Mindful River

Mindfulness in the greater Spokane area

About Mindfulness

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is a mental state where we are paying attention to the present moment, in a kind, curious, and accepting manner. Mindfulness can be directed inwards (to our thoughts, feelings, and body sensations) or outwards (to who and what is around us and what is happening).

How is mindfulness related to meditation?

Mindfulness meditation is one way to practice mindfulness. When we practice a skill, our brains learn to do it with more ease. The goal of mindfulness meditation and mindful movement such as yoga is to learn the skill of being in a mindful state, with the goal of using that skill more often and with more ease throughout each day.

Note that the goal of mindfulness meditation is not to achieve a state of zen-like trance, turn off our thoughts, or to transcend reality. Instead, the goal is to be more aware, in a kind and curious manner, of the present moment and what is currently going on in our thoughts, emotions, and body. Anyone can practice mindfulness meditation and mindful movement, and accepting the present moment (with whatever thoughts, feelings, and body sensations come up) is part of the practice (having the mind wander is normal).

Where can I learn mindfulness?

Besides attending the Mindfulness River meetings, joining our discussions on Discord (see Home page) or using the resources from past meetings (each meeting post includes links to the resources used at the meeting), another way to learn mindfulness is to take a course or attend a retreat. Some options:

  • Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) — an 8-week course in using mindfulness to address physical and mental stresses. Palouse Mindfulness offers a free, self-paced, online MBSR course, which some of the founders of the Mindfulness Mingle have experience with. If a self-paced course is not the right fit for you, their web site also has a list of organizations that offer instructor-led MBSR courses.
  • Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) — therapists can learn this technique, based in MBSR, to help their patients who struggle with repeated bouts of depression.
  • Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) — an 8-week course including 1 week on mindfulness and 7 weeks on self-compassion (MBSR typically has 1 week on self-compassion in its 8 weeks on mindfulness). Some of the organizations that offer instructor-led MBSR (see link above) also offer MSC.
  • Non-Violent Communication (NVC) — a mindfulness-based method for compassionate communication. Learn more at the Center for Non-Violent Communcation.
  • Retreats — Some of the founders of the Mindfulness Mingle met at a one-day mindfulness retreat offered by Mindfulness Northwest on the west side of Washington state. They also offer longer retreats, online retreats, both MBSR and MSC courses, and mindfulness teacher training.

You could also learn aspects of mindfulness from a book or app, such as one of these:

  • Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness, by Jon Kabat-Zinn (the founder of MBSR)
  • The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook by Kristin Neff and Christopher Germer (the founders of MSC); also Fierce Self-Compassion by Kristin Neff and The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion by Christopher Germer
  • Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshall Rosenberg (the founder of NVC)
  • The Power of Focusing: A Practical Guide to Emotional Self-Healing by Ann Weiser Cornell
  • One component of mindfulness is being aware of your emotions. The How We Feel app is a useful tool for figuring out and tracking how you are feeling. There are also numerous Mood Meter PDFs you can download on the web to help put words to your emotions (if that link doesn’t work, try a web search for “mood meter download”).

Where can I find guided meditations?

Here is a list of web sites that provide free audio and/or video recordings of guided mindfulness meditations and mindful movement practices: