A Mindful and Spiritual Response to Coronavirus COVID-19
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Today I'd like to share with you a bit about how to have a mindful and spiritual response to big challenges.
Before I dive into this short spiritual sharing that I have for you, I just want to share a couple of things.
First of all, I'm very passionate not just about the spirituality but perhaps even more so about science. And I would urge you to not just lean on spiritual approaches to this challenge that we're all facing but actually look at the science side of things too. My recommendation is to have a look at the World Health Organization website WHO.int They have lots of information about what's currently happening and lots of really useful recommendations based on their research. They're very experienced with over many, many years for things like this. But I'm guessing that you have seen lots of that kind of information.
Sometimes we forget in these moments the importance of spirituality too, and it's something that I'm also passionate about. Science and spirituality both go towards the same thing in the end - I think they're both a search for truth in different ways. Hopefully you'll find my take today interesting and useful.
This is probably the most confusing diagram of them all.
This is just a diagram from an approach that I'm passionate about - a mindful approach called ACT - Acceptance and Commitment Training or Therapy. I see it now as not just a very scientific model, but actually a very spiritual model as well. These are the six different flexibility skills. They improve your psychological flexibility, which is essentially about helping you to live more values-driven life, a purpose-driven life, a more meaningful life. And all these different skills can help you to do that from acceptance and mindfulness to being clear about your values. And one of them they call it "self as context" - you can call it your transcendent self or even your observing self and I think that's an easy way of remembering it.
Having psychological flexibility is a fundamental part of your ability to live a meaningful life according to all their findings.
I like to see this observing self as that part of me that is the source of peace, of stillness, of compassion, of wisdom and of acceptance.
I'm aware of my body right now but because I'm aware of my body that means I'm not my body - I'm the thing that's watching it. In the same way I can be aware of my mind and the thoughts in my mind and therefore, because I'm aware of those thoughts I’m the part that's observing it - so I’m the observer of those thoughts. And same even with emotions and urges and sensations - because I'm the observer of it I can't actually be it.
So this observing self can be thought of as this place of stillness, peace, silence. And it's both the source of that and also, in some ways, although it's very separate from everything that's observed - it's connected to everything too.
Just like I am the observing self, that place of stillness and silence and peace, so your essence is that too. And the essence is that part of us that makes us who we are - that spiritual essence is what connects us - that sense of stillness and peace and silence.
So in one sense there's that sense of ultimate detachment, as the observer, not the thing that you’re observing. But in another sense, that inner peace is what connects you to everyone else too.
This inner spiritual dimension, the inner observing self - whatever you wish to call it - is a rock of inner stability to come back to, especially at our times when we're facing situations where there's lots of anxiety and stress and tension.
This is not the first pandemic
and sadly some people's lives have been lost already - with more to come. So of course there's lots of fear and anxiety that comes along with that and we need to do the best we can to help people to work and live through this challenge by practicing compassion.
We can access that compassion through coming to this place of stillness. And you can do that through your mindfulness and meditation exercises or your reflection - however you wish.
To remind yourself that there's that part of you that's completely free of all this stress and anxiety, and whether you have the most difficult thoughts in the world or not, or emotions, or sensations, or even if someone's life passes away or not - there's a part of them that still there- that's present, that's connected, and that's beyond the material world.
We will need to physically isolate ourselves more. Not connecting with each other that way but remembering that we actually still connected. We're very fortunate there's a lot of technology now that can connect us through video. At the same time there's even beyond that a sense of connection, a place of stillness and peace and silence beyond all the news, and all the information, and all the challenges that also connects us all.
I hope you found this video and post helpful - if you liked it - subscribe. I would also love to hear from you in the comments - what did you think, what are your reflections about spirituality and mindfulness, and how can we connect to that part of us in these times when there's so much stress and anxiety around.
Check out our next course on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, which will include this and many other metaphors - it's an interactive video course. You can chat and get to know the other participants, you create a sense of community. We try and make it in a creative way too, so you learn different techniques and it's also evolving all the time. I think you'll enjoy it so come along and join us!
