\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n What does mindfulness mean to you? Our minds travel all over the place, and that\u2019s not necessarily bad. In fact, that ability to think ahead and imagine hypothetical scenarios is part of our brilliance as human creatures. But getting lost in my head separates me from my actual, immediate, physical experience. It generally feels better to be embodied and connected to what\u2019s actually happening, if I can manage it. But it also doesn\u2019t help to get angry or frustrated when we can\u2019t manage it. Right now, kindness toward ourselves is the most important practice of all.<\/p>\n I\u2019m also a proponent of occasional mindlessness. At times, the best thing you can do for yourself is to wrap up in a blanket, break out the Doritos, and watch Netflix. We just need a break sometimes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n How is mindfulness different from calmness or relaxation? So it\u2019s not necessarily calming or relaxing. At the same time, though, I have to say that I usually do feel better if I\u2019m able to get in touch with what is going on. If I\u2019ve got some buried fear or grief and I can actually feel it, I usually feel relieved and calmer. It\u2019s like when you finally have a good cry about something you\u2019ve been carrying \u2014 afterwards you can feel very peaceful.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n How does mindfulness help at a time like this of uncertainty and worry? If you are ill or someone you love is ill, it\u2019s harder, of course, to stay with that reality. If you can be mindful and connected, even for a minute, that\u2019s good. If not, just be kind to yourself about how hard it is.<\/p>\n And mindfulness of course also means having awareness of what\u2019s happening on a large scale too. It means recognizing that the virus disproportionately affects those who can\u2019t work from home and those who have lost jobs. And it affects racial groups unequally. For example, I read that in Michigan, 40% of the people who have died from Coronavirus are African Americans, while the state\u2019s population is only 14% African American.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What are some of your favorite practices that you\u2019re leaning on at this time? Creative practices are another profound way to connect with mindfulness. If I\u2019m making something, I\u2019m not worrying \u2014 I\u2019m just immersed in the process. And I always feel ridiculously happy when I have just made something, whether it\u2019s a birthday card or a poem or a blind contour drawing. Staying at home can make the world seem small, but getting connected with creative energy makes me feel expansive.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n What suggestions can you offer to someone who might be struggling to be mindful now? There\u2019s a virtual mindfulness event almost every day of the week at CC now, thanks to Spiritual Life, the Wellness Resource Center, and Creativity & Innovation. You can attend Creative Mondays and Qigong Sound Healing on Mondays; Tranquil Tuesdays; Mindful Stress Management on Wednesdays; Morning Meditation and Muffins on Thursday mornings and Mindful Thursdays in the afternoon. These are all great ways to get support for mindfulness and connect with a larger community.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n What resources does CC offer that can help students, faculty, or staff right now who want to cultivate mindfulness? I lead \u201cCreative Mondays\u201d from 3 to 5 p.m. on Zoom and everyone is welcome to join.\u00a0 We hang out together online while drawing, painting, knitting, etc. It\u2019s like an old-fashioned sewing circle or something \u2014 we\u2019re working with our hands, just being together and talking at the same time. It\u2019s a nice, nurturing way to be together.\u00a0 https:\/\/zoom.us\/j\/943553629<\/a><\/p>\n Creativity & Innovation\u2019s Mindfulness Resident Barbara Bash offers \u201cMindful Thursdays\u201d from 2 to 3:30 p.m. on Zoom. Barbara draws on a variety of practices, including a deep check-in in the form of circle work. The sessions are very grounding.\u00a0 https:\/\/zoom.us\/j\/331552859<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Thank you Jane, and may you be well. <\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n By Jennifer Kulier In this series we ask people around campus what mindfulness means to them and how they are surviving and thriving in the new circumstances we find ourselves in. Here, we talk to Professor of Creativity and Innovation and Schlosser Professor in the Arts Jane Hilberry. \u00a0 What does mindfulness mean to you? … <\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Mindfulness basically means paying attention, knowing where you are and what you are doing.\u00a0 If I\u2019m lost in my thoughts, miles away from the current moment, I\u2019m probably not being mindful! I spend a lot of time in that faraway place \u2014 I\u2019m having an imaginary conversation or reliving a moment from class or thinking about what to make for dinner. And now, with the Coronavirus happening, it\u2019s easy to be swept away on a wave of fear: one night I woke up coughing and within seconds I was imagining myself dying alone in a hospital for lack of a respirator.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>That\u2019s a complex question, because sometimes being mindful means becoming aware of how uncomfortable you are. It can mean noticing that your back hurts or that you\u2019re really tired or that you\u2019re upset about something. Being mindful means noticing whatever is actually going on with you, whether pleasant or unpleasant, and trying to make room for those sensations or emotions.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>I remember something a CC student, Ananda Gear, told me once after traveling abroad on her own for a long stretch. She said that when she would get scared \u2014 maybe she was lost or in a situation that didn\u2019t feel safe \u2014 she would ask herself, \u201cIs anything bad actually happening right now?\u201d It\u2019s so easy to get lost in worry and fear, and it can be reassuring to come back to what is actually happening. For example, if I\u2019m getting anxious listening to the news about Covid-19 deaths in New York, I can come back to the fact that I\u2019m actually sitting in my backyard on a beautiful spring morning watching my cat. Seeing that, rather than being swept up in fear, makes it easier to do something constructive.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>I feel like I need more shoring up than usual, so I\u2019m doing yoga online and watching workshops with the qigong teacher Mingtong Gu, which always restores me. And I\u2019m spending a lot of virtual time with my Heart Centered Meditation group.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Practice with others. I\u2019m not always great about practicing every day on my own, but if I take a class or join a group, I do it.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Creativity & Innovation offers two regular events.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/atb\/files\/2020\/05\/hilberrystudio1-copy.jpg?resize=300%2C225&ssl=1\")