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What Is Mindfulness, Really? A Therapist’s Take

Couples CoachingWhat Is Mindfulness, Really? A Therapist’s Take

What Is Mindfulness, Really? A Therapist’s Take

I was asked the other day by someone in passing about how they might deal with a constant low-level anxiety. My response was that, other than finding a good therapist to work with, mindfulness would provide solid foundation. I know that to many, mindfulness is a vague term so I thought some of you may find it interesting to hear a little more about it from my perspective.

When it comes to transformative change, one of the biggest challenges is the shape that our mind currently gives to our reality. Our inference machinery – the way we automatically interpret and predict – can block our insight machinery. But insight is where transformation happens.

Insight is that leap: stepping outside the box of your current understanding into something new. That’s where real shifts in experience and opportunity occur, and mindfulness plays a critical role in this process.

Mindfulness is more than a practice – it is a mindset. It is about stepping back and noticing our experience and the lens through which we view and interpret. It’s about switching off the constant flow of assumptions and propositions that give form to our reality, focusing instead on the framing itself. That is to say, on how we’re seeing, not just what we’re seeing. This deeper awareness helps us enhance the level of presence we bring to our experience, and the opportunity for the new.

Mindfulness is a cornerstone of Connected State Therapy. Together, we slow down, reflect, and create space for that leap into new perspectives.

To support the mindfulness way of being, we can create practices. This is often in the form of meditation, or contemplation, or movement. These practices anchor us in the present moment and help integrate new ways of experiencing.

Do you recall any times that you’ve had that moment of insight? And what are your favourite practices to support mindfulness? Let me know in the comments, or visit joesummerfield.co.uk/connected-state-therapy to learn more about Connected State Therapy.

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