Welcome to Mindful Well-Being:
Dedicated to the practice of mindfulness, promoting psychological health and well-being in everyday living, with Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction – MBSR – and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy – MBCT in secular settings.
Mindfulness is a particular way of paying attention, best described as:
“The awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally to the unfolding of experience”
(Kabat-Zinn, 2003, p. 145).
At the core of both MBSR and MBCT is the development of mindful awareness, cultivated experientially, through regular mindfulness meditation practice.
Mindful awareness emerges when we bring together our intentional attention, with attitudes of kindness, curiosity, and open receptivity to our experience.
Mindfulness is not something you can learn from just reading about it:
“Mindfulness has to be experienced to be known”
(Germer, Siegel & Fulton, 2005, p. 8 )
There is nothing too complex about mindfulness – it is simply bringing our awareness to our own experience – and truly being – in each present moment. Mindfulness can be considered as an innate human capacity, available to all of us.
Mindfulness is simply being with ourselves, and noticing what is, in our every day experience.
Becoming more mindful in everyday living can allow us to see the extraordinary in the ordinary, to reconnect with our bodies and our sensory experiences, and to become more responsive, rather than reactive, to the challenges of everyday living.
MBCT Stress Reduction: day and evening group courses in Sydney from February 2012
MBSR and MBCT are 8 week structured group programs, teaching mindfulness practices through experiential learning. Groups meet once a week for 2 – 2 1/2 hours, and learning is supported by daily home practice. Authentic MBSR and MBCT courses are facilitated by experienced health professionals who have their own personal mindfulness practice, and have engaged in relevant professional training, and ongoing professional development.
MBCT – Stress Reduction – 8 week group courses are currently being offered in Sydney, Australia. Evening and day courses are available.
Groups are open to adults, and are suitable for anyone who is committed to developing a secular personal Mindfulness meditation practice, including those who may have experienced stress, anxiety, depression, or other difficulties in everyday living.
For details, see “Courses” page.
In its fourth year, the Australian Lifeline Stress Poll has found that our stress levels continue to rise each year, with an alarming amount of us experiencing high levels of stress at work and at home.
93% of Australians are stressed this year, up from 90% in 2010, and 48% of us are experiencing high levels of stress, up fro 43% this time last year.
“Lifeline is seriously concerned about the high levels of stress in our community, and it’s getting worse,” Lifeline spokesperson Brendan Maher said today.
“For years we have been concerned about the high levels of extreme stress in Australia, and each year it grows. This year we can put some of it down to the natural disasters affecting our nation, but much of it will be due to poor stress management.”
Australians work very long hours and so it is no surprise to Lifeline that work is the number one stressor for the country, this was followed by thoughts of the future, finances, health and personal relationships.
- While mindfulness wont make life stressors ‘go away’, developing a mindfulness practice can provide healthy ways to manage your stress reactivity: physiologically, emotionally and cognitively.