When a person’s thoughts start to stray, they can tend to go in one of two directions.
Sometimes people find themselves dreaming of an upcoming vacation or looking forward to a get-together with friends . . .
. . . or, maybe they’re distracted by worries about approaching deadlines or unpaid bills.
Even though the former scenario seems preferable to the latter, both instances of mind-wandering could be detrimental to happiness.
Why? Dan Siegel, MD reveals his answer in the video below, and shares one way to refocus.
If you would like to find out about more ways that presence can transform people’s lives, and how it can even create new neural pathways in the brain and improve integration, check out our courses on mindfulness.
What strategies have you shared with your clients to help them maintain focus? Please leave a comment below.
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Focusing on reprioritizing priorities.
Thank you Ruth and Daniel, for another lovely presentation.
I continually use ‘presence’, as a powerful aspect of mindfulness, in my practice as an art psychotherapist.
That is: my being present to my client (which includes being present to myself), and my aiming to help my client be present to themselves – to whatever is going on within them.
As my clients engage with working with materials, it brings them into the physical realm of immediate sensation, colour, texture etc. These can be vehicles for associations. It also involves action, thus opportunities to take control. These creative processes can help them to be present to what is going on within. Sometimes I provide a wide range of materials to choose from, sometimes a limited range is more helpful. Some people initially find it very hard to engage with materials. Others work prolifically.
Interaction with the art materials can help clients get into a creative ‘mind-freeing’ space (the naming Dan helpfully proposes, to distinguish it from ‘mind-wandering’) which art-based mindfulness enables. Expression and exploration of feelings and thoughts evolve, leading to self-awareness and then new ways to self-regulate.
Usually clients discover their own personal metaphors arising spontaneously. We work together with these meaningful, sometimes very powerful client-made creations. The metaphor can provide a safe distance for expressing that which is unutterable and beyond words. During this process I remain as aware as I can, of body state etc., given that mind is combination of the flow of energy and information through both the individual’s embodied brain and through relationship.
Sometimes we may start with seemingly insignificant concerns, matters, agendas, which may be positive or negative. Perhaps these may be ‘mind-wanderings’ as I understand Dan saying. However, these can lead to much deeper imaginative work, at the client’s pace. The sense of being present to the art materials can change and can shift levels rapidly or slowly. There are many variables.
I so love reading the treasures NICABM is offering to the world, when I get the time to do so! It has been good to see this video this morning.
Thank you again.
Thank you for this video and other materials as well. Yes, I am a mindfulness meditation practitioner and teach mindfulness to my clients as well from let’s say 3 years now. It helps them a lot.
Amazing
I use mindfulness practices every day with my patiens. It´s really useful. Thank you for that video.
In my work with children youth, and adults in their lives, I practice it myself. I model it. We discuss how things pop in mind, can be acknowledged and noticed without criticism or judgement. Very much present in work with those who are distractible, impulsive, anxious, poorly regulating and with obsessive-compulsive tendencies. Many believe that ruminating and active problem solving serve them. They are used to seeing adults do this, are told to “think about xyz…”. They are taught to value analytical, critical thinking. I do some psychoeducation re: this fallacy, how this compounds difficulties with action and emotion, and we practice noticing and moving on or back to here and now. The grounding 5 technique is useful activating senses, getting out of the “thinking” and back into sentience! Children, youth and the adults in their lives like it, need to practice it as they struggle to shift their view. Busyness cultivates the mind wandering, slowing down, breathing and noticing the world around you at any given moment is an antidote. As we all know, humans have valued thinking for a long time! We struggle to grasp that mind wandering, ongoing over-thinking is deleterious, harmful and counterproductive. Many respond well to science about the brain, and do learn to take an active approach, learn to shift and rejoin present! I know from personal experience and speak to this, share other child and youth experiences to give some face validity, and normalize the mind wandering. Expressly say, “no criticism or judgment” and celebrate the ah-ha moments – reflecting on observed presence and impact on demeanor. Do more of that! Build up, rather than pick apart or tear down “bad habits”!
Very informative and useful. After watching this I’m really going to try and be more present.
I often recommend to clients that they stay present. It seems that reminding clients (especially ones who struggle with the need to control and future trip) that this moment is all that we need to be responsible for is comforting. I also encourage them to accept what is, which doesn’t mean that they have to like it or that they are going to settle for the present circumstances, but that for this moment, it is what it is.
Presence is a key in mindfulness practice. I have had clients become attentive to things present to them by identifying the presence of their senses at work: what they smell, hear, taste, or touch with eyes closed to refocus or focus on the present and then we add sight. Sight seems to be a frequent distraction leading to “mind wandering”. Thank you for this brief affirmation in embracing happiness through being in the place and mindset of living in the “present”.
I often encourage clients to use a grounding technique to disrupt mind wandering, rumination and panic, and get them to experience a mindful breathing exercise to demonstrate strategies to be more present, unhook from unhelpful thoughts and feelings and focus on moving towards their values (ACT Hexaflex exercise). This is often a helpful intervention at a first consultation as it demonstrates to clients that they have some control over their distress through their attentional focus.
I often encourage clients to use a grounding technique to disrupt mind wandering, rumination and panic, and get them to experience a mindful breathing exercise to demonstrate strategies to be more present, unhook from unhelpful thoughts and feelings and focus on moving towards their values (ACT Hexaflex exercise). This is often a helpful intervention at a first consultation as it demonstrates to clients that they have some control over their distress through their attentional focus.
It is interesting to know the difference between mind wandering and “mid freeing”. Especially when we are reading a book or an article, we can voluntarily let our mind wander on an interesting, significant and new point we just read thus allowing it to connect to our existing worldview/ knowledge base. With the newly learned concept, we get to see the world/reality from a new vantage point. This was allowed by the voluntary action of “mind freeing” (possibly related to open-monitoring meditation), in contrast to an involuntary episode of mind wandering. Interestingly, when we listen to an oral presentation instead of reading a book or article, we do not have freedom of letting mind free for an open-monitoring meditative activity as the orator will continue his/her speech/presentation uninterrupted.