Session 5: Reacting Versus Responding
C. Smart
Wisdom Mind June 1, 2021 DOI: 10.1093/med-psych/9780197510001.003.0006 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Practical guide or manual Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Interventions | Open Monitoring Emotional Weather |
| Key points | The session proposes a distinction between mindfulness (coming to the present moment) and awareness (what is found there), and presents "Open Monitoring" as a practice for cultivating awareness and making space for emotional reactivity. It introduces the notion of "falling down a hole"—a sustained negative emotional reaction, for instance after a cognitive slip-up—and assigns "Emotional Weather" and walking meditation ("Aimless Wandering") as home practices. |
Abstract
In this session, a distinction is made between mindfulness (coming to the present moment) and awareness (what we find when we come to this moment). After a discussion of the prior week’s practices, you will then be introduced to a new practice, “Open Monitoring,” as a way to cultivate awareness and make space for our emotional reactivity. In this context, we will talk about the idea of “falling down a hole”—when we have a sustained negative emotional reaction, for example, in response to a cognitive slip-up. For homework, you will be assigned the practice “Emotional Weather” as a way to actively work with emotions. Walking meditation (“Aimless Wandering”) is provided as a third home practice.