This is a lecture by Reid to prescribers and therapists in a ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) training.

Too long, didn't listen? No problemo. Here are the cliff notes: (wait, do people still know what cliff notes means these days, or has that gone extinct?)

Mindfulness is...

• Intentionally living with awareness in the present moment

  • Waking up from automatic behaviors, and from a trance of unworthiness, to participate in our own lives

  • Without judging or rejecting the moment

  • Noticing consequences, but letting go of evaluating, avoiding and suppressing the here and now

  • Without attachment to the moment

  • Rather than ignoring the present by clinging to the past or grabbing for the future

Mindfulness is simply being aware. It’s noticing and paying attention to your thoughts, emotions, behaviors and experiences, in a non-judgemental way, on a moment to moment basis. It can be practiced at any time, wherever you are, whoever you’re with, and whatever you’re doing. Mindfulness is showing up and being fully engaged in the here and now. That means being free of both the past and the future -- the what ifs, the judgement of right or wrong, and the self-criticism. Mindfulness is a lifelong practice, and a companion to have throughout your life. It’s like an old friend we turn to when in need of inspiration, direction, or clarity.

“It cultivates access to core aspects of our own minds and bodies that our very sanity depends on,” says Jon Kabat-Zinn, from The Unexpected Power of Mindfulness Meditation. “Mindfulness, which includes tenderness and kindness toward ourselves, restores dimensions of our being. These have never actually been missing, just that we have been missing them, we have been absorbed elsewhere. When your mind clarifies and opens, your heart also clarifies and opens.”

How to practice mindfulness:

Formal sitting meditation:

• Find a time to set aside 3 minutes at the same time every day

  • i.e. first thing in the morning before you start your morning routine
  • I intend to practice my formal sitting meditation at _____________ o’clock each day

Mindfulness practice during daily activities:

• Awareness of surroundings (i.e. when you arrive in a new environment or space)

  • I intend to practice being mindful of my surroundings in these two places this week:

1) ________________________ 2) ________________________

• Awareness of tasks (driving, eating, taking a shower, using the restroom)

  • I intend to practice being mindful while doing these two tasks every day this week:

1) ________________________ 2) ________________________