What Is Mindfulness? Mindfulness is a beautiful practice that helps in connecting and being rooted in life as it flows by. It involves getting our minds back to the present and paying attention to the life that is unfolding right now within us and around us. Definition Of Mindfulness “Mindfulness means paying attention in a …
Everyone wants to know what their strengths are – what they are good at, what situations they can pull-off well and what about them helps them cope better with life.
‘Strengths’ of any person are unique. Even if two people have the same strength, for example, good communication skills, the way each person’s communication skills show up in life would be very very different.
Sometimes, it is this unique nature of strengths that makes it difficult for you to truly identify what your strengths are. You probably think – ‘God, he’s so effective with customers’, or, ‘She’s so good with conversation!’ when you notice others.
“Maybe you could try to get something done by this week”,
“Maybe you’re trying too hard, you could do with a little bit of letting go”
“There may be a lot more options you haven’t explored”
“It would help if you would stop exploring more and more options and instead focus on one”
“Maybe you could reach out to your partner more”,
“Maybe you could detach a bit from your partner and work with yourself instead!”
Yes I’m quoting myself! What in the world am I trying to do contradicting myself all over???
You’ll soon know!
Going through pain in life is inevitable.
You know this. Oh yes, you often want to believe you can escape it by being “overly” careful. But deep inside… all of us know, we will go through pain!
An imperfect life scattered with pain, physical and emotional, makes you feel like life and people are unfair. When you are in pain, your mind says, “I deserve happiness, not yet another pain!” You work hard at your happiness, at work and at home. You try your best not to hurt others and to be steadfast and responsible.
Somehow, you still encounter pain and sorrow, sometimes right after a happy event.
You feel angry and dejected. You ask life, ‘why?’
A heavy workload and numerous deadlines would easily be one of the most stressful things about work. We live in an environment that demands quite a bit out of us and our ability. If you enjoy working to your fullest and find meaning in the work you do, then things are working out well for you. However, if you feel like work is hitting you even before you know it, and are caught up and pressurized, be assured, there are many others in the same boat! Well, sometimes, you cannot directly change the fact that you have a whole lot to do. However, you can, with gentle effort, try and make this just a little easier on yourself. We put up a post earlier that described 3 guidelines that would help you plan and anticipate your day better, to deal with a heavy workload.
Inner Space turns two today. It is a delightful feeling for the whole team here. Not just because we have done well and these two years of psychotherapeutic work as a counselling center have been extremely fruitful, but also because we have been able to do good work that we are happy about. But that is about us. Inner Space is not only about its team, it is about all of you who visited us, shared with us, read our posts or connected with us in some way-online or offline. I want to deeply thank you for this connection and for being with us in these two years.
Where there are relationships, there are bound to be rough patches. However, sometimes, relationships slip into a rut or a negative pattern where one partner is continuously angry, blaming and hurtful…or is suspicious, mistrustful and doubting. Sometimes, unfortunately, both partners have some such behaviors that adversely affect the relationship. Patterns such as these, when severe and repetitive constitute ‘Emotional Abuse’ or ‘Psychological Abuse’.
Sometimes, we feel stuck in a situation. We feel like nothing seems to be working and that we can’t think of solutions for ourselves. Then we feel like any attempt to try and solve the problem is a useless exercise and give it all up, feeling frustrated and hopeless within. I came across an article ‘The Creative Power of Thinking Outside Yourself’. This article reminded me of something I often use with my clients in therapy. According to this article:
“New research suggests we generate more creative ideas for other people than for ourselves”
“When walking, walk. When eating, eat”. This popular Zen proverb had me bewildered about it’s meaning at first sight, some months ago. In good time, I realized that most of us think while eating, walking, sleeping, and a whole lot of other things.
Dread getting up in the morning to go to work? Is it the heavy workload that repels you? Many of you probably think of deadlines and workload when you think of work. It’s true that today, work pressures have mounted tremendously. You may have a lot to pack into each day. Though dealing with pressured deadlines and a heavy workload is stressful because it demands a lot out of you, there is little option you are left with. Maybe you cannot change the fact that you have a lot to do at work, today and on most days. Yes, this is tiring and demanding. However, is there something you can do to make this situation just a little easier on yourself? Even if it means worrying just a little lesser about how you will manage or being a little clearer about how much you can do? Often these little efforts help in cutting out from the stress and lending you some more energy to cope with the day.
We specialize in combining psychotherapy with deep wellness practices like mindfulness and meditation and creating a customized mental health plan for individuals and organisations.
We specialize in combining psychotherapy with deep wellness practices like mindfulness and meditation and creating a customized mental health plan for individuals and organisations.
A young woman from another country moved with her family to live for one year in a town near the monastery. When, in the course of the year she discovered the monastery, she would periodically visit to have discussions with the Abbess. The Abbess introduced her to meditation, which became very meaningful for the young woman.
When the family’s year-long stay was drawing to an end, the young woman asked the Abbess, “In my country there is no Buddhism and no one has even heard about meditation. How can I continue to learn and deepen the practice you have started me on?”
The Abbess said, “When you return home ask far and wide for who, among the wise people, is recognized as having the greatest ability to listen. Ask that person to instruct you in the art of listening. What you learn about listening from such a person will teach you how to further your meditation practice.
― Gil Fronsdal, A Monastery Within: Tales from the Buddhist Path
