April 21, 2020
Dear Friends,
How are you? I sincerely hope you are coping well with the challenges of shelter in place and an uncertain future. But, know that if you are struggling, this is normal and expected. Please be gentle with yourself and with others, we are living in stressful times.
I recently read an interview with Jack Kornfield, and this quote stood out to me:
“Epidemics are a part of the cycle of life on this planet. The choice is how we respond. With greed and hatred and fear and ignorance? Or with generosity, clarity, steadiness, and love?”
Jack Kornfield is an author, Buddhist practitioner, and one of the key teachers to introduce Buddhist mindfulness practice to the West. A mindfulness practice can be particularly helpful in these stressful and uncertain times.
Defined as “a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique,” I prefer to explain mindfulness as “finding comfort in the present moment.” We know from the medical and psychological literature that mindfulness not only can reduce feelings of anxiety, depression and isolation, it also can reduce blood pressure and stress hormones such as cortisol that can contribute to strokes and diminished cardiac health.
Here are a few resources to understand mindfulness better and begin a simple practice to help bring some calm to your life:
Things Keep Getting Scarier. He Can Help You Cope: Jack Kornfield interview in The New York Times Magazine (subscription required)
How Mindfulness Can Help During COVID-19: Tips for calming anxiety during a difficult time from Child Mind Institute
Mindfulness exercises from Mayo Clinic: Mindfulness is a type of meditation in which you focus on being intensely aware of what you're sensing and feeling in the moment, without interpretation or judgment. Practicing mindfulness involves breathing methods, guided imagery, and other practices to relax the body and mind and help reduce stress.
I hope you find this helpful for you and your loved ones as you work to reduce stress and become more comfortable in the present. And, as always, if you or a loved one are struggling more significantly with mental health or behavioral health concerns, please see the list of resources at the bottom of this email. There are people and organizations ready, willing, and trained to help.
Finally, a reminder that if you have young people in your lives, we welcome you to join our complimentary virtual event on Friday, April 24, 2020, at noon with nationally-recognized child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr. Jess Shatkin. Dr. Shatkin will share advice and evidence-based strategies for helping our youth both now and beyond our current crisis. Please register here.
Please take good care of yourselves and your families. As always, I thank you for your ongoing support of Caminar and our divisions. And, please reach out if you need anything. We can be reached at 1-650-372-4080 or info@caminar.org.
Take good care,
Mark Cloutier, MPP, MPH
Chief Executive Officer
