Diane Ackerman on Loneliness and Resilience – The Marginalian

Diane Ackerman on What Working at a Suicide Prevention Hotline Taught Her About Loneliness and Resilience – The Marginalian

Hugh Bryne, Feb 20, 2022 - Attitudes of Mindfulness

Summary of Live Session, February 20, 2022: It was good to be with everyone today for the Live session on ‘Seven Attitudes of Mindfulness’. I emphasized the importance of the attitudes we bring to what is arising and how they can radically transform our experience—for example, when we meet a difficult health diagnosis with a receptive heart versus meeting it with resistance. 

I quoted from the book ‘Attitudes of Gratitude’: ‘Our attitudes are our mental stances, the positions we hold vis-à-vis life. In some ways our attitudes determine everything, because they are the glasses through which we see the world.’ I also cited the response by Albert Einstein when asked what he thought the most important question was that a human being needed to answer. His reply was, ‘Is the universe friendly or not?’ 

I discussed seven attitudes of mindfulness that Jon Kabat-Zinn highlights in his book ‘Full Catastrophe Living’. These seven are: 1) Non-judging; 2) Patience; 3) Beginner’s Mind; 4) Trust; 5) Non-striving; 6) Acceptance; and 7) Letting go. Cultivating these and other skillful attitudes can transform our life. Discussing ‘beginner’s mind’ I quoted Suzuki Roshi: ‘In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities; in the expert’s there are few.’ 

I also briefly mentioned the three central qualities or attitudes of mindfulness that I focus on in my book ‘The Here-and-Now Habit’: Kindness, Acceptance, and Curiosity. The poems I shared today were ‘Clearing’ by Martha Postlethwaite; ‘School Prayer’ by Diane Ackerman; and ‘There was a time when I would reject those’ by Muhyiddin Ibn Al-‘Arabi, 12th-13th Century Muslim mystic, sage and poet.

So glad to hear, Ann, about the release of your kidnapped cousin Basil in Burkina Faso. That’s wonderful news! And sending loving-kindness to you, Lisa, following your recent diagnosis. Welcome, Joyce, and all who joined us for the first time today! Wishing everyone a safe and joyful week ahead—and praying for peace in Ukraine and the world. Warmly, Hugh 🙏🏻

Diane Ackerman: School Prayer