Mindfulness on our eResources
Published on 30th June 2020
“Freedom is a practice and a habit. We have to train ourselves to walk as a free person, sit as a free person, and eat as a free person. We need to train ourselves how to live.” Thich Nhat Hanh
Many of us are returning to work and society with new, and some unnatural, behaviour expected of us. Social distancing, queuing, handwashing, and respiratory etiquette. We can’t hug or shake hands and we are communicating with each other through screens and masks.
We leave our homes, share our workplaces, take public transport together and learn to live this new normal. It is hard to avoid touching your face or to wash your hands for two renditions of happy birthday when you have the pressures of the working day. Having neglected it for a while I have returned to my mindfulness practice to stay aware of my behaviour. Mindfulness is being present and fully engaged in the moment. Mindfulness techniques can be great for anxiety and stress but also highlight how easily our focus moves away from what we are doing.
So, if you are a bit underwhelmed or heedless with today’s ways, here are some mindfulness resources for you. Washing your hands might get a bit Zen! The library has loads of great online resources.
Universal Class
Universal Class have a course called Mindfulness in the Workplace. I am finding it useful and I find it benefits my working day and the people I encounter, especially now there may be increased anxiety in the working day. The course reminds us to accept negative thoughts, think about how to communicate with people you meet through work and try to improve working environment by improving mindset. It also gives techniques that might help in moments of stress. You can access Universal Class service by using your Dublin City library membership card barcode number. To access online, register with your library card number and email address.
Borrowbox
There’s so much on BorrowBox, have a browse! Some I looked at were:
Falling Awake by John Kabat-Zinn. Kabat-Zinn’s writing introduced me to mindfulness. Someone gave me one of his books when I needed it. Cynically, I took the book on holiday. I returned home with an awareness of myself, some tools for stress and a bit of a body scan fan. Kabat-Zinn concentrates on using mindfulness to heal pain, physical and emotional, with moment to moment awareness. It is hard to review Falling Awake without putting you to sleep. If you think of the most ordinary tasks each day; walk, sit, stand, eat, taste. This book encourages you pay attention to these tasks. They may be the mundane, but that is what makes up life. He suggests by practicing you become aware of what you are doing and you fall awake and take notice of life. It is harder than it sounds! In times of stress you can use these techniques to regroup, use your breath and focus your mind on the task in hand. He guides you through how to meditate so I prefer to listen to him on audio book.
The Art of Living by Thich Nhat Hanh, another audio book on BorrowBox which is great. The author is a Vietnamese Monk who set up Plum Village in France. Peacekeeper and poet, his main teaching is finding the joy in simple things. It is he who taught Kabat-Zinn and many other Zen Buddhists. His literary contribution is immense. He writes beautifully, it is the type of writing I dip in and out of. This book reminds us it is normal that it can be hard to remain happy and positive in the world as it is such a crazy place. So much is out of our hands but learning to understand ourselves is not. You are guided to understand yourself and the world around you a little better. There are seven meditations that you can practice: the meditations deal with various aspects of life and relationships. I have only given my time to two so far as they send me to sleep, but it was time well spent!
Parenting Mindfully by Catherine De Pino. I took this one out in a moment of despair because I wanted to try and have patience with a busy emotional pre-schooler during lockdown who was missing friends and freedom. It did give me some pointers on worrying less about how things turn out and instead enjoying the activity. These craft tasks are harder than they look! It reminded me about active listening and that our children have a world going on of their own. It turned out that my children are too young at one and three and she really focuses from age six to fourteen, but if your children are in that age bracket it might be some formative reading.
Access eBooks/eAudiobooks on your phone, tablet or reader. Once you have installed the app, search for Dublin in the ‘Library’ field provided and then sign in using your library membership card number and PIN. Watch our how to video on Borrowbox. Members of other library authorities will need to log in using a different link.
RBdigital and Press Reader
If you are looking for lighter reading there are wellness and mindfulness magazines available. In the moment: a magazine with stories, recipes and ideas to be happy with the simple things, is available on Pressreader. Register for Press Reader, then select categories. Sign in with your Dublin City Library card and you're ready to go. Watch our handy how to video.
Submitted by Tamsin from Phibsboro Library.