The Mindful People Series
People from all walks of life share their experiences of learning and practicing mindfulness in the MBSR program.
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"Calmer. Happier. I became a lot calmer and was definitely more grounded in all aspects of my life - self, family, and work. One significant role MBSR contributed to this period of my life is teaching me how to sit with whatever is ongoing inside me - a mix of physical, mental, or emotional sensations." - Grace Toh the Educator |
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"Instead of pushing and demanding for results all the time, I have learned to take a step back to check my thoughts, feelings, intentions and behaviours before responding to the situation. Mindfulness practice has opened me up to new experiences, especially in making me a better listener by being in the moment. By being non-critical and non-judgemental, I can now appreciate others' efforts in wanting to make good things happen. This new experience has helped me shape my thoughts and management style." - Chan Hock Soon the Performance Psychology Coach |
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"Having the knowledge and experiences of being in a mindful state of mind provides a distinct contrast to being in a frantic, restless state. First, having the awareness of myself being in a fanatic state allow me a choice to remain frantic or go for a change. Although I have just completed the 8 weeks of MBSR program, I am a more restful person than before and I am able to spot frantic moments and centre myself to focus faster." - Poh Pei Fen the Registered Nurse |
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"Go in with an open mind, learn the different practices and apply what works best for you. You will learn to appreciate things and people more and to not be too judgmental. You will learn how you are able to manage stress better and how to bring a mindful pause to break our reactive patterns, as well as change our relationship with stress." - Eileen Foo the HR Practitioner |
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"I feel more calm, less anger, less anxiety, and perhaps most importantly, I am able to better control, sometimes even stop, the endless ruminating thoughts/conversations in my mind. I feel a lot more in control of my thoughts and emotions. I’ve learnt and realise how I can either allow myself to be upset and angry, and then exhausted, or to simply notice the antagoniser and not engage it or allow it to affect my emotions. I think one of the few more immediately obvious example, for me, is when I am driving, I am no longer as bothered by all the impatient inconsiderate drivers on our roads. I’ve learnt to let it be and not engage it and allow them to affect me." - Chris Quek the Professional At Liberty |
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"When faced with unpleasant encounters at work, I remind myself that things will not stay this way forever, and that feelings / events (both good or bad) will eventually pass. Similarly when dealing with my colleagues, I believe that being kind is a choice, and when faced with tense situations, you can actively choose not to react, but choose to respond kindly." - Luo Wanyin the Regular Singaporean |
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"Right from the first session I appreciated the thoughtful and intentional nature of Erin's class. She frames each session mindfully and guided us through each meditation in a way that was both accessible and expansive. As someone relatively new to meditation I felt very supported and safe and this environment allowed for real growth throughout the 8 weeks." - Lennan Macdonald the Language and Literature Teacher |
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"The MBSR program appealed to my ‘rational’ self as I wanted a structured and secular way to familiarize myself with this body of knowledge. The program certainly lived up to my expectations. The inquiry sessions were particularly useful in sharing insights and challenges with my fellow participants. In addition, I have learnt various mindfulness techniques during the program and I now incorporate them into my daily activities. Finally, it would be remiss of me if I didn’t mention the instrumental role that Erin played as a coach, facilitator and teacher." |
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"By practising mindfulness, we do not forget or escape from our challenges, and still need to face them and overcome them eventually, but we can handle stressful situations more constructively and not destroy ourselves in the process. By observing stressful feelings moment by moment and noticing things as they are, we can allow our minds to rest, then return to it when we are less emotional and more rational to handle it." - Sherry Lim the Inquiring Humanist |
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"The MBSR program is quite experiential, and allows you to explore your own responses to it. I tend to have some personal reflection that is quite helpful in gaining some self-awareness of my own stress reactions and how this might impact on many other areas. The practice is not only experiential, but I feel it promotes space for growth, self- forgiveness and love." - Gillian Ong the Art Therapist |
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"Mindfulness is something that I find essential for our day-to-day life, since we are faced with stressful events all the time, be it at work or in our personal space. You will find mindfulness to be a very amazing skill to have as it is something that doesn’t take up a lot of your time but is so effective in promoting a healthy lifestyle!" - Gavin Lim the Training Assistant Executive |
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"I am beginning to enjoy my surroundings better, becoming more patient with events happening daily, and more importantly, appreciating things from a different perspective. I am also able to recognize the physical sensations I feel when I am about to burst, and I am able to manage myself well before I exploded." - David Ong the Trainer & Organization Consultant |
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"I interact with students and clients from different walks of life who carries different expectations in their health and weight management journey. Mindfulness has allowed me to learn that everyone is so unique and different in the way they think, feel and behave. It helped me to focus better to empathise and understand the needs of my clients better without judgments, by being in the moment." - Sim Kang Kim the Wellness Entrepreneur |
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"What I have learned about mindfulness is that it doesn’t encourage you to escape from stressful situations, nor make you forget them; on the contrary, it teaches you to observe the stressful feelings in that moment. Just letting things be and accepting things the way they are. It is a very nice gift you can give to yourself and your well-being." - Pamela Qafoku the Marketing Executive |
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"Though it requires some commitment to practice mindfulness, do not be afraid to attempt and take the steps to make this change in your life. Be consistent in the practice and it will eventually be a part of your life. It will help build better relationships in your family, workplace and community." - Tan Chin May the Learning Support Teacher |
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"Your brain will sneakily pick up the necessary skills you want, even if you think you are not getting anywhere consciously. You will subconsciously learn a lot, and it is these new behaviours that will pleasantly surprise you when you go about your day-to-day activities." - Caroline King the Psychology Student |
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"Now, I am much more aware. Mindfulness practices are simple yet powerful tools to support you in a multitude of situations. It has helped me calm my mind and as a result my body. Of course, that said, there is no switch that can be flipped and suddenly you have a "Eureka" moment of being a mindful person. It is a slow process which requires persistence and practice." - Ameesh Randeri the IT Project Manager |
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"I practice deep, mindful listening when I have dialogues with my colleagues and the young learners in school; I find that I am more compassionate when dealing with the problems or difficult situations that my team members have to face; and most importantly, I am always aware of my emotions and energy in different work scenarios - this has been especially helpful for me in managing my stress levels." - Ooi Ching Ya the Educator |
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"I tend to be very critical of myself. Using mindfulness as a skill, whenever self-defeating thoughts arose, instead of refuting them, I learnt to develop a curiosity around them. By accepting and thoroughly exploring my own imperfections, I developed compassion for myself, and by extension, those around me." - Tiffany Wee the Naturopath |