Mindfulness & Meditation

Both Stoic philosophers and modern psychologists use mindfulness and meditation to shape perspective and model behavior. These techniques can bring to fruition a profound sense of peace in times of trauma.

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.

Mindfulness can be a type of meditation but also exists independently as an informal and intentional experience. Mindfulness is using your senses to pull your wandering mind into the present so you can fully experience it.

The Body Scan 🧘‍♀️

Sit comfortably
Close your eyes
Take a few deep breaths
Start at the top of your body
Gently scan down through your body, noticing how each part feels
Focus on your mid-body
Continue scanning down to your feet

Mindful Seeing 👀

Go outside or find a space at a window where there are sights to be seen outside.
Look at everything there is to see. Avoid labeling and categorizing what you see outside the window; try to notice the colors, patterns, textures.
Pay attention to the movement of the grass or leaves in the breeze. Notice the many different shapes present in this small segment of the world you can see. Try to see the world outside the window from the perspective of someone unfamiliar with these sights.
Be observant, but not critical. Be aware, but not fixated
If you become distracted, gently pull your mind away from those thoughts and notice a color or shape again to put you back in the right frame of mind.

Radical Acceptance

Mindfulness can be difficult to achieve. Guided meditation can help. Grounding and loving-kindness meditations can help us to feel connected.

What is guided meditation?

Guided meditation is a form of meditation where a practitioner verbally leads you through the meditation process, often using techniques like breathing exercises, visualizations, or body scans, to help you achieve a state of relaxation.

Grounding Meditation

In Stoic philosophy, "sympatheia" refers to the interconnectedness and mutual interdependence of all things, emphasizing that we are all part of a larger, unified whole and share a common purpose.

Grounding meditation is a mindfulness practice that involves focusing on your physical sensations and surroundings to feel connected to the present moment, often by imagining yourself rooted to the earth, essentially bringing your awareness back to the "here and now" to reduce stress and anxiety; it can involve using your senses to notice details in your environment.

Grounding can be deeply healing and spiritual, offering a feeling of being rooted and centered, which can help calm the mind and body, leading to a greater sense of stability and connection with oneself and the world.

Loving-kindness Meditation

Loving kindness meditation is a Buddhist practice that involves cultivating feelings of kindness and goodwill toward others and oneself. It's also known as Metta meditation. This type of meditation can increase activation of brain areas involved in emotional processing and empathy It can help people with trauma become more self-compassionate and mindful.

At Iron Minds, we explore multiple methods of mindfulness and meditation to help our mentees to process painful trauma and find inner peace. For subscribers to our Seven Stoic Steps course, meditation is an integral element to each weekly meeting with your trauma therapist.