So, how did your week 1 go?
For my practice, I chose to eat a chocolate chip cookie mindfully. Slowing down and really paying attention to eating something, much like the raisin activity
really enhanced my experience. I can’t promise I’ll eat every cookie that way, but it really was a pleasant way to enjoy a treat and allowed me to really savour the scent, tastes and textures of the cookie.
Body scans have always been a challenge for me, because I tend to pass out midway. That said, I chose to do my body scan before bed. I suffer from insomnia on a fairly regular basis, so trying this as a means to relax was helpful in calming my body and mind. I can remember usually getting to about my mid-body and then zzzzzzz. I noticed that the sleep I was getting was a very deep sleep. so much so that I either slept through alarms or woke up and shut them off then slept again. I may not have gotten more sleep or to sleep easier but, a better quality sleep has translated to a more relaxed me during the day.
I would love to know how people fared and what you think so far? So post your thoughts in the comments section.
Now on to Week 2!
Many of us, especially now being isolated and having our lives disrupted by Covid can fixate on the negative or if you are like me live in your head a little too much.
The aim of MBSR is for us to be more aware, more often. The thought that comes to my mind is “Be here, now.” One of the things that can impede us from being present in our lives is the thought that we or something we are doing isn’t good enough or less than we expected some how. These thoughts can sometimes make us blame ourselves or judge things and ourselves negatively. These patterns can often be automatic and therefore “mindless”. What we want to do is interrupt the pattern. When we do that, we can consciously make a choice.
That all sounds wonderfully easy. It isn’t. It requires practice. We are after all trying to break some well-entrenched and sometimes unconscious habits. One of the first steps though is by noticing and acknowledging what our situation is. Just that, noticing, not changing. The body-scan is a tool to help us do that. It allows us to acknowledge and bring attention to an area without changing anything. There is no good or bad, no goal to achieve or not, you just are.
Mindful Breathing is another tool that helps us to ground us and bring gentle awareness to ourselves without judgment or need to change anything about our situation. We simply breathe and notice our body as we do so. I tend to have a challenge doing this one on my own and need to listen to a guided meditation. I find I am able to focus on my breath with more attention having someone guide me than if I did this on my own. Its ok if your mind wanders while you practice, it is completely normal and expected. So don’t judge or think you failed. Just notice the thoughts or the fact that you have wandered, and refocus on your breath. If it happens again (and it probably will) just acknowledge and refocus. That’s the beauty of breathing; every breath is a new opportunity to start again.
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Activities for week 2 below. Week 1 can be found HERE.
Activity 1: Pleasant Events
This week is an opportunity to really become aware of our thoughts, feelings, and sensations around positive or pleasant events. So everyday notice and record (for yourself) in detail how you felt. You can use the chart below as a reference.
Day |
What was the experience? |
How did your body feel, in detail during this experience? |
What moods and feelings accompanied this experience? |
What thoughts went through your mind? |
What thoughts are in your mind as you write this down? |
Example |
Came home to a happy wiggly dog |
Lightness across the face, awareness of shoulders dropping. Smiling |
Happiness, Pleasure, Relief |
“What a warm welcome”“I feel so loved” |
“I didn’t feel appreciated today until I got home.” “Rufus really loves me!” |
Meditation 1: Body Scan
Begin with a 45-minute body scan (see below).
Meditation 2: Mindful Breathing (See Below)
- Using a comfortable straight-backed chair, sit in an upright position (not slouching) to help, use a pillow to help you stay off the back of the chair. If you chose to sit on the floor or cross-legged, make sure you are supported by a soft surface (comfort so you avoid numb bum) and that you are elevated enough that your knees are lower than your hips.
- Once seated, you want an erect spine, and if in a chair, feet flat on the floor, legs uncrossed.
- Gently close your eyes.
- Bring your attention to your body; the physical sensations of your body pressure where it makes contact, any tension, just like in the body scan.
- Now bring attention to your breath.
- Try to focus your awareness on the sensations in your lower abdomen as you breathe in and out (sometimes it helps if you place your hand on your belly).
- Try to follow your breath as you breathe in and out. Notice the changes and physical sensations and you breathe.
- You don’t need to try to control your breathing in any way, just let it happen.
- Sooner or later (probably sooner) your mind will wander. It OK! It happens and that’s what our minds do. It isn’t wrong or a mistake or a failure. It is an opportunity to refocus on your breath again. It ok it this keeps happening too. Just remind yourself to refocus and start again. Every breath is a new beginning.
- Continue this practice for 10 – 15 minutes (or more if you like). Remember that the intention is simply to be aware of your experience in each moment as best as you can. Use your breath as an anchor to reconnect you to the moment if your mind wanders.
Home Work:
- Do the body scan 6x for week 2
- Record what you notice each time you do the practice.
- At different times during the week, practice 10-15 min of mindful breathing, 5-6x.
- Activity 1 – Pleasant Events awareness
- Choose a new routine activity to do mindfully (see description week 1).
Meditations:
www.guilford.com/MBCT_audio, track 4 (Requires creating a user account)
This site offers a ton really great resources that can be explored now or for future practice. You can find it HERE. The specific practice for this week is HERE it is a 6 minute breathing exercise.
Tips for the Body Scan
- Regardless of what happens (you fall asleep, loose concentration, focus on the wrong body part) keep practicing.
- If your mind wanders, just note the thoughts and bring your mind back to the scan or your breath.
- Let go of success or failure, this isn’t a competition. Be open and allow it to happen.
- Let go of expectations what the scan will do for you.
- Approach your experience with non-judgment, curiosity and openness.
- Your breath is an anchor.
- Be aware, be non-striving, be in the moment, and accept things as they are.
#Acceptance #Anxiety #AYASM #BeingPresent #Breathe #Community #Depression #Gratitude #HELP #Hopeunites #Invisibleillness #justbreathe #Loss #Lungcancer #MBSR #MentalHealth #Mentalillness #Nostigma #Onedayatatime #Pickingupthepeices #Realitycheck #Stigma #unitedinhope #YACancer #YoungAdultCancer ADVOCACY ALK+ Awareness Cancer Clinical Trial Coping event Hope LCAM LCSM LifeasaLifer Lifer Lung Cancer Mindfulness patient Personal Survivor Survivorship YACC Young Adult Cancer Survivors
After having survived stage 4 cancer for the last 9+ years, I could never have anticipated that during the course of that survivo
something 
From love and tears.
advocacy and the cancer community for my own mental health. One can run away from many things, however they cannot run away from themself. In the gap from my last post, a lot has happened. One of the biggest events was celebrating my 10 year cancerversary. It’s a bit crazy to think that I have lived with cancer for a quarter of my life! You can read a bit about my thoughts 
I spent the better part of last year working to achieve this goal by learning Japanese (I’m still terrible!); convincing my oncologist that this was a good idea; 
keeping myself occupied. Music has been my saviour, art has been an outlet, curiosity is being fed by learning new skills. I am painting, writing, learning not one, but two new instruments, and I’m still learning Japanese. I am setting new goals, like being able to play a Tool song on bass. It’s a heady goal, just listen to one of their songs and you’ll hear why. It also brings me back here. Life these days are as surreal as a Dali painting. I was thinking that 
it’s almost as if the world has been diagnosed with cancer. I see so many parallels between this experience and the one I have lived through and with for the last 11 years. The isolation, anxiety, learning a “new normal”, being hypervigilant, being scared. But, I also see the good. Neighbours helping neighbours, parents spending time with their children, people cooking and learning to appreciate the simple pleasures of life, learning something new, pursuing hobbies that they couldn’t do before because there was no time. Now we have no excuses. All we have is time. How we choose to spend it now will shape how we live later. As someone who has experienced this awakening before, it is my hope that we come out of this better, as individuals, and as a whole.
Needless to say, I am fine since I’m writing this, for a detailed account, you’ll have to wait.
stimulated, and I didn’t have it to give. I finally came to the conclusion that I wanted a terrier. Typically a big dog in a little body and a sassy attitude to boot, I was sold! More specifically, I chose the West Highland White Terrier. I then proceeded to research reputable breeders. I would come to rescue later.
we drove to Scorybrek Kennels and met Terry. She held in her arms two little roly-poly polar bear puppies, brothers. They say a dog chooses it’s people. I can attest that statement is true. I say this because I originaly had my sights on the bigger puppy. He however, wanted nothing to do with me. His brother without hesitation, scooted up and began nipping at my fingers. I looked at him and knew. This was my boy! How could anyone resist that crooked eared little face. I thought because of that fault no one would want him, but I did. We picked him up three weeks later, Seamus Mac Ruff. Yes that was his name. It should have been Hamish to be accurate with his Scottish heritage, but it fit him, so it stayed.
He was a gragarious soul. He saw me through some of the toughest times of my life, a big burden for a little dog, but he never failed. That little white dog brought so much joy to so many. Always cheerful and happy. As he aged, he became a little ornery, but still lovable and friendly. He couldn’t ever have a passer-by not stop and say hello. The whole neighbourhood knew him, young and old alike. Sadly as his health declined, we had to make one of the most difficult and painful decisions. We had to let him go. Deaf and mostly blind, when he couldn’t recognise us, we knew it was time. After almost 14 years together, the loss is profound. I write this through tears, because that hurt is still too fresh.
them, I would be a mess, but they need me. Here’s where rescue comes into play. I had to leave Seamus with my mother after I got married and moved to Patrick’s apartment, he was too old to go up and down 3 flights of stairs and didn’t get along with Patrick’s cats, having tried to eat them twice. So I missed him. In order to get my Westie fix, I would have to visit my dear friend who has two of her own and at the time four others and a foster. It was one fateful visit that I met Lacey. From the first time I laid eyes on her, I knew I loved her. We don’t know what she came from, but from her timidness and fear, we could surmise she was abused and abandoned. I could see that 
she wanted to greet me, all the others had, but she hesitated. I could see the conflict in her mind. The wanting to move forward but being chained back by fear. So I waited, I let her come to me. By the end of my visit, she let me pat her belly while she slept, I knew she was ours.
him. You should see them now, it’s ridiculous how much she loves him. She was a dog you could not scold or hit, any hint of disapproval would evoke fear and a puddle on the floor. In the beginning, she feared everything, except Patrick and me. In the beginning, it was a precarious trust. Some would ask why I took on such a damaged soul. It was because I knew she was an unpolished gem. I knew it the moment I set eyes on her. So we invested, time, love, patience and hope that she would learn to love and trust. After three years the change is amazing, the payoff priceless. She’s a dog. Still a little timid in new environments, but 1000 times better than she was.
A few months later I got a message containing a photo, it was
said his name was Fabio, and that he was a snuggler. They were right about one thing, and it wasn’t his name. That changed immediately, but the snuggling, is heaven. He came to us so skinny I could feel every rib bone, his coat was thin and his feet bald from chewing, he scratched and itched, but he was so sweet. He fattened up right away and we got his ear infections under control, but the itching was a mystery. It’s all he did, bite and scratch for months, until we tried medication. Within hours, he was a different dog and no more itching. His personality masked by allergies now shone and he is quite the clown.
Disarmingly goofy Optimistically joyous Gregarious and loving Sympathetic and wonderful
suits or government programs (although they don’t advertise!) to help support both the patients and their families. In Canada where I live, asbestos and its products are not
Of course, because mesothelioma, and cancer in general, are such aggressive diseases, patients adopt a fatalistic approach towards life. I want to urge people who may find themselves in this unfortunate situation to keep pushing forward! There are so many wonderful things to explore and if you are given a chance to do them, why not take it? Indeed, there are odds that the cancer will still progress, but even so, remain hopeful! Some clients who combined exercising with healthy eating and regular treatment have survived for more than 5 years, some even more that 10! They have watched their children grow, have remained with their loved ones, have explored the country and they have grown as a person. So I must emphasize once more, keep on fighting, hoping and taking care of yourself because cancer doesn’t have to be a death sentence.
These Are My Scars 
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