WHAT DO WE MEAN BY MINDFULNESS?

Mindful Veteran Project defines mindfulness as paying attention to present moment experiences (physical, mental, emotional, interpersonal, environmental), while suspending as much judgement as possible, to explore with openness and curiosity, without trying to fix or change anything, and simply accepting the existence of whatever we find.

This is not meditation, deep belly breathing, clearing our head of thoughts, spirituality or religion, sitting in a particular posture, trying to relax, or being a peaceful loving person. This “situational awareness” has kept warriors alive on the battlefield and this “gathering intel” has allowed commanding officers to make critical logistical decisions.

This awareness is as important in daily civilian life as it is in combat. But the vigilance without hyper-vigilance of mindfulness is supportive and replenishing rather than exhausting and draining. It allows us to be successful commanding officers in our lives.

The effective, simple, secular, evidence-based tools of mindfulness empower us to choose the relationship we have with our experiences rather than be the victims of them. Rather than being tormented by intrusive thoughts, overwhelmed by huge emotions, driven to unhealthy and dangerous forms of relief from physical/mental/emotional pain, or caught off-guard by external situations, we no longer have to react to them in an automatic way. We develop our ability to skillfully respond to them in wise ways and take pride in successful outcomes. Keeping our wits about us, avoiding knee-jerk reactions, not having to face-palm, and moving forward with strength and dignity in life is real and practical.

HOW DO WE TEACH MINDFULNESS?

MVP teaches mindfulness in the most accessible and effective - yet powerful - way that we are aware of. It is so simple that, literally, a child can do it! In many unexpected and creative ways, we practice bringing our attention to what’s happening right now - both inside (physical sensations, emotions, thoughts) &/or outside (environment, other people), and if we notice that attention has wandered, we gently bring it back to where we have chosen to place it - without beating ourselves up.

What a relief to find that we can’t be bad or fail at this. We’re always paying attention to something and we’re just honing our skills of how to pay attention, to squeeze every bit of juice out of our lives, moment by moment. This can be done on the bus, in the park, in a noisy crowded venue, or in the quiet, private time before falling asleep at night. (And what an incredibly different quality of sleep we can enjoy when we end our day with mindfulness!)

We offer these tools in safe, confidential workshops online as well as (when it is again safe to do so) at various locations around the Southern California area - Vet Centers, churches, American Legion posts, transitional housing facilities, and in endless special events. MVP provides groups of many types on our own, works in partnership with other organizations and entities, and is contracted to bring our services to many companies and agencies for staff and for those they serve.These tools are also embedded in special themed workshops and projects, and we get to see how they are used in many situations as we enjoy a vast range of excursions.

Come join us at upcoming Events and we will guide you through a variety of mindfulness practices that you can then use in your daily life.

WHAT ELSE DO WE “DO” WITH MINDFULNESS ?

What Do:

• Excursions to Dodger games with the whole family

• Arts & Crafts, Music & Movement workshops

• Wellness Areas (pop-up “clinics” with sample treatments of alternative healing modalities)

• Book groups, writing workshops, storytelling sessions

• Film Screenings/Meet the Filmmakers sessions

• Drum circles

• LA Opera performances followed by veteran panel discussions & dinner

• Dog Shows (demonstrations of the various functions of Service, Therapy, and Support dogs)

Have to do with Mindfulness?

By honing our skills of paying attention to present moment experiences, we can explore endless possibilities with openness and curiosity and find that we have far more hope, strength, support, resources, and choices than we could ever have imagined!