This program is brought to you by Emory University. [MUSIC] Well, there are a lot of people that are skeptics, related to mindfulness and mindfulness meditation. And there are people that, who aren't skeptics, who actually say, I'm just way too busy.
I can't do this. I cannot think of adding one more thing to my life. And the reality is.
. . it just takes a moment to be mindful.
Oftentimes, people are drawn to this because they realize their lives are out of control, and they're not living their lives in a way that brings them satisfaction and meaning, and a sense of mastery of their everyday life. So, a lot of people who come, say, for example, to the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program, are drawn to it because they realize what they're doing is not working. I can encourage you to use a simple acronym to get started.
And it's the STOP acronym. S-T-O-P. So the S means, literally, stop.
Just stop and pause. Just stop what you're doing. Stop what you're thinking about, and just sort of catch yourself and say, Okay, stop.
T is take a breath. Mindfully. .
. Take a breath mindfully. Take a deep, slow breath mindfully.
O is observe, or notice, what's actually happening with you right now, including your body sensations, what you're thinking about, what emotions are running through your, through you right now. Are you angry? Are you sad?
Are you frustrated? Body sensations include. .
. Is your heart racing? Are you breathing shallowly?
Are you in pain? Discomfort? And thoughts Include judgments, such as, Oh, no, I shouldn't have done that.
Or, Wow, I've got so much to do. And, I shouldn't have. Or looking in the past, I shouldn't have done something a certain way.
So, O is observing and noticing – Body sensations, thoughts, emotions. Okay? Because we're on autopilot, we don't know what's actually even happening.
We don't know that our crazy lives are affecting the way we're feeling, the way our bodies are feeling. And then P is, after you do that, P is proceed. And it's proceed with awareness and kindness.
And it's kindness for yourself and it's kindness for others. S-T-O-P. Just stop.
And literally, that takes seconds. You can do that in less than ten seconds. You can sprinkle your day with that.
[MUSIC] The preceding program is copyrighted by Emory University.
