Blog Archives

Sharing on Mindfulness at Dow Jones

29/1/2016

Dow Jones Singapore invited Erin to give a sharing about mindfulness on 27 Jan 2016 as part of their global Wellness Week initiative. Kudos to the company for taking care of their employees' health and well-being!

During the experiential session, Erin led the participants in a few mindfulness practices and explained how mindfulness helps us reduce stress and anxiety, regulate our emotions, and enhance our overall well-being.

Mindfulness is increasingly being incorporated into the workplace. Is your current workplace already practicing mindfulness? Do contact Erin if you'd like to arrange for a customized sharing or mindfulness program for your co-workers!

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Sharing on Mindfulness with ITE College West Educators

15/1/2016

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Mindful Moments was invited to give a sharing on mindfulness with ITE College West School of Electronics & Info-Comm Technology educators in the morning of Friday 8 January 2016.

After learning about the benefits, research, and applications of mindfulness and experiencing some moments of calmness and awareness, these dedicated educators expressed interest in bringing mindfulness into the classroom to benefit their students.

Erin is available to conduct mindfulness talks and programs for organisations, so please contact Erin to discuss the possibilities, because she would love to practice mindfulness with you.

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My Moments with Mindfulness

11/1/2016

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Dawn Foo, Edutainer from Singapore, contributes to the MiMo Blog

MiMo Contributor:
Dawn is a passionate educator with 17 years of experience spanning the communication and education industry. Starting her career as a public prosecutor, she joined the media industry and garnered experience in writing and editing corporate reports, speeches, press releases, e-newsletters and other corporate publications. Since then, she has transitioned to being an edutainer (aspiring to educate while entertaining in doses) and lectured at various tertiary institutions. An avid learner, she has now moved into coaching and counselling and looks forward the next chapter of her journey of learning and unlearning.

The Initial Assumptions

When I first heard about the practice of mindfulness, I was rather surprised to hear that it has gained much currency in the past few years. I was even more intrigued to discover that there were increasingly more academic disciplines offered for practitioners. After all, is mindfulness not a basic form of etiquette that we have been socialised into accepting and practising for the longest time?

This was where I realised something.

I confused being ‘mindful’ with the act of ‘minding’, where I use my intellect to consider, reason and ‘mind’ my business for the latter. I also associated it with keeping others around me in ‘mind’ - extending consideration to them. While all these thoughts and actions are perfectly fine and commonplace, the one aspect that I neglected about ‘mindfulness’ was how I could extend consideration to myself and how that could really help in some of my challenges.

A Taste of Mindful Moments

I had absolutely no expectations when I attended the information sharing session about mindfulness conducted by Erin on 9 Jan 2016. This was useful in keeping an open mind and gleaning three key takeaways from the session.

1. Mindfulness is not tangible, but the results of practising mindfulness are. During the session, Erin invited us to participate in a short activity to fully experience the sights and senses of tasting a fruit. That felt like the longest three minutes of my life and I was ready to explode with impatience. Why should eating a fruit even be so cumbersome? Then I realised that I chose to slow down midway and not fight my urges to accelerate the simple process. Strangely, I was able to feel calmer after this activity. All that took place within me was not tangible and only known to me. But it was a poignant reminder to not be afraid to go slow and take stock of things around us.

2. It takes effort (and some pain) to be mindful: This is about taking steps to coach my mind to resist reacting with familiar means. Instead, I believe in working to modify the response. Whenever I feel the urge for something to be done immediately, I recall the song ‘Right Here, Right Now’ by Fatboy Slim. While I do enjoy the beat of the song, it never fails increase my stress levels since we live in a world when everybody demands things instantly. Hence, there is pain when I make intentional efforts to practise mindfulness and slow down. Naturally, I do not recommend applying this to time sensitive work situations but more on a personal front for a start. Nonetheless, there is immense value in practising mindfulness at work when making choices that are triggered by perceived stressors.

3. Can I afford to not be mindful? The short answer is both ‘Yes and No’ since we always have options. Having said that, I do not believe that I can afford to not be mindful. This is especially so given my personality, profession and passion for life. As an educator, communications practitioner and coach, even my best intentions for individuals will be met with challenges. Mindfulness helps me increase my empathy, full-heartedly. It also helps me to choose to reduce the tendency to internalise the problems of my clients. Most importantly, it facilitates my ability to separate thoughts from truths. This was the most precious and empowering reminder I walked away with from the session.

As of now, I am fully mindful that this journey will not be easy but it will be worthwhile.

If you are a mindfulness practitioner or have meaningful experiences or thoughts about mindfulness to share, please contact Erin to find out more.

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Sharing Mindful Moments with the Public

10/1/2016

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We conducted two fruitful Mindfulness Information Sessions on Saturday 9 January 2016 to help promote awareness and make mindfulness more accessible to the general public. We shared information on the background, development, research and applications of mindfulness, as well as gave an introduction to the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program.

Our deepest gratitude to the participants who gave us the opportunity to share some precious mindful moments with them! May all be peaceful and happy.

Erin is available to conduct mindfulness talks and programs for organisations, so please contact Erin to discuss the possibilities, because she would love to practice mindfulness with you.

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About The Author

MiMo founder Erin Lee is a Mindfulness Coach and MBSR Teacher at Mindful Moments, and advocate of mindfulness as the way of life. She conducts the classic 8-Week MBSR Program, as well as the 8-Week MBSR Workplace Program. Erin also lectures at a local polytechnic.

Erin is currently pursuing a Masters of Science in Studies in Mindfulness at University of Aberdeen, Scotland, UK. She is a Certified MBSR Teacher as acknowledged by the Mindfulness-Based Professional Training Institute (MBPTI) of the University of California San Diego (UCSD) Center for Mindfulness to conduct and deliver the classic Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Program.

In her free time, Erin loves to write and regularly contributes as a vocalist for the recording of Buddhist music.

Contribute

Are you a mindfulness practitioner and have meaningful experiences or thoughts about mindfulness that you'd like to share? You can contribute an article on the MiMo blog! Please contact Erin to find out more.