Mindfulness for Millennials

Healing happens in the space between stimulus and response.

Spiraling out of control…

Thoughts swirl around in your brain – then, suddenly – you’re swept away by their currents, careening down a rabbit hole you didn’t even know existed within you.

If only your thoughts didn’t hijack your every experience, life would be so much more enjoyable.

So powerful. So disruptive. So compelling.

But there IS a way to overcome.

Mindfulness empowers you to show up to the present moment as the version of yourself that you genuinely want to be.

According to teacher Jon Kabat-Zinn, mindfulness is the awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, nonjudgmentally.

Mindfulness is simply noticing what arises, moment by moment. In your body. Around your body. You can learn to see everything – using the five senses, as well as opening up to your emotional state.

Mindfulness also provides the opportunity to examine thought and behavior patterns from a distance – to help you create new patterns that serve you at the highest level.

We all need a vision for where we want to go – and how to get there.

Dropping into mindfulness can help you cultivate your vision in a heartfelt and powerful way.

As a therapist, I’ll introduce you to mindfulness and help you apply it to empower you to meet your life as it is, connect your abilities and strengths, and realign yourself with your desired direction in life.

Together, we’ll use Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), as well as techniques from Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Mindful Self-Compassion, and other mindfulness interventions.

But, to be most effective, you must explore mindfulness both within and outside therapy.

Your life is yours – YOU decide how to live.

While it’s important to understand that you can’t always control everything that life throws at you, you CAN choose your response.

You get to show up as the author, show yourself compassion, and give yourself the grace to pause amid the seeming chaos around you.

What’s the hurry?

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to rush. What is meant for you cannot miss you.

Mindfulness provides a space for you to rest, to cultivate your most profound sense of yourself, and to make the best choice for you.

To recognize your emotions as they are, acknowledge the circumstances that lead to your feelings, decide who you want to be in the moment, and show up in a way that honors the direction you’ve chosen for your life.

It’s essential to use the skills we discuss in therapy in real life. Only in practicing these techniques will you see the value they possess in changing your life.

Embrace the wandering visitors.

Witnessing thoughts and feelings as mentors who can teach us can be incredibly empowering.

Often, our culture encourages us to shove away unpleasant feelings and thoughts.

Despite that, what you resist persists, as you may well have experienced.

Mindfulness allows for the bird’s eye view on your behavior patterns – as well as the perspective and space to choose to switch how you approach triggering or overwhelming situations.

Embrace the good and the bad.

You don’t have to shove away the negative. You can witness it, honor it, and allow it to teach you. From there, YOU decide what you have the power to change.

When you can show up to life as it is and choose the way you want to interact with the people and events that compose your experiences, you reclaim your sovereignty. You reclaim your power. You reclaim your voice and choice. Having compassion for yourself then makes it easier to have compassion for others.

Practicing mindfulness makes being in this challenging world a little easier to bear.

You are worthy of being safe, living with ease, and feeling peaceful.

Practicing mindfulness can help bring these sought-after feelings into your day-to-day life.