SLIDE 3 5/30/2015 3
5 A’s of Mindfulness as Practical Coping Skills
- 1. Awareness
- 2. Attention
- 3. Acceptance
- 4. Anticipation
- 5. Action
“Become like an open hand, cling to nothing, push nothing away, give what is needed.”
The Mindfulness Skill: Awareness
Definition: ○ To know the existence of something; cognizant. ○ Awareness is like a container for all experiences. All senses, thoughts, emotions, hopes and desires, dreams and fears are held within awareness. You are able to live with greater equanimity and therefore peace, because the rise and fall of thoughts and emotions are just seen as little events in the vast container that is awareness (Alidina, 2015). Example: ○ “Just watch this moment, without trying to change it at all. What is happening? What do you feel? What do you see? What do you hear?” -Jon Kabat-Zinn Activity: ○ Opening Awareness Meditation - (Alidina, 2015)
Opening Awareness Meditation
Shamash Alidina: www.guilford.com/alidina-materials
The Mindfulness Skill: Attention
Definition:
- To focus perception.
- According to Dr. Sood, “Intentional trained attention is directed by your will. This trained attention pulls you
away from distractions to savor a more wholesome morsel of life. Trained attention doesn’t deny or repress reality. It gives you temporary freedom from negativity. You stop carrying the entire load of the past and the future in your head. trained attention is focused, relaxed, compassionate, nonjudgmental, sustained, deep, and intentional.” (2013) Example:
- Shift attention from working on one activity to another. When a person
is working on case notes for one client and they need to start working on a treatment plan for another client, they shift their attention and focus to another activity. Activity:
