Deeper Mindfulness: Exploring Feeling Tone is a newly developed course by Mark Williams (co-developer of the MBCT course) and his colleagues for people who want to deepen their practice, and have taken a previous mindfulness course.
In this course, participants will explore a critical aspect of mindfulness meditation, feeling tone, that is covered lightly in MBSR and MBCT courses, but is seen to be a tipping point from one state into another, often from calmness into reactivity. In every moment there is a contact between a sense (such as touch, or hearing) and an object, a feeling tone arises. This feeling tone, which is either pleasant, unpleasant, or neither in its affective tone or valence, acts like a lens through which we experience the world, and, importantly, what we do next. The body and mind then allocates energy resources for action, either real behaviour, or imagined action. While this preparation for action can be helpful to keep us safe physically, it can also be very exhausting. By exploring feeling tone, there is the potential to stop the body and mind from gearing up in the first place. We do this by first recognizing the feeling tone at the tipping point, and exercise different strategies to be with tipping point before the body tips into reactivity, low mood and/or exhaustion.
In this highly experiential course students will learn:
- Various mindfulness meditations, including still and movement practices
- To explore internal and external anchors for attention in addition to the traditional ones of the breath
- To pause when attention wanders, and to see treat the wandering attention and mind with kindness rather than an enemy to be tamed
- To recognize the feeling tone of any experience at the point of sensory contact (sight, hearing, mind, touch, smell, taste, interoception, etc.)
- To be with pleasant and unpleasant feeling tone longer without reacting
- To be aware when the body gears up for unnecessary action and to reduce this unnecessary action
- To turn towards difficulty
- To notice moments of appreciation in everyday life and deal skilfully with symptoms of exhaustion
- How to build and maintain a regular meditation practice
Daily home practices are assigned at the end of every class for students to consolidate their learning, and to bring awareness of feeling tone into their lives. Detailed handouts are included, and provided at the end of each session.
Who Should Attend:
People who:
- have taken a previous MBSR, MBCT, MAPS, or other mindfulness course, and would like to deepen their practice.
- would like to add additional skills to explore and manage reactivity
- would like to find more ease with and flourish in their meditation
Upcoming Deeper Mindfulness Course:
Date: TBA, 2025
Time: TBA
Instructors: TBA
Where: TBA
Fee: CDN$350. Some full and partial scholarships available. Some extended health plans cover Occupational Therapist (OT) fees.
To register/express interest: Email: tom@mindfulnessinaction.ca