Mindfulness... and then what? A new audio series!

We're kicking off our brand new series for paid subscribers, "Mindfulness... and then what?", where we'll dive deep into how to truly incorporate mindfulness into your life for real benefits.

I know, I know—mindfulness is one of those buzzwords that can make people roll their eyes, but stay with me! This month, we’re all about getting practical and relevant with mindfulness, addressing the stress, overwhelm, and uncertainty we face daily. Together, we'll explore what’s not working and set intentions for change. Whether it’s sleep issues, irritability, or just feeling off-balance, we're here to figure out what you want to be different by the end of the month, while I share tools to help you navigate your emotions and experiences.

There'll be audio lessons, guided meditations and practical processes all designed to help you emerge with more clarity and calm, despite what's happening in your life.

So, grab your journal, and let’s get started.

If you're not a paid subscriber and would like to join in - upgrade to paid in the Apple podcasts app or on Spotify (which will link you to Substack).

Or sign up directly on Substack: https://cassdunn.substack.com

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Foreign.
Welcome to Mindfulness andthen what?
So the reason that I came upwith that name is because I was trying
to explain how I wanted to doa series in May about mindfulness

(00:21):
and helping you to incorporatemore mindfulness and more meditation
into your life for yourbenefit, for your mental health,
help you with stress,overwhelm, uncertainty, all of the
stuff that we all deal with,living in the world at the moment.
And I was trying to find a wayto sell it to you so that you might
actually tune in.
Because I think that we areall so over the word mindfulness.

(00:44):
We either already have amindfulness practice, or we think
that we've tried it and itdoesn't work for us, or we're just
so sick of hearing the word mindfulness.
So I was trying to explain howI wanted to make this relevant and
practical.
And I, uh.
In trying to do that, I said,so I'm talking about, you know, like,
now that I'm mindful, I haveslowed down.

(01:04):
I'm focusing on my breath, I'mpresent, I'm aware of what's happening
and then what?
Mindfulness and then what?
So that's how I came up withthe name.
So it is the first week of May.
As always, I think it's reallyimportant to start with an intention.
It's really important to startwith what is happening at the moment
that I am aware of, that Iwould like to be different, that

(01:25):
I can identify is a problem,or it's just something that's not
working for me.
The end of this month, if Iincorporate a new habit or I try
to do something different, orI take some suggestions, experiment
with some different processesor practices or tools, or just living
my life a little differently,what would I like to be different?

(01:46):
Are you maybe not sleeping sowell lately?
Are you experiencing a bit ofinsomnia and wakefulness, and that's
not working for you?
Are you snacking too much onsugary food foods, drinking too much
coffee?
I know that I'm just drinkingloads of tea at the moment.
I drink tea almost as like acomma in my day.
If I just want a little breakor a little pause in whatever I'm

(02:09):
doing, I instinctively justget up and go and make a cup of tea.
And maybe I need to findsomething different instead of drinking
tea.
Are you feeling snappy or irritable?
Are you feeling cranky andfeeling like you're being critical
and judgy and cynical insteadof how you might usually be more
present and engaged andcurious and kind?
Are there things playing onyour mind?

(02:31):
Like, are you obsessing orfixating on an issue in your work
or in a relationship or aperson in your life, or something
that's happened in your lifethat has caused you stress and frustration
and you're finding that you're really.
It's kind of overshadowingeverything else.
So you get the idea, right?
What is it for you?
What is happening in your lifethat you feel is unhelpful, it's

(02:53):
unproductive, it's causing yousome level of stress?
Or do you know that it's notideal, it's just something that you
would like to change, that youwould like to bring your awareness
to and have some strategiesfor doing things differently?
Because mindfulness is simplythe foundation.
Mindfulness is, let's getpresent to what's happening and without

(03:13):
judgment, be really curiousabout what's happening outside of
me and in my life.
But also what is that bringingup within me?
How is this affecting my thoughts?
How is this affecting my mood?
Where does my mindautomatically go?
What are the stories that I'mtelling myself about this situation?

(03:34):
What is happening in my body?
So mindfulness is an embodied experience.
It's not just about your thoughts.
And I think that's part ofthe, the misconception.
When we think aboutmindfulness in our brain, we kind
of think about, oh yeah, beaware of my thoughts, be aware of
the stories that I'm tellingmyself, not notice when I'm racing
off into the future, when I'm,worst case scenario thinking, when

(03:55):
I'm going into catastrophizing.
We are really conscious ofbeing mindful of our thoughts.
And we have this idea that weneed to stop our thoughts or unhook
from our thoughts or somethinglike that.
But mindfulness is not justabout thoughts.
Mindfulness is everything thatis happening in your whole body.
What is happening in yournervous system, what is happening
in your nervous system andyour physiology is affecting all

(04:18):
of the biochemistry in your body.
It affects your brain, yourheart rate, how much tension are
you feeling in your body.
It affects how you sleep, howyou digest your food, how you show
up, your throat constriction,how effectively you can express what
you want to say.
And obviously it affects youremotions and your emotional world
as well.
And oftentimes when in ourattempt to cut off or push down our

(04:41):
emotions because we don't havethe time, or we don't have the inclination,
or it's not convenient toexpress all of our emotions right
now, we don't want to beoverwhelmed by emotions.
Then Our instinct is to gointo the world of thought and try
to justify or talk ourselvesout of our emotions, try to understand
our emotions with our thinkingmind, try to analyze why we feel

(05:02):
what we feel.
And that's really not that helpful.
So it's about having otherprocesses to deal with our emotions
as well.
So this is why I say mindfulness.
And then what?
Number one, we learn to bepresent to what's happening.
We learn to notice what we're experiencing.
And I mean, not just, oh, I'mfeeling a little nervous about that
presentation.
I mean overall, like what isyour general state, your mood, how

(05:28):
are you operating in the worldat the moment?
How are you feeling youroverall energy levels are at the
moment?
Overall, how healthy andbalanced do you feel in life?
Not that there's any perfectbalanced life, but generally speaking,
how well do you feel likeyou're managing all of your responsibilities

(05:48):
and able to continue to stillbe centered, calm, have access to
humor, be able to thinkclearly, have solutions to problems
versus maybe are you a littlepreoccupied or antsy or stressed
or tense or agitated orfeeling like you're rushing too much
or feeling like you're notconnecting with people in your life

(06:10):
as well as you would like tobe, that you're not doing the things,
engaging in the activities andthe fun things and the pleasurable
and enjoyable, but also reallyhealthy things that support your
well being.
Overall, how you going in lifeis the question.
Overall, where are you at?
Let's just start by getting asense of that.
Set yourself an intention.

(06:31):
What would you like to bedifferent the end of the month?
What would you most benefitfrom this month if something were
to change?
See if you can be really clearand specific about what you would
like to be different at theend of the month.
If you were being a little bitmore present and mindful and being
a little bit more intentionalin how you spend your time and energy.

(06:51):
So let's just start with that.
Get a diary, get a journal.
Have a little bit of areflection about where things are
at for you in life.
Write it down because at theend of the month you can look back
and you can check in to see ifanything has changed.
Mindfulness is about what'shappening in your outside world,
but also then what is comingup for you in your inner world of

(07:15):
thoughts, emotions, bodysensations, reactivity, physiology,
your sleep, your habits, yourbehavior patterns.
Have a think about it.
And as we go through themonth, I'll be sharing with you tools
to cultivate that presence andthat awareness.
In addition to more tools tohelp you to manage whatever is present.

(07:35):
So if it is the world ofthought where you notice that you're
really fixating, you know yourmind's running away from you, or
you're really obsessing orruminating on certain things in your
mind, there'll be tools tohelp you with that.
If you really in addition tothat not or but and if you know that
there's emotions here thatneed to be more effectively processed
and that you are maybe cuttingoff or pushing down or setting aside,

(07:58):
then some tools for how youmight be able to manage those and
process those feelings more effectively.
And what about all of thisstuff that you're carrying around
in your body, all of thistension, all this past history, all
of this nervous systemactivation that is pretty normal
when we live in a busy world,how can we maybe have some tools
to regulate ourselves and ournervous system?

(08:19):
How do you be more mindful inyour relationships, in your communication?
How do you be more kind andcompassionate with yourself?
Change the story that you'retelling yourself and for what benefit?
These are all the things thatwe are covering this month in Beyond
Happy.
So buckle up, get ready forthe ride.
I just wanted to introduce youto the topic today.
Welcome to May Mindfulness andthen what?

(08:42):
I'll be back with you verysoon with some more for you to think
about, some more for you todo, and some mindfulness practices
for you to engage in.
Catch you in the next step inour brand new series, Mindfulness
and then what.