danger to himself by provoking further confrontation in an episode of road rage.

In this case, Wise Mind would accept the fact that such events are inevitable on a busy highway. Emotional Mind would then be tempered with Rational Mind, achieving the balance that is the goal of Wise Mind.

According to Follette, et al (2006), “”Wise mind is understood as a balance (or dialectic) between emotion mind and reasonable mind, where both emotion and reason are considered before taking action in life.”
This concept is often illustrated as below, where Wise Mind is the overlapping area between Rational Mind and Emotional Mind:

Wise Mind is where Rational Mind and Emotional Mind meet

In the clinical practice of Mindfulness, clients are taught the concepts of Rational Mind, Emotional Mind, and Wise Mind, and how to differentiate among these states.

Each state has its own usefulness; for example, Rational Mind might be good for solving math problems like balancing a checkbook, while Emotional Mind might be good for a romantic interlude. But there are also situations, such as those outlined above in which one mode of mind might not be as productive as another. In those cases, Rational Mind can be tempered with compassion from Emotional Mind, or Emotional Mind can be balanced with reason.

When using Mindfulness in clinical practice, it is helpful to teach clients the concepts of Rational Mind, Emotional Mind, and Wise Mind, then have them list examples of each in order to gain practice in differentiating among these states.

Follette, Victoria & Palm Reed, Kathleen & Pearson, Adria. (2006). Mindfulness and Trauma: Implications for Treatment. Journal of Rational-Emotive and Cognitive-Behavior Therapy. 24. 45-61. 10.1007/s10942-006-0025-2.

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Automatic Thinking

Learning to drive an automobile can be an overwhelming task. You have to focus on keeping the vehicle between the lines on the highway while watching for other cars, traffic signals and road signs. In addition to all of this, you must constantly glance at the speedometer to make sure that you are driving at a safe speed. You cannot look at the speedometer for too long because you must also concentrate on what may be happening on the highway. When learning to drive, you probably recited the ‘rules of the road’ to yourself over and over while driving (“Hands at two and ten,” “Watch out for animals and children running into the road,” etc.).

But as you gained knowledge and experience of driving, it became more and more of an automatic process. It may have become so automatic that now from time to time you make a routine drive without remembering anything about it. If you have ever let your mind wander and have missed an exit or a turn, then you are fully familiar with the process of automatization.

The process of automatization occurs in many areas of our lives. Just as the process of driving eventually becomes automatic, and can occur without our conscious awareness, so can thought and feeling processes become automatized.

If you have ever had a strong emotional reaction to a situation without knowing why, it is possible that one of your automatized emotional processes was activated (Moulds & Bryant, 2004).

Mindfulness is just the opposite of this automatic pilot experience. It is a way of paying close attention to your immediate experiences without getting lost in thought or shifting into automatic patterns of thinking or behaving. It is a shift from Doing Mode into Being Mode.

Doing Mode

Think about your morning routine. When you were in the shower this morning, were you actually ‘in’ the shower, or was your mind racing down the highway to your day-to-day errands? When you were there in the shower, were you feeling the warmth of the water on your skin, smelling the fragrance of the soap, and hearing the sound of the water, or was your mind elsewhere?

When we are preoccupied with thoughts of the past or the future, or with thoughts of getting things done, we are in Doing Mode. Doing Mode can also be expressed as Thinking Mode, because to get things done, we generally have to think about those things first. We make ‘to do’ lists in our minds and then do them in Doing Mode.

Thinking Mode takes us away from experiencing the world directly with our senses. When we leave Thinking Mode, and focus our awareness directly on the information provided by our senses, we have entered Sensing Mode.

Mindful Awareness teaches us to focus on the world experienced directly by our senses: touch, taste, smell, hearing, and sight. Experiencing life in sensing mode introduces us to a richer world. It’s impossible to be bored or apathetic if you treat each experience as if it is happening to you for the first time. Approaching each new situation without any assumptions or expectations is referred to as Beginner’s Mind, or sometimes as Child’s Mind.

Being Mode

Williams (2008) presents research that indicates the benefits of mindful states of being. Mindfulness is associated with decreases in levels of rumination (a process of becoming ‘trapped’ in negative thought cycles), avoidance (refusing to accept the reality of a given situation), perfectionism (attempts to control a situation), and maladaptive self-guides (attempting solutions that maintain the problem). Taken together, this reduction in negative thought and behavior patterns form what is known as Being Mode.

By focusing on the present moment, we leave Thinking Mode and enter into Sensing Mode.

In Sensing Mode, we simply allow ourselves to become fully aware of what is going on around us and within us, without attempting to control or manipulate these events and sensations. Being Mode reduces ruminations by allowing us to become aware of our thoughts and feelings as internal processes that we can choose to participate in, or choose to simply observe. In Being Mode we learn that we are not our thoughts.

In Western modes of thought, we are taught that our thoughts and feelings are our identities. Descartes said, “I think, therefore I am,” but does that mean that if you stop thinking, you cease to exist?

Being Mode allows us to detach from our cognitive and emotional processes and observe them, or stop them, if we so choose.

Being Mode reduces avoidance by allowing us to be in the present moment. If you are trying to avoid an unpleasant emotional state, you set up a cycle of denial. This denial creates anxiety and stress, which leads to more unpleasant emotional states to be avoided, which starts the avoidance cycle all over again. Being Mode allows us to participate in the unpleasant situation without internalizing it; i.e., without allowing the unpleasantness to become a part of our identity.

Perfectionism can be seen as a control mechanism. It is a displacement technique. If we feel out of control of certain areas of our lives, and we feel powerless to change those areas, we may displace our attention on the areas that we can control. By engaging in compulsive, perfectionist behaviors we assert our control over tangible areas as a substitute for areas over which we may feel we have no control. The idea of “perfection” becomes an obsessive means of anxiety management.

Being Mode allows us to realize that perfection is a subjective ideal. For example, if I asked you to describe your “perfect” day, you are likely to give me a totally different answer to that question than I would give if I were asked the same question.

Since our answers to the question, “What is your idea of the perfect day?” would not be identical, there is no objective definition to the word “perfect.” Being Mode helps one to realize that perfection is a self-defined concept.

In Being Mode we learn that every moment is perfect in and of itself, if we allow it to be.

Finally, Being Mode allows us to disengage from our own cognitive and emotional processes for a time. By doing so, we can become objective observers of our own inner states, without feeling that we must participate in them. Being Mode is a type of metacognition, or “thinking about thinking.” By observing the thoughts and feelings that have led to maladaptive consequences, we gain the ability to change those thought and feeling processes to lead to more productive conclusions.

Moulds, M. L. & Bryant, R. A. (2004). Automatic Versus Effortful Influences in the Processing of Traumatic Material in Acute Stress Disorder. Journal of Cognitive Therapy and Research, Vol. 28, No. 6, December 2004, pp. 805–817.

Williams, G. (2008). Mindfulness, Depression and Modes of Mind. Journal of Cognitive Therapy and Research, Vol. 32, No. 6, December, 2008. Pages 721-733.

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Mindful Acceptance

One of the skills we develop in the practice of mindfulness is the skill of ‘acceptance.’ Acceptance allows us to experience emotions without feeling obligated to react to them. This is done by noting the emotion, and then letting go of the negative thought processes that the emotion generates.

We can benefit from Mindfulness by learning to accept the flood of emotions that blocks rational thought. The goal of acceptance isn’t to become a totally rational person, devoid of emotion. Instead, the goal is to practice ‘Wise Mind.’ Wise Mind is the balance of emotional mind and rational mind, in perfect harmony.
To illustrate this concept, let’s suppose that a woman has been arrested for stealing a loaf of bread with which to feed her children. If we approach this situation from Rational Mind, we are only using logic and reason. There is no emotional content to our approach to the situation in Rational Mind. In this situation, Rational Mind would say that she broke the law, and there are penalties for breaking the law, therefore she should be punished.

Wise Mind, on the other hand, would allow logic and reason to be tempered with emotion. In this case, Wise Mind would allow some sense of compassion for the mother and her plight. While the woman in this scenario may have broken the law, she did so because she had love for her children and did not wish to see them go hungry. Wise Mind would recognize this and allow for some leniency.

I’m sure we all know of someone who is subject to wild mood swings. Such a person is ruled by emotions that often run out of control. Imagine that such a person is cut off in traffic. This person becomes very angry and chases down the offender, horn blaring and lights flashing. Perhaps this person even tries to run the offender off of the road. In such a case, this person is being ruled by Emotional Mind. If this person could learn to live in Wise Mind, then he would realize that while the person who had cut him off in traffic had done something dangerous, it may not have been intentional. It could be that this person was distracted. Even if the person had done it intentionally, there is no need to increase the danger to himself by provoking further confrontation in an episode of road rage. In this case, Wise Mind would accept the fact that such events are inevitable on a busy highway. Emotional Mind would then be tempered with Rational Mind, achieving the balance that is the goal of Wise Mind.

According to Follette, et al (2006), “Wise mind is understood as a balance (or dialectic) between emotion mind and reasonable mind, where both emotion and reason are considered before taking action in life.”
This concept is often illustrated as below, where Wise Mind is the overlapping area between Rational Mind and Emotional Mind:

Wise Mind is a balance between Emotional Mind and Rational Mind

In the clinical practice of Mindfulness, clients are taught the concepts of Rational Mind, Emotional Mind, and Wise Mind, and how to differentiate among these states. Each state has its own usefulness; for example, Rational Mind might be good for solving math problems like balancing a checkbook, while Emotional Mind might be good for a romantic interlude. But there are also situations, such as those outlined above in which one mode of mind might not be as productive as another. When using Mindfulness in clinical practice, it is helpful to teach clients the concepts of Rational Mind, Emotional Mind, and Wise Mind, then have them list examples of each in order to gain practice in differentiating among these states.

Follette, V., Palm, K. M. & Pearson, A. N. (2006). Mindfulness and Trauma: Implications for Treatment. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, Vol. 24, No. 1, Spring 2006.

Linehan, M.M. (1993). Cognitive Behavioral Treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder. New York : Guilford Press

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What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness for Therapists


“Mindfulness is the energy of being aware and awake to the present moment. It is the continuous practice of touching life deeply in every moment of daily life. To be mindful is to be truly alive and present with those around you and with what you are doing. We bring our body and mind into harmony while we wash the dishes, drive the car or take our morning cup of tea.”

–Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen Buddhist Monk and Founder of the An Quang Buddhist Institute

Think about the things that have caused you anxiety, stress or depression in the past. Now ask yourself, “Was it the things themselves that caused the anxiety, stress and depression, or was it what I believed about those things?”

Can you think of anything that you’ve ever been worried about, that wasn’t a product of your thoughts and feelings? Isn’t it true, in fact, that the worries come from the thoughts and feelings themselves, and not from the situations in which you find yourself?

If it is true that anxiety and depression are rooted in our thoughts, then we should be able to change our thoughts and eliminate, or at least minimize, anxiety and depression. Mindfulness is a way to change our thoughts. If you can change your thoughts, you can change your world.

The last two decades have seen an explosion in interest in the utility of Mindfulness for treating mental disorders. Consequently, there has been an interest in devising a clinical definition for the term ‘Mindfulness.’
Kabat-Zinn (2003) refers to Mindfulness as “paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment.”

Segal et al., (2004) describe Mindfulness as a state of being “fully present and attentive to the content of moment-by-moment experience.”

According to Baer (2003), “In general, while the specific focus of mindfulness may vary, individuals are instructed to be aware of thoughts but to be removed from the content of these thoughts.”

In short, mindfulness is a state of awareness in which we can choose to participate in the thought stream, or to simply observe it.

When we are able to be fully in the present, without worries, stress, or anxiety about the past or the future, we are being mindful. This doesn’t mean that we ignore or deny our thoughts or feelings. Instead, it just means that for now, in the present moment, we are consciously choosing how to respond to those thoughts and feelings.

REFERENCES

Baer, R. A. (2003). Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10, 125-143.

Davidson, R.J., Kabat-Zinn, J., Schmacher, J., Rosenkranz, M., Muller, D., Santorelli, S.F., Urbanowski, F., Harringtron, A., Bonus, K., Sheridan , J.F., Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation. Psychosomatic Medicine, 65: 564-570, 2003.

Segal, Z. V., Teasdale, J. D., & Williams, J. M. G. (2004). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy: Theoretical rationale and empirical status. In S. G. Hayes, V. Follette, & M. Linehan (Eds.), Expanding the cognitive behavioral tradition. New York: Guilford Press.

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Upstairs Brain vs. Downstairs Brain

upstairs brain nature rewires the brain
upstairs brain

Feelings of depression, anxiety, sadness, and other emotions are generated in a part of the brain called the limbic system. This ‘downstairs’ portion of the brain is only interested in three things: Fighting, fleeing, or freezing. In ‘fight’ mode, the downstairs brain wants to protect you from harm by fighting against the threat. When it is triggered, your heart may race, your palms may get sweaty, and you may have a sharp increase in irritability and anger. In ‘flee’ mode, you may experience a similar adrenaline rush, but in this instance, your brain is preparing your body to run away from the danger. In ‘freeze’ mode, we tend to retreat inside ourselves. This is the deer-in-the-headlights feeling of “If I’m very quiet and still, the bad thing won’t see me.”

How the Upstairs Brain Interacts with the Downstairs Brain

Whether you’re in fight, flee, or freeze mode, your downstairs brain is preparing you to deal with a real or perceived threat in the only way it knows how. When your downstairs brain is engaged, the upstairs part of your brain tends to get overwhelmed. The upstairs brain, which consists of the neocortex of the brain, is the part responsible for thinking things through, figuring things out, and solving problems. When the downstairs brain takes over, the upstairs brain is out to lunch. That’s why when you’re emotionally overwhelmed, it is nearly impossible to figure out a way to deal with it. The upstairs brain is all about finding solutions to problems, but the downstairs brain is all about fighting, fleeing, or freezing. When your upstairs brain is overwhelmed, thinking things over isn’t going to work. That’s because at that point, your downstairs brain is in charge. For those times when your downstairs brain is running the show, mindfulness is a way of disengaging from the thinking cycle for a while so that you can re-center yourself and reconnect with yourself and the world around you.

How Mindfulness-Based Ecotherapy Supports the Upstairs Brain, the Downstairs Brain, and a Calmer Nervous System

The “upstairs brain vs. downstairs brain” model offers a simple way to understand how our minds react to stress. The “downstairs brain” refers to evolutionarily older structures such as the amygdala, brain stem, and limbic regions. These areas handle survival instincts, fight-or-flight responses, and quick emotional reactions. The “upstairs brain” includes the prefrontal cortex and other regions responsible for reasoning, emotional regulation, empathy, and long-term decision-making. In moments of stress, the sympathetic nervous system activates the downstairs brain, often overwhelming the upstairs brain’s ability to respond calmly. This imbalance can lead to impulsive reactions, emotional flooding, or a sense of being perpetually on edge.

Mindfulness-Based Ecotherapy: A Practical Solution

Mindfulness-Based Ecotherapy offers a practical, grounded way to restore balance between these two systems. By integrating mindfulness practices with nature-based experiences, it supports regulation of the sympathetic nervous system while strengthening the upstairs brain’s capacity to stay engaged even during difficult moments.

One of the most powerful aspects of nature-based mindfulness is how quickly it downshifts the nervous system. Being outdoors, or even visualizing natural environments, has been shown to reduce sympathetic arousal and increase activity in the parasympathetic system. This shift creates the physiological conditions necessary for the upstairs brain to come back online. When the body stops signaling danger, the prefrontal cortex is freed to resume its role in planning, reflection, and problem-solving. Mindfulness in nature makes this transition smoother by encouraging sensory awareness, present-moment attention, and slower breathing, each of which directly supports parasympathetic activation.

How Mindfulness Trains Attention

Another key component is how mindfulness trains attention. The downstairs brain often hijacks the mind by pulling attention toward perceived threats. Mindfulness practice teaches individuals to notice this pull without automatically following it. In ecotherapy, this awareness is supported by grounding elements: the texture of tree bark, the rhythm of waves, and the sound of wind through leaves. These sensory anchors provide a natural counterweight to the internal storm generated by the sympathetic nervous system. Over time, this helps strengthen neural pathways associated with emotional regulation, making it easier for the upstairs brain to remain active even when the downstairs brain fires up.

Interoceptive Literacy and the Upstairs Brain

Mindfulness-Based Ecotherapy also promotes what some therapists refer to as “interoceptive literacy,” the ability to recognize and interpret internal body signals. A dysregulated sympathetic system often produces sensations such as a tight chest, rapid heartbeat, or restlessness. When people learn to identify these early cues without judgment, they gain a moment of choice. This pause allows the upstairs brain to intervene before the downstairs brain drives behavior. Practices like mindful walking, breath-based grounding, or observing natural cycles help individuals connect more deeply with these signals in a supportive, non-threatening environment.

Emotional Processing and the Upstairs Brain

Nature-based mindfulness also supports emotional processing. The downstairs brain often stores unresolved emotional material that surfaces during stress. Natural environments provide a calming backdrop for working through these experiences without becoming overwhelmed. The sense of spaciousness and the absence of artificial stimuli reduce cognitive load, giving the upstairs brain more bandwidth to integrate emotional information. This creates a more flexible, resilient nervous system that can adapt to challenges rather than reacting automatically.

Connectedness and the Upstairs Brain

Finally, Mindfulness-Based Ecotherapy strengthens the sense of connectedness that is crucial for nervous system regulation. Feelings of isolation can intensify sympathetic activation, while experiences of belonging and connection activate systems of safety and social engagement. Ecotherapy offers a double form of connection: with nature and with one’s own internal experience. This sense of being part of something larger reduces the perception of threat and supports long-term regulation of both the upstairs and downstairs brain.

In this way, Mindfulness-Based Ecotherapy provides a holistic path to balancing instinctive emotional responses with thoughtful, grounded awareness. By soothing the sympathetic nervous system and strengthening the upstairs brain, it helps people respond to life’s challenges with clarity, resilience, and a greater sense of peace.

References

Jo H, Song C, Miyazaki Y. Physiological Benefits of Viewing Nature: A Systematic Review of Indoor Experiments. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Nov 27;16(23):4739. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16234739. PMID: 31783531; PMCID: PMC6926748.

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