Savouring for Flourishing: Mindfulness 2.0

It matters what we rest our mind on.
 
When we rest our mind on difficult things- hurts, criticism, worries, or lack- the brain gets shaped in a certain way. It becomes reactive, vulnerable to the negative and zooms into a narrow focus on threat and loss.

It’s not really our fault… it’s easy to get caught in a “what’s wrong” mind instead of a “what’s right” mind because our brain’s architecture is built that way.
 
The brain will continue to follow the downhill course unless we step in and intervene. After all, we’ve inherited a nervous system built in the stone age, with its hard-wired negativity bias. It’s up to us to install the software for flourishing. The software is ages-old and never needs updating. It’s called Mindfulness.
 
Yet mindfulness itself is subject to the negativity bias. Talk about a vicious circle! Vicious, when we end up beating ourselves up for not being mindful enough. When we end up feeling like a failure.
 
 
SAVOURING PRACTICE
 
Which brings me to the Knight in Shining Armor: savouring practice. I talked about the savouring practice in my last post.
 
Savouring takes the ordinary simple moments of daily life as a basis for Mindfulness. We learn how to use those moments, in an embodied way, to counterbalance the inbuilt tendency of the brain to veer towards “what’s wrong”.
 
It’s really enjoyable. Savouring, also known as ‘taking in the good’, turns our mind to the often-overlooked good events, feelings, pleasures, intentions and achievements. It inevitably nurtures qualities such as contentment, strength, joy and resilience.
 
Savouring turns everyday experiences into lasting, beneficial changes in neural structure. Remember: what we pay attention to is what shapes our brain.
 
Having pursued the Savouring practice over the last few years, I attended a 4-day webinar last year with the wonderful neuro-psychologist, Dr Rick Hanson. I’m looking forward to sharing these treasures with you.
 
Knowing this stuff is one thing. Putting it into practice and sustaining that practice is another. Attending a weekly course in a supportive setting is an ideal way to get started. 

Seven Monday evenings
starting 26th February 2018
5.30 - 7.30pm
at the Seniors Hall, Bloore st, Kyogle (behind the pool)