Loving Kindness and Mindfulness
The practice of mindfulness is the practice of paying attention to your life, as it is unfolding in the present moment. This seems like a very personal, even self-centered, activity. Yet the experience opens up to an awareness and a connection with other human beings. Paying close attention to your experience reveals the many subtle ways your experience is connected to a much larger experience. The interactions between people and the mutual influence you have on others and they have on you becomes more evident. You start to become aware of the connections you have to the natural world, and the rhythms of seasons. When you approach these experiences with "loving kindness" you are able to stay directly in the experience. Too often, we are distracted by our busy mind or we are trying to avoid an aspect of our experience that seems uncomfortable and clinging to something that we hope will be pleasant. The attitude of loving kindness is a challenge to be open to the real connections in all of life. There is opportunity for you to learn and grow from every experience, even those that are the most difficult for you to face. The practice of approaching experience with loving kindness is an way to be even more mindfully open to your connections with a reality that is bigger than yourself. John Weaver, Psy.D.
