Have you ever felt like your mind is a runaway train, jumping from thought to thought, pulling you away from the present moment, and leaving you feeling disconnected? Or maybe you find yourself getting so caught up in your internal world that you miss what’s happening right in front of you?

In this training, you’ll explore the concept of mindfulness, the art of being fully present and aware of your thoughts, feelings, and surroundings. The purpose is to equip you with practical tools to develop this awareness, helping you break free from reactive behaviors by “The Protector” and cultivate a connection with your present experience. By embracing mindfulness, you’ll learn to observe your inner world with curiosity and acceptance instead of getting swept away by it. You’ll delve into techniques for focusing your attention, staying with uncertainty, and observing the impermanence of thoughts and feelings, all of which empower you to navigate life more clearly and intentionally. Get ready to cultivate openness and awareness to enhance your overall well-being and resilience. Embark on this journey of discovery to help you awaken to the present moment.

Handouts

• Noticing Feelings Exercise

Podcasts

Meditations

Training Takeaways

The following training takeaways recap the core knowledge and practical applications from this training, Staying Open and Aware:

• You learned that mindfulness is the practice of being fully present and aware of your thoughts, feelings, and surroundings in the current moment.
• This training phase showed you how to use concentration, relaxation, and patience as tools to cultivate awareness, with a particular focus on your breath as an anchor to the present.
• Now you understand the importance of staying with uncertainty, observing your urges and impulses without necessarily acting on them, and seeing that not all thoughts and feelings require immediate action.
• You should now be able to practice watching impermanence, recognizing that thoughts and feelings come and go, and that getting hooked by them often reinforces the very patterns you’re trying to shift.
• A key takeaway is that you can observe your inner world with openness, curiosity, and flexibility, understanding that thoughts and feelings are just thoughts and feelings, not necessarily facts or directives by “The Protector” that you must follow.

Remember, cultivating mindfulness is an ongoing practice. Keep using the techniques you’ve learned to stay present and aware, and to respond to life’s challenges with greater intention.

Staying open and aware, you’ll get better at noticing thoughts and feelings for what they are–only thoughts and feelings, and where they are, only inside you. You’ll also get better at tracking the connections and interactions among thoughts, feelings, and situations. The alternative would be to let your mind dictate your actions, telling you what to do and making you react impulsively. For example, you feel wobbly, trembly, and tingly, with your heart beginning to pound without noticing the thoughts or situation that activate them. Then all of a sudden, you’re swept away, thinking something bad is about to happen, and you have a panic attack.

Thinking and feeling can reinforce each other, generating more painful thoughts and feelings. Remembering to come back to the present and stay open and aware keeps you from getting and staying hooked.

Putting Knowledge Into Action

Take a break from training now to complete the action plan below. Allow yourself enough time to complete it before starting any new training.

1. Complete the Noticing Feelings exercise available as a handout.
2. Practice the Staying with Uncertainty and Watching Impermanence meditations at least 3 times each.
3. Continue using the Matrix diagram to draw painful life situations.