M I N D F U L N E S S I N L A W S O C I E T Y

Mindfulness for Lawyers

Starter Kit S t

www.mindfulnessinlawsociety.com

Mindfulness for Lawyers Starter Kit

1. Richard C. Reuben, Basic Mindfulness Meditation Instructions 1

2. Brenda Fingold, Practicing Mindful Walking 4

3. Tim Iglesias, Reflections on Developing a Meditation Practice 6

4. Rhonda Magee, Reacting to Racism: Mindfulness Has a Role (ABA Journal) 8

5. Additional Mindfulness Resources 11

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Basic Mindfulness Meditation Instructions

Richard C. Reuben

President and Chair, Mindfulness in Law Society

James Lewis Parks Professor of Law and Journalism

University of Missouri School of Law

The practice of mindfulness meditation is simply practicing being present. This is not as easy as

it sounds, because most of us are constantly multi-tasking by thinking about the past or future.

The mindfulness practice literally gives us practice being present by setting aside time to notice

when we are distracted, and bringing us back to the present moment, again and again.

In this practice, we choose an object to observe, such as the body or the breath. For purposes of

our practice, this is the present moment. When we notice that we are not observing the object

we have chosen (the body or the breath), we are actually noticing that we are distracted. We

then simply bring our attention back to our object of concentration (the body or the breath), but

without judging or blaming ourselves for being distracted because we know that the nature of

the mind is to wander to the past or future. That’s why we need to practice being present!

The following are simple instructions for getting started. It is helpful to find a quiet place to do

this, and to use a timer to set the length of the sitting session. Start with short sessions. A minute

or two is fine. Then go to five minutes, and then 10 minutes, and finally 15 or 20 minutes. That’s

plenty for a daily practice, although you can always add more time if you are interested and

have the opportunity.

1. Choose a Time and Place. There is no right time or place to sit. Some people prefer sitting

first thing in the morning, others prefer to sit at night before they go to bed, and still others

prefer to sit sometime during the day, perhaps as a break or transition from one part of the day

to another. It doesn’t matter. The best time to sit is the time that is easiest for you to do it.

Experiment to see what works bests for you.

2. Take Your Seat. It is easiest to start with a simple straight-backed chair, but you can also use

a meditation cushion or low sitting bench if you prefer. Experiment to see what is most

comfortable for you.

3. Assume a Helpful Posture. Your posture should support your ability to practice for an

extended period of time with minimal discomfort. If you use a chair; it is helpful to sit with the

small of your back touching the back of the chair, but the rest of your back away from the chair,

so that your spine is self-supporting. Your feet should be about shoulder width apart, with feet

flat on the floor and legs uncrossed. If you sit on the floor, it may be helpful to support your

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knees with smaller cushions. However you sit, your back should be erect and dignified, but not

stiff.

4. Come to the Present Moment. Gently close your eyes, and with a few larger exhales of

breath, let go of everything you have done that day and everything you still have to do, and

give yourself permission to simply be present during your sitting session. If thoughts of the past

or future come up, just let them go, knowing you can come back to them after your sitting

session.

5. Notice Your Senses. As you settle into your session, explore the present moment by noticing

the experience of each of your senses in that moment, one at a time, but with a sense of curiosity

rather than judgment. What is the experience of sound in this moment? What is the experience

of taste in this moment? What is the experience of sight, even with your eyes closed?

6. Scan the Body. The sense of touch can be especially helpful in grounding us to the present

moment because it is so visceral and pervasive. Casually scan the body to notice the many

different points of contact, and then begin a more detailed body scan. Begin by noticing your

feet on the floor, and perhaps your foot inside your shoe. Then slowly move your way upward,

noticing with a sense of curiosity each major point in the body: the feet, knees, weight and

shape of the bottom on the chair, the back, the shoulders and neck, the head, and each feature of

your face.

7. Bring Attention to the Breath. Now bring your awareness to the sensations of breath, both

the in-breath and the out-breath. It is easiest to do this by observing the breath as it sweeps in

and out of the nostrils, causes the chest to rise and fall, or the belly to expand and contract.

8. Observe the Breath. This is the heart of your practice. Just continue to observe your breath

with a sense of curiosity. Is it deep or shallow? Is it rough or smooth? Consistent or

inconsistent? What else is there to notice about the breath in this moment? Be sure to resist the

temptation to judge what you notice because it really doesn’t matter. Whatever you observe

may change in a minute or two, and probably will.

Your mind will want to wander. Guaranteed. But just notice that, too, and when it does wander,

just let go of whatever distracted you from the breath, and gently but firmly bring your

attention back to the breath, at whatever part of the body is easiest to re-establish that

connection. Again, try to resist the temptation to judge yourself for letting your mind wander. It

happens to everyone, and the trick is just to notice that the mind has wandered, let go of that

distraction, and bring the attention back to the breath.

You will do this again and again – observing the breath, noticing the distraction from observing

the breath, letting go of that distraction, and returning your attention to the breath, with no

blame or judgment. This is the practice of mindfulness, of being aware of what is happening in

the present moment, without any sense of evaluation. At first, it will seem like the distractions

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are happening every second or two, but you will be able to stay with the breath

longer as the mind begins to calm down.

9. Close Your Session. As you conclude your practice session, broaden your

attention back out from the breath to the body as a whole, scanning the body by

noticing different points of contact, beginning with the feet and working your

way back up to the head and breath. Notice how you feel now – the body, the

mind, the heart – and thank yourself for giving yourself the gift of practicing to

be present. As you are ready, you can open your eyes and return to the day.

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The Practice of Mindful Walking

© Brenda Fingold 2018

University of Massachusetts Department of Medicine

Division of Mindfulness

Manager, Community and Corporate Programs

MBSR Teacher/Stress Reduction Clinic

“Do not underestimate the power that comes to you from feeling

the simple movements of your body throughout the day.

~ Joseph Goldstein, Insight Meditation

Mindful walking can be a formal practice that is just as potent as sitting meditation in

cultivating awareness. It can also be a key to expanding awareness from formal

meditation to living mindfully day to day. There are many ways to practice mindful

walking. Below are some forms to explore.

Formal Mindful Walking Practice

Find a place where you can walk back and forth slowly for about 6 – 10 steps. Take a

moment to close your eyes and feel your feet on the floor. You might even begin with a

short body scan. As your awareness comes back into your feet, shift your weight back

and forth from one foot to the other, feeling the pressure and lightness and whatever other

sensations arise. Then begin to walk with small steps. As you move each foot, bring full

awareness to the soles of your feet. After a while, you might expand your awareness to

the stages of walking – lifting, stepping and placing one foot and then the other. Feel and

engage fully with the experience of walking. When you get to the end of your walking

path, pause briefly, turn around, and bring full awareness to your next steps. Walk at

whatever speed keeps you most present.

As you walk, let the thoughts and images that arise remain in the background. If you find

yourself lost in a thought or emotion, just stop and bring your awareness back to your

breath or feet and then resume walking. Remember that the practice is not about stopping

thoughts, but about noticing when you’ve been carried away and coming back to the

present moment.

Informal Walking Practices

Integrating short moments of mindful walking throughout your day is a powerful way of

strengthening the muscle of mindfulness. It is also a useful tool for slowing down a

racing mind or body and can be used as a transition practice to help you let go of what

just happened so that you can be more fully present for the next moment.

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Any time you find yourself walking is a good time to practice mindfulness. For a casual

walking practice, choose a place to walk where there won’t be too many distractions and

starts and stops. Begin walking and focus all your attention on what you are doing,

noticing sensations as they arise. You can bring your attention to the soles of your feet,

legs or body as a whole. When you find yourself drifting away from your focus, simply

notice where your mind has gone and return to the walking. If you are just learning this

practice, you might choose to rest attention simply on feeling the sensations of the body

in motion or, if you are walking in nature, you might focus on what you are seeing,

hearing, smelling or feeling.

You can also practice bringing mindfulness to the walking you do as you go about your

life. Notice how often you are actually present for the experience of walking and how

often you are lost in thought. Commit to walking up or down stairs mindfully or walking

through the halls at work with awareness that you are walking. Bringing present moment

awareness to walking during routine tasks and errands short-circuits the automatic pilot

mode and can make our routine experiences more interesting and leave us calmer, less

exhausted and even happier, as reported in research on the connection between focus and

happiness. You might choose one walking activity that you do every day and “staple”

your mindfulness practice to it, such as being fully aware of the first 10 steps you take

when you walk to get coffee, go to the rest room, walk into your building, etc.

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Reflections on Developing a Meditation Practice

Tim Iglesias Professor of Law

University of San Francisco School of Law

1. Be clear about the goal. The objective is subtle and unlike most of our activities. We are training

our minds. The practice is to pay attention to whatever is actually happening in the present

moment—nothing more and nothing less. The objective is only to take this time to focus your mind

on your breathing while you are also open to thoughts/feelings/etc. and, when you realize your

mind has moved to something else, gently and without judgment returning your awareness to your

breath.

a. We are not trying to “stop or suppress” our thoughts or feelings. Rather, we allow

them and acknowledge them. We just don’t follow them, give them energy or hold on to

them. In this sense, there are no “distractions” during meditation--only what is actually

happening in our inner life. In mindfulness meditation we allow ourselves to experience

whatever is actually going on for us in the present moment (“I’m upset”) without expecting

ourselves to do anything about it right then (or at all). By listening to what goes on in our

minds, we’re not committing ourselves to acting on it, we are just monitoring or witnessing

what is going on. Later, after the meditation, we can decide if we want to do something

about whatever came up in the meditation.

b. We are not trying to achieve a particular state of mind or feeling (e.g. peace, relaxation,

etc.). (In contrast, some versions of Zen meditation do seek to attain a state of “no thinking.”)

If you do experience those feelings, that’s great. You can be grateful for a moment and then

return your attention to your breathing. However, if your meditation time seems like one

distraction after another, that’s fine too. Really. It does not require a sterile or perfect (e.g.

noise-free) environment. Again, the practice is to pay attention to whatever is actually

happening in the present moment— nothing more and nothing less. Once we let go of these

other goals/desires, the practice feels much easier. Holding on to or resisting our inner

experience takes energy. We can let go of that energy and relax into the meditation when we

accept that we are not trying to “achieve” anything other than being present.

c. The primary “benefits” of the practice come not as deliberately sought-after experiences

or feelings (like peace), but as byproducts of doing the practice regularly. When you have

been practicing for a while, you will develop the capacity to be OK with whatever is actually

happening in the present moment, whether it be joy, sadness, peace, anger, boredom, a fun

memory, fear, satisfaction, loneliness, or panic. You will accept yourself more. When you

experience that you don’t actually melt or explode (or whatever you might fear will happen)

when you are just present in the moment, you will no longer need to avoid the present

moment.

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This experience will give you confidence that you can be OK with whatever is actually

happening in the present moment (“I can handle it.”). It may be uncomfortable--scary even--

but we can just let it be and let it go during the meditation. And this confidence that you can

be OK with whatever is inside you provides you with great freedom to feel/see/be present to

whatever is actually happening inside you and outside you, and then to respond (rather

than react) and to initiate from your own deepest values. Finally, this self-acceptance enables

you to be more accepting of others, which opens up lots of other good dynamics in

relationships.

2. Be patient with yourself. Mindfulness is simple, but not easy. It is not going to happen in a week.

It’s like any other practice, you have to do it regularly; thinking about doing it doesn’t count.

3. Be curious, not judgmental, about your inner life. We’ve been judging ourselves and others since

we were very little. It’s difficult not to react to whatever we think, feel, etc. Nurturing a non-reactive

and non-judgmental space in our lives is a radical act. Imagine you are an anthropologist

encountering a new culture. “I’m feeling sad now….hmmm….I’m a little hungry….hmmm….I’m

frustrated that I’m not better at this…hmmm.”

4. Be deliberate about your practice. We’re all very busy, but 10 – 15 minutes per day is always

doable if we really want to do it. If you are honest with yourself you know that your life is unlikely

to ever get less “busy,” so the busyness of your life now is probably the norm going forward. Be

assured: You can do this; you are the master of your own schedule. But you have to be deliberate

about it. Getting up 15 minutes early or carving out 15 minutes from some other activity (e.g. time

spent on Facebook) is possible for everyone. Meditating in the same place at the same time each day

for the same amount of time will help you develop a habit of meditation. You can help yourself

develop this commitment by making your intention known to friends and inviting them to check-in

with you about it. Consider your practice not as another duty or obligation demanding more of your

precious time, but as a little gift that you can give yourself every day, that you deserve and that is

actually really good for you.

5. Be practical. Use a nice-sounding timer to help you keep track of the time rather than taking

occasional peeks at a clock. There are free mobile apps that are good for this, such as Insight Timer,

Headspace, and Calm. If you find your mind is particularly busy or active, try some the following

techniques: use a mantra like “breathing in, breathing out”; place one hand on your belly and one on

your heart; or counting the breaths to 10 and starting again at 1 if you get to 10 or if you lose track.

Or, find a different focus for your mind—a candle, the sounds around you (as just noise coming into

your ears), etc.

6. If you find yourself resistant to meditating daily, acknowledge the resistance and be curious (but

not judgmental) about it. What is underlying my reluctance? For example, if it’s a fear, what am I

afraid of? What would happen if I just meditate today?

7. It’s also OK to enjoy it.

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MINDFULNESS

Mindfulness plays role in educating lawyers to confront racism

BY RHONDA V. MAGEE

AUGUST 2016 (/MAGAZINE/ISSUE/2016/08/)

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As any given day draws to an end, I am most often tired. You

probably know the feeling.

Rhonda Magee. Photograph

Courtesy of University of San

Francisco School of Law.

As a woman of color, my ordinary fatigue is

exacerbated by the additional stress of the ugly

signs that old-fashioned racism is on the rise in

America.

And there is an added weight lately. In my day

job, I’ve taken on the challenge of helping law

students learn to address issues of race and

law more effectively.

It’s a job I thoroughly enjoy. But I wonder why

there isn’t more focus and attention on these

issues. They wonder, too.

Take a typical day: I was sitting in a circle with

15 students in my “Introduction to Race Law:

Policy, Professionalism & Practices” class. It’s

a group of mostly first-year students from a

range of backgrounds—white, black, Latino,

Asian and a variety of combinations of these.

We meet twice a week and strive for

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something approaching multiracial truth. On this path, I guide my students to develop

and deepen their capacity to analyze and discuss intersections between race and

law.

It’s fair to say my race-law students are unsettled. Our topics can be plucked from the

headlines. As I write this, those topics are way too plentiful: Horrific shootings in

Baton Rouge, Dallas, Minneapolis, Orlando. Implicit and explicit bias in policing and

sentencing people of color. A shockingly light sentence for sexual assault by a white

student caught in the act. Community distrust of authority. The tenor of the

presidential campaign.

Race matters. Social identities matter. Yet my students tell me most of their law

school classes ignore these topics. Their course materials don’t include meaningful

explanations of the ways that our history of racism, white supremacy and gender bias

has helped shape law and policy over time. They’re not being asked to consider

ways that issues of race and other social identities intersect with the application of

the law today.

For these students, the absence of thorough treatment of these issues is troubling.

For some of them, this systematic failure to address an obviously relevant aspect of

law in our lives makes them angry. Many of them feel that their own experiences—

what they know about how race still matters, what they’ve learned from interacting in

their social groups over the years—are somehow systematically ignored in the

course of learning about how law impacts people and groups differently. What they

are learning seems to leave them feeling disengaged from the realities of their

everyday lives.

It doesn’t have to be this way. There have long been calls for more effective ways of

addressing race in legal education. It’s a staple of the area of legal scholarship

known as critical race theory. For a recent class, we read the groundbreaking but

underappreciated 2008 article “Teaching Race/Teaching Whiteness: Transforming

Colorblindness to Color Insight,” by Santa Clara University professors Stephanie

Wildman and Margalynne Armstrong. The article makes the case for legal education

that systematically teaches about race and, in particular, about the largely invisible

racial dynamics of whiteness and white privilege—one that moves away from

colorblindness to what the authors call color insight.

My students read the piece carefully, though not without criticism. Still, by and large,

they come away with more questions about why traditional law and legal education

have not done a better job of helping lawyers deal more effectively with the ongoing

issues of race in America.

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I wish I had a good answer. It’s certainly possible to facilitate conversations among a

group of law students from varying backgrounds. But it isn’t easy.

ACCEPTING ANGER FOR WHAT IT IS

Emotions can run high on hot-button issues.

Here’s where a contemplative approach can help. I find that incorporating

contemplative practices into conversations can make all the difference. That’s not to

say there isn’t pushback.

One student recently pressed me to explain how I can talk with compassion about

engaging people who have demonstrated, at a minimum, an indifference to racism.

I tell her I can understand her confusion, her anger. I experience anger, too. Yet for

me, anger can be experienced and accepted for what it is. It’s often a signal that a

deep value has been violated. And that realization can lead me to better responses.

Another student tells me that, in his view, “sometimes you have to call people out,

especially when they are being racist.” I nod. In extreme cases, this may be so. But

we can’t always give in to those temptations.

To better communicate and relate to those around us, we need to find ways to pause,

reflect and respond—rather than simply react. That may be more effective for

keeping the conversation going and expanding understanding. Rather than calling

people out, I suggest: What if we try to call them in—into more nuanced and

compassionate conversations about ways of addressing these issues more

effectively together? It may not always work, but we can certainly try; and in a divided

world, we’d be better off for it.

“It’s important to meet people where they are and to realize that if people are

struggling with their own material needs, it makes it all the more difficult to work on

this issue across lines of difference,” I tell another student, one struggling to imagine

ways of bringing these issues into spaces where people may be preoccupied with

their own sense of disadvantage.

As we speak, the student’s eyes well with tears. I ask her what is coming up. “I’m just

so grateful to have this class … and just to know that I’m not alone.”

She’s certainly not alone. All of us are grappling with these issues. But are you

responding or reacting? Are you thinking through your approach? Are you helping

your clients respond rather than react?

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The late ABA Journal editor Steve Keeva, through his book, Transforming Practices,

suggests that law may be experienced as a healing profession. University of Florida

professor Len Riskin makes a similar case in his 2007 essay “The Place of

Mindfulness in Healing and the Law.”

It’s a notion far too few lawyers consider. Yet if you begin to explore a healing

approach to the practice of law, you just may see benefits in your work with clients, in

communities divided by racial incidents, and even in your personal life.

STRUGGLING AND HEALING TOGETHER

The practices and teachings I share with my students, colleagues and lawyers in

various settings give me hope and even joy. Yes, the work leaves me exhausted

most evenings—mentally, physically and spiritually—signs that our legal and political

institutions have not done enough to assist any of us in understanding contemporary

racism and other forms of bias—and actually minimizing them. But the effort to

increase skillfulness in working with these issues forthrightly is also a solace. We are

struggling together. And in that struggle, we are creating the capacity to do better

next time by our colleagues, our clients, our neighbors. We are living our way into the

future we’d like our children to see.

Because of the personal toll of regularly dealing with these issues so intimately, a

daily mindfulness practice—sitting on a cushion or in a chair for 10 to 20 minutes,

day after day, focusing on the sensations of breathing and of being alive with a loving

heart—has sustained me. Indeed, research shows how such practices support the

effective performance of those of us who may be the targets of racism, in addition to

assisting each of us in dealing with and minimizing our own biases. These personal

practices must be expanded to include interpersonal and systemic efforts to address

racism in its various, contemporary forms. Combining mindfulness with anti-racist

work—what I call “ColorInsight Practice”—may be the key to forming lawyers and

leaders who will transform the deep structures of inequality and do the everyday

work of bringing about racial justice. Let us begin together, one mindful conversation

at a time.

This article originally appeared in the August 2016 issue of the ABA Journal with this

headline: “Reacting to Racism: Mindfulness has a role in educating lawyers to

address ongoing issues.”

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A COLORINSIGHT EXERCISE

Mindfulness-based “ColorInsight Practices” combine personal, interpersonal

and systemic efforts to bring awareness to race and other forms of social-

identity-based bias in our lives. We bring attention to these aspects of our lives

with as much compassion for ourselves and for others as we can muster—and

with the conviction that real change is possible. Here’s a practice for you to try:

Sit in silence for a few minutes, bringing attention to the body and breath. Think

back on your life experiences over the past 24 hours with nonjudgmental

awareness. Reflect on the settings in which you have moved, including to, from

and during work. What races do you typically encounter? In what roles? Do

some groups predominate as among the powerful or the powerless? Take a

few minutes to write in a journal about what you know, including the habits or

conditioning you may have around acknowledging or avoiding this aspect of

your own life experience. Notice not only the thoughts but also emotions and

physical sensations that arise as you seek to turn more forthrightly to this

aspect of your own life. Consider developing an intention of gently bringing

mindful awareness to these aspects of your life, inviting the will to work with

this dimension of your experience with greater compassion, courage and

curiosity in the coming week.

Copyright 2018 American Bar Association. All rights reserved.

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Additional Mindfulness Resources

Mindfulness for Lawyers

1. Mindfulness in Law Society Resource Database,

https://mindfulnessinlawsociety.com/resources/

2. Scott Rogers, The Six-Minute Solution: A Mindfulness Primer for Lawyers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC5zBclXuJ4

3. Charles Halpern, Mindfulness in Law,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7MyVALYlw8

4. National Task Force for Lawyer Well-Being: Recommendations (2017),

https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/images/abanews/ThePathToLawyerWell

BeingReportRevFINAL.pdf

5. Patrick Krill et al, The Prevalence of Substance Use and Other Mental Health Concerns

Among American Attorneys (ABA Hazelden Study, 2016),

https://journals.lww.com/journaladdictionmedicine/Fulltext/2016/02000/The_Prevalence

_of_Substance_Use_and_Other_Mental.8.aspx

Mindfulness Generally

6. Jon Kabat-Zinn on Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeCXhXDkzpw (1 hour, 34 minutes)

7. Daniel Goleman, From Mindfulness to Action,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byOdu4r6N-Y (1 hour)

8. Center for Mindfulness at University of Massachusetts School of Medicine videos,

https://www.umassmed.edu/cfm/about-us/resources/videos/

Science of Mindfulness

9. Dr. Jud Brewer, University of Massachusetts School of Medicine,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXX_qAPs-Gs (24 minutes)

10. Dr. Ron Seigel, Harvard Medical School,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPlG_w40qOE (1 hour, 5 minutes)

11. Dr. Sara Lazar, Harvard Medical School,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmCnm4bC4gY (50 minutes)

12. Dr. Dan Siegel, UCLA School of Medicine,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqUNtLbwoj4

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