And welcome to this Sunday. Meditation, mindfulness meditation, and it seems like ages, I know we're doing this. Monthly now, but we'll hope to get another course.

In place, I'll sit down and talk to Dawn about that, and see if there's something else that we can do for the, the webinar that community, for the veterinary community as we go forward, and ideas of stuff is always really welcome. If there's something you feel the profession needs, then do let Dawn and me know. It's always helpful.

And tonight, I wanted to really look at this whole sort of issue of finding, mindful acceptance. Because mindful acceptance sort of stems from pure mindfulness, and a lot of the really most current research at the moment is beginning to show that. This stance and this approach of mindful acceptance is particularly useful to reduce psychological stress and improve wellbeing, and it's pretty essential also for what we call emotion efficacy, because I think that we've all been through, very difficult times.

And I've got the feeling that we are going to be going through some more. Difficult times in the next few months, really. I think it'll be different, but the pressures will be different upon us.

It will be the pressures of, sort of re-getting back into a, a way of living that it almost feels like we've forgotten about how to, how to live, maybe. And so emotion efficacy really helps us respond better to difficult emotions. And to recover more quickly when we are dealing with difficulties, and rather than responding in ways that sort of.

Keep us stuck. This building emotion efficacy helps us to enrich our lives. And That was my hope today, so I've got a A meditation just to take us through, but I just wanted us to, try and get a bit of a sense of what we mean by mindful acceptance.

And one of the ways perhaps of One of the ways of of. Formulating it in our mind, I suppose. One I really, rather, I think is a useful metaphor, is to think of yourself as being the atmosphere.

And your emotions as being the weather. And if we just stop and close our eyes for a moment. And just allow that in for a moment thinking of ourselves as the atmosphere.

And our emotions as being the weather. So the atmosphere sort of holds the weather. And the atmosphere is constant while the weather.

Is ever changing and that I think is. What we're working with and what we're trying to achieve in mindful acceptance is the ability to get much, much better at just simply being the atmosphere that observes and accepts that changing weather without reacting. While you As the observer Just remain constant.

So there are great many metaphors that we can use, but I really rather like that one. Because it is that sense of the constancy. And getting that sense of our own constancy and the emotional.

Play that goes through us from the moment we wake up in the morning. Till the moment we drop off at night, and we are, if we're not careful, being pulled and pushed by emotions, and emotions can sometimes overwhelm us, and they can sometimes just. Kind of erode any sense of well-being that we may have.

And the evidence base. That really helps and helps us understand this suggests that . If we can practise mindful acceptance, it helps us tolerate.

Actually, physical pain, but also. Sort of emotional difficulties without always acting on those emotions. You know, we feel irritated, we feel annoyed, we feel sadness, we feel urges sometimes.

And it's that ability to kind of sit with it, finding that. Sense of the weather and watching it and accepting it without reacting and rushing for our raincoat, only to find as the weather is at the moment it's quite telling really that the sun has come out whereas it was snowing or hailing two minutes earlier. And If we practise mindful acceptance, it also helps us to.

Recover more quickly when we're triggered by something, something old or something annoying, or one of our regular triggers that just kind of, or perhaps you've heard me talk about this sense of being hooked, maybe getting hooked by something and rather than always reacting, just noticing that stuff and. There are 4 parts to mindful acceptance that we need to learn. To observe and in our Meditation that we're going to be working with this evening.

We're going to see if we can't allow. All 4 to be connected with. And the 4.

Facets really of mindful acceptance. Which, the research suggests that if we could just practise. For just 10 minutes a day.

Just getting in touch with a sense of what we call sensation, acceptance. So In a moment when we start meditating, you'll hear me asking you to scan your body for sensations, but with the intention of of observing them. And accepting them rather than reacting.

So it's almost getting a sense of. When we experience a sensation such as a. A surge of emotion, one could describe as a sensation.

Or if we even experience the sensation of hunger or anger, we can sit with it and notice all the details of that sensation. The size, the shape, the temperature, the tension, whether there's movement. And just see if you can soften to that sensation and make space for it.

The second part of tonight's meditation is. Feeling, but it's labelling the feelings that show up. So that's trying to identify the feeling.

That goes with the emotion. So it might be A surge of emotion that's accompanied by another feeling of sadness or a surge of emotion that's accompanied by a feeling of excitement even. And it's Naming it and allowing it to be exactly as it is.

Without judging it at all, so it's not a difficult feeling, it's just a feeling. It's not an unpleasant feeling, it's just a feeling. And then When the inevitable thoughts show up, it's about closing and clearing your mind and just waiting and watching for the thoughts as they arise.

Trying not to get involved with them. And then back to the present moment, accepting that another thought like another cloud perhaps will just show up. And the final part, the final facet I suppose, of.

Emotion efficacy and. Mindful acceptance is urge noticing, and this can be so useful if we found ourselves. Acting on feelings and emotions.

With the urge to be angry or the urge to react or the urge to hurt or the urge to be hard on self or even the urge to go and Emotionally eat or drink perhaps and urge noticing allows us to just notice. If an urge shows up. To allow ourselves to sit without.

Without acting on it or judging it. And then most importantly of all. To then notice what it feels like.

Not to act. On an urge, because that's what the great Steve Hayes talks about the liberated mind. When we start to realise that, you know, we're the driver of this life person, we don't need to.

Always react. We can sit back and just watch. So I'm just gonna ask us to.

Prepare for the meditation and hopefully what I've been able to do is just give you a sense of what we're looking for as part of this meditation is the acceptance of sensation. The beginnings of this ability to label the feelings that show up without judgement. To watch thoughts.

From our observing self which will find through the mindfulness rather than being caught up in the wave. And to noticed urges. And to then what it notice what it feels like.

To nonrespond to just sit with. So let's get ourselves. Into position And Making sure that we're sitting comfortably.

That our feet are. Firmly on the ground. Legs sort of and feet shoulder width apart.

And let's see if we can just find that mindful half smile. That accompanies any acceptance meditation. And it's a half smile of.

Yeah, this is OK. I think I can do this, and even if I can't, I'm going to. Can we just find that mindful half smile.

And if you're able to perhaps just. Close your eyes. Or allow your eyes to just soften.

And when we're ready We'll begin with the bells very, very quietly because. Billy's asleep next to me, so there's 11 more set of bells to get us going. And as the sound Of the bowels Just begins to dissipate.

We just Ease ourselves into this meditation practise. And knowing that we're going to be observing and accepting. Emotional experience in the present moment.

And just Getting a sense of how the practise of mindful acceptance in a neutral state. It's gonna help us to build this emotion efficacy muscle. So that we're not triggered, so that we're not pushed around.

So as we're sitting comfortably. We just take a few moments now. To notice any sensations.

In your body So we start perhaps at the toes of your body. And we scan our body. Working upwards from the toes.

Into the calves into the shins. Moving upwards. To the knees What we're doing is we're scanning our bodies.

Until we find a sensation. And when we find a sensation. We're just going to Rest our attention on it almost as though We have a Torchlight And we're shining it on our own bodies.

And we just very gently. With a lovely warm compassionate light. Just scanning our bodies and when we find.

Sensation Let's get curious about it. So once we found one sensation, we notice it. We carry on working up the body.

Checking out our tummy. A chest. Shoulders on neck.

Her arms, her hands. And then into the face. And the scalp And if we find sensation.

And we will have done by now. Take your attention back, shine the light. On the part of your body where You really found.

A sensation And now let's just see if we can let it be. Just as it is And let's get Very gently curious about it. So we're not going to react to it.

We are going to be curious. About it. We're not making it go away.

Or pushing it away. Let's notice the size. And the shape Of the sensation Let's get a sense of whether that sensation moves.

Or does it stay the same? And finding that wonderful mindful curiosity to check in. Is there any temperature?

Orten to this. Sensation And see if you can Softened to it. Or maybe even Properly lean in.

To that sensation. And as we sit Leaning into that sensation. Now let's see if we can.

Identify a feeling label. That goes with The sensation A difficult. Maybe it's difficult.

And the feeling is of difficulty. Or maybe the sensation we've found is Pleasant But whatever we do, we just name it. And we allow it to be.

As it is Without judgement Without reacting to it. Just meeting the sensation. And the accompanying feeling that goes with it.

And labelling that Ah, yeah. That's pleasant. And that no more That's difficult.

That's uncomfortable. We just allow that. And we sit with it.

We make space with it. And now let's widen and expand. Our minds to see if we can.

Allow thoughts in. And we're gonna spend the next. Part of this meditation.

Just noticing I'm watching the thoughts that. Our brain Our mind machine churns out. Finding the acceptance of recognising that our brains produce different kinds of thoughts.

All the time And the key to This is not to get involved with them. Instead As each thought arises. Let's try and simply say.

There's a thought And let it go. And we wait. For our mind to send us a thought.

When we acknowledge the thought. We quietly say to ourselves, there's a thought. And then let it go.

And return to the present moment. And just wait. For the next thought To arise Let's spend a few.

Precious moments. Meeting thoughts that show up. Acknowledging them with there's a thought.

And letting them go. So let's just notice our thoughts. For a while And if I Attention gets pulled away.

Let's meet whatever pulls our attention away. From the exercise with curiosity. Was my attention pulled away by a sensation?

Was it pulled away by a feeling? Or did I Just find that wonderful vacancy. That sometimes shows up during mindfulness that.

Got in the way I thought watching. There's no judgement here. There's just a curiosity of what is.

And we bring our attention. Very gently back. And our job is to just.

Sit with sensation. Label Any feeling that shows up. And to watch.

The thoughts that our mind machine sends us. That it churns out and serves up. And to meet each serving.

With that mindful half smile of acceptance. There's a thought. And let it go.

So finding sensation. And just resting our attention on it. Labelling any feelings that show up.

And watching And letting go Of thoughts And now let go. Of the exercise of thought watching. And just see if you can find that sense of the liberated mind.

I can just watch these thoughts. I can be. Much more the boss of me.

And next, let's see if there's an urge. That accompanies those sensations. The feelings or the thoughts.

And this might be an urge to do something. Or it might be an edge. Not to do something.

And when we find whatever urge is there. And I'm sitting with an urge to take a sip of a drink. Just feeling that thirst and I'm gonna.

Choose to sit with that. It might be an urge to smile. Or it might be an urge to.

Check the time. We just sit with that urge. And we notice What it's like not to act on the urge.

To just surf it. To stay with it. To notice it, not to get embroiled in it.

Distance ourselves from it. And to just surf that urge. And as we surf that urge.

Just get a sense of. How is it? What's it like?

Is it liberating? To notice that. We can just surf urges.

We don't have to act on them. At all. So we sit with that urge.

And we smile And we put it all together. And we notice any sensation. That we found We notice that we can.

Label the feelings that show up. We can watch the thoughts. And we can surf the urges.

And before we Come out of this meditation. Let's just take a few really lovely deep breaths. Let it go.

Just one more Very gently allow your eyes to open. And bring yourself back. To the room.

Well done. And we've just spent About 20 minutes. Meditating.

Into a state of. Mindful acceptance. Of sensation of feeling.

Of thought and urge And well done. Really nice to be Back with this Sunday evening community. And as I was saying at the beginning.

If people would feel that their practises are ready for another one of our mindfulness courses as we go forward. Into the spring and the summer, and the evenings are lighter. If there's something that you feel we could do, just let Dawn or myself know.

And we can always then plot and plan to get. Something else on for the. That community.

But thank you all so much for participating tonight and big thanks as always to Daw new. Make sure that this runs smoothly. Have a lovely lovely Sunday evening.

And see you shortly. Good night everybody.