22 February 2019

Gretchen, our northern fieldworker, and Jude, our central fieldworker, attended a mindfulness workshop this month.

Gretchen shares some of her thoughts from the day:

"I hope you are enjoying the summer days and warm, often too hot, weather. I have noticed the mornings are gradually getting darker indicating that our long summer days will not be around for too much longer. Personally I find this a little disappointing and it is also a reminder to me to make the most of what we have in the present instead of pre-empting what is to come.

I have recently attended some training with Jude Kelly (Central Fieldworker) on mindfulness, a concept that seems to have taken off in recent years, however has actually been practiced for centuries. There are a few different interpretations of mindfulness and how it is practiced, simply put it is about ‘consciously being present’.

Mindfulness entails paying conscious attention to what is currently occurring, be it a thought, feeling, sensation, another person or what is happening around us. At certain levels we all do this as it's part of our interactions with the day, ourselves and our environment.

Mindfulness is said to bring a deeper appreciation and understanding of the relationships we have with these things be it feelings, thoughts and so on. Research shows that mindfulness practice can be effective in working through the stressors, anxieties and challenges we face on a daily basis.

Incorporating mindfulness can be as simple as taking a few minutes a day to engage in exercises designed to encourage calmness, clarity and wellbeing. If this sounds like something that you might be interested in simply google some techniques, I won't suggest any here as different approaches work for different people and it is a matter of finding what works for you.

Please get in touch if you would like to know more".

Gretchen
Northern Fieldworker
029 773 1398
Email: gretchen@cfnz.org.nz