Mindfulness -

The key to self management

How do we make choices ?

• What to eat, drink ?

• What to wear ?

• What to do ?

• What to say ?

How do we make choices ?

• To increase pleasant feelings and

avoid unpleasant feelings ! –

pleasure pain principle ……

Freud !!

• Instinctive behaviour …

evolutionary programming of human

brain!

Pleasure – Pain principle

• A great impediment in facing life as

we grow up !......

– Increasing addiction among youth

– Inability to face unpleasant situations

… road rage, aggression, violence

=>Lack of self control

– Inability to distinguish between

“pleasant” and “good”

Traditional approach of self control

• Moral Education

• Limitations of didactic approach

• Example from Maha bha rata

जानामि धिमि न च ि परवति जानामि अधिमि न च ि तनवति

Mindfulness -- the key to self management

• Need for addressing the root

cause

• Root cause of lack of self control:

– instinctive tendency to seek

pleasant feelings [craving] and

avoid unpleasant feeling [aversion]

How do feelings arise ?

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Modes of Interaction with the world

Human

being

Mind

Mindfulness -- the key to self management

• People react differently to stimuli

– we react to feelings, not external

objects reaction => either of craving or

aversion

– role of perception, past conditioning

• Self management =>

• reducing the influence of pleasure-

pain principle & avoid instinctive

reaction

• responding to the stimuli wisely

Mindfulness -- the key to self management

• Training of Mind

– understand feelings are impermanent

– not to react to feelings:

–Neither run away nor run after feelings

just observe them with equanimity as

these change in their natural course

–Creating a space for wise

response

• Need for practical training

Mindfulness -- the key to self management

• Practical Training

– Benefits of using bodily sensations as an

anchor for training the mind

– Strengthening the mind to develop the ability

to feel subtle sensations

• Vipassana meditation

• Systematic scanning of the body to ‘feel’

the bodily sensations and training the

mind not to react to them.

• Using breath as an anchor to raise concentration … Ana pa na meditation

Meditation process in nutshell

Select object of

meditation

Notice any

reaction --

Relax

Noticing

attention has

wandered

Attention wanders

Return the

attention to the

object

• Moment by

moment

• Open Curiosity

• Non-judgmental

• Non -reactive

Let us practice for a few minutes

Benefits of Practice

Let us see the feedback from a school

Benefits of practice • Increase in concentration & efficiency

• Ability to resist temptations, distinguish

between ‘urgent’ and ‘important’ ; and say NO

• Ability to face ups-downs of life

• Proper self-appraisal- knowledge of strengths

and weaknesses

• Improvement in relationships

International Acceptance of

Mindfulness practice in

Education

Thanks !! Any Questions ?