By Mireille Silcoff — 2011
It’s safe to say that Kris Carr’s journey could not have existed at any other moment in history. Even 10 years ago, her cancer might well have been the end of her story, not the beginning.
Read on www.nytimes.com
CLEAR ALL
A growing body of research now links the Eastern practice to improved conditions for serious ailments, from diabetes to heart disease to cancer.
It might seem crazy to want to be more conscious of illness and discomfort. Yet mindfulness — moment to moment, nonjudgmental awareness — may be exactly what your body most needs when you are run down and under the weather.
It would be easy to get lost in all kinds of philosophical arguments about how we define who or what we are. This is about finding some space in the mind, less judgement, a greater sense of perspective, in which we see this fundamental truth for ourselves in a very direct and personal way.
Through the acronym RAIN (Recognize-Allow-Investigate-Nurture) we can awaken the qualities of mature compassion—an embodied, mindful presence, active caring, and an all-inclusive heart.
In order to flower, self-compassion depends on honest, direct contact with our own vulnerability. Compassion fully blossoms when we actively offer care to ourselves.