Week 5 - Amanda Wong

Mindfulness (n): being aware of one's own thoughts while simultaneously being empathetic of the thoughts and feelings of others

This is my understanding of what mindfulness means, as it is tossed around in a society striving for equality and justice for all -- We must all be mindful of the different world's around us and the impact we may have one another.

In the article, "'You are here': locating 'spirituality' on the map of the current medical world" by Parameswaran Ramakrishnan, it talks about Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) offering spiritual care skill courses to doctors and nurses. This training is completely optional to medical care practitioners to learn how to facilitate healing to all denominations. There seems to be positive studies around creating room for spirituality in the hospital with patient's physical and emotional state.

I think this a very important step towards healing our very messed up health care system. This could be the step we need towards addressing one’s mind, body and spirit when visiting the hospital. Doctors and nurses sometimes seem to lack a sense of care when treating patients -- by having these mindfulness trainings they are able to address patients as a whole being and not just the ailment that is most visible to the eye. There is usually so much more going on with someone than what can be perceived on the surface, this is what we need to pay attention to in order heal.

Questions: What are ways we can practice mindfulness in our everyday lives? Do you think mindfulness practices are important to bring into the health care system?

References:

Article - "'You are here': locating 'spirituality' on the map of the current medical world" by Parameswaran Ramakrishnan (2015)

Image - https://insight.athenahealth.com/be-mindful-of-mindfulness