Poetry in Mindfulness Practice. NeuroNova Centre from Mindful Solutions Inc.

Transcription

1 Poetry in Mindfulness Practice NeuroNova Centre from Mindful Solutions Inc.

2 Doing no Harm Facilitating Mindfulness includes being aware of small t trauma and capital T Trauma in participants We incorporate being trauma-informed into MBCPM and MBCSM courses Can we ensure we do this with our poetry selections which we may use during our courses?

3 Why use poetry? We know music, songs, art connects diverse people, and may be better heard Music allows us to emote in ways we may not find accessible through normal speech Poetry may be heard better than expressing the same feelings in normal speech It is often used to express the emotion of the poet; may become a refuge; may bridge connections with others

4 Definitions Nonmaleficence (do no harm) Obligation not to inflict harm intentionally; In medical ethics, the physician's guiding maxim is First, do no harm. Beneficence (do good) Provide benefits to persons and contribute to their welfare. Refers to an action done for the benefit of others.

5 The Litmus Test: Is the poetry offered accessible, understood by most hearing it? Repetition helps but it cannot be too abstract or it may isolate some participants Is the language non-profane? Could it traumatize, through images created? Is it the right time in the course(s) to introduce it? Is it the right group?

6 Poetry offered, starting with: The Guest House (Rumi) (brought by 3 participants) (google it for the poem) Commonly read in Mindfulness groups Does it evoke traumatic memories in the sweeping out of sorrows Feedback: it is likely safe but better used later in the course.

7 Poetry offered: Haiku (Haiku is 17 syllables): The Plum Blossoms (From Dr. Lorin Young): The plum blossoms, are manhandled by the rain The puffs of willow seed by the wind And always, our world by lies from The Song in the Dream of the Hermit by Kanginshu Discussion: different interpretations are to be expected: Lorin feels it means the world lies by and another wondered about it meaning the world is challenged by lies, in keeping with the rain and wind manhandling other things in nature. The poem speaks of change and challenge.

8 Poetry offered This poem was written by an Chan (zen) master, it was published in some of Zen teaching books, some books suggested the year was written around Tang and Song dynasties (ca 650 to 1000?) 竹影掃階塵不動, 月穿潭底水無聲. (Sandy Chen offering her translation from Chinese) Bamboo shadows sweep away on the stairs, The dust on the stairs does not move; The moonlight through the pond, The bottom of the water without moving. Sandy feels this is mindfulness for nature and it has calmed and guided her through her life for many years.

9 Poetry offered: One Morning by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, from Dr. Ruth Dubin s collection entitled Mindful Self Compassion (Poetry, Video and Web Links) brought by Evelyn Bowering. This can be googled; it is probably quite trauma-informed to use in the course. Wild Geese by Mary Oliver: (Google) brought by Jackie Gardner- Nix. Mary s poetry is often used in Mindfulness conferences and courses. Again this needs to be shared at a stage in the course which is later on, to ensure those hearing it are safe.

10 Poetry offered: Excerpt from The Invitation (brought by Frances Kirson) by Oriah Mountain Dreamer.(Harper SanFrancisco, division of HarperCollins Publishers Inc., New York, 1999) It doesn t interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life s betrayals or have become shrivelled and closed from fear of further pain. I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it. I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or yours own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human Note: Maybe OK for later on in a course or at level 2: some may feel they can never live up to this and feel frustrated.

11 Poetry offered: My Pain by Denise T (Chronic fatigue and Fibromyalgia sufferer) page in: The Mindfulness Solution to Pain. Offered by Jackie Gardner-Nix: Illustrates the darkness in pain sufferer s poetry which can lighten their burden just by the very writing of it. Encouraging facilitators to stay with the darker offerings from participants and hold the space well for the others, because it frequently leads to a lightening, a relief, and a catharsis which comes with being able to bring things out for others to hear, or making the unconscious, conscious.

12 Final Thoughts: Mary Oliver, Rumi, and Leonard Cohen are all sources of great material for our courses Using poetry can help with providing less threatening preambles for some of the formal practices and education we are sharing Know your participants level of progress/resilience (not necessarily their stories) and hold the space well if there is reactivity to what has been shared Later on in the level 1 course or in a level 2 might be where some poetry needs to be positioned. Everyone s take on a meaning is a reflection of their own experiences. Give thought to whatever you introduce: re: traumainformed? and validate participants responses.