Part 2 of “The Practice & Practicality of Mindfulness”, Episode #72
Last week, in Part 1, I spoke with Andrew Safer, founder of Safer Mindfulness Inc. He walked us through a brief mindfulness exercise, and shared some insights into the practice of mindfulness, and additional ways that mindfulness can benefit our lives.
Today, Andrew and I will pick up our conversation where we left off last week. At that point, we were talking how to approach our anxiety from a mindful perspective. Andrew will tell us more about the practice of mindfulness, including how we can apply mindfulness when we are experiencing difficult emotions, in times of crisis, and even as a tool for suicide prevention. He will also talk about mindful listening and describe a mindful listening exercise for which he designed a mindful listening worksheet which you can find at: safermindfulness.com/mindful-listening.
Before I continue my conversation with Andrew, I will take you through a brief mindfulness exercise that I wrote for my Conscious Leadership class, which I call “Opening the Present”. The title of this exercise was inspired by a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt, which says: “Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why we call it the present.” This exercise is designed to bring our awareness to the moment we are in, and to what we want to create in the coming moments. You will find it useful to bring mindfulness to your approach to a situation about which you are feeling tension, fear or anxiety, such as a difficult conversation or a conflict. During this exercise, there will be periods of silence. There’s nothing wrong with the recording, it’s simply for the purpose of the exercise. If you would like an audio clip or a copy of the text of this exercise, use one of the contact forms on this website to request one.
Andrew Safer is a mindfulness instructor and trainer, program developer, workshop facilitator, and author. Andrew began practicing mindfulness in the Zen tradition 53 years ago, and pivoted to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition after meeting the meditation master cho·gee·uhm truhng·puh (Chogyam Trungpa). From his home in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, he specializes in developing and implementing applied mindfulness programs for mental health and addictions, and for the workplace. Andrew is offering a complimentary 30-minute mindfulness instruction session to listeners of this podcast. You can harvest this opportunity by going to: safermindfulness.com/podcast-listeners.
Recently, he piloted Suicide Prevention Through Mindfulness Training with Canadian Mental Health Association—Newfoundland and Labrador. His book, Anxiety, Stress & Mindfulness: A Do-It-Yourself Guide to Wellness, was published in 2018, and can be found on Amazon. You can learn more about Andrew and his work at www.safermindfulness.com.