What People Are Saying About The
"Embodied Mindfulness Matters" Course
A few individuals previewed this Embodied Mindfulness Course. Sometimes I would send a Daily Note . . . just because I thought that the person needed the awareness now rather than later when the course was fully complete. Others were on my waiting list for the course. I agreed to allow a few of them to get started, even though the course was not fully complete, and had not been posted on my website. So here, I just thought I would share a few of their unsolicited comments that have come in over time.
"You of all people know how much stress I have been experiencing of late! I watched the video on the self-regulation technique from Week One of your course. I also read the PowerPoint, on Self-Regulating Technique No. 1. I will definitely be doing that technique daily. Given the stress I am under "in the moment," I will likely be doing it a few times during the day as well!
I felt an immediate decrease in tension in my neck, a tingly feeling at the base of my skull and an overall sense of . . . "It's really a nice day". . . Relax! Thank you! I look forward to the rest of your course.
See you in a few hours for our private!"
Jayne Tanaka
"From my perspective, this is not just a "sampler course". It is not just "three weeks" – or "21 days" of superficial mental reflections. I confess, I did not do the Daily Life Practices the first time around. But I did do them the 2nd time around. So, I can personally attest to the value of doing those practices. This "course," in general, and actually doing the Daily Life Practices, in particular, led to a shift in the way I perceive life, and in the way I do life! My world view has broadened considerably. Just wanted to let you know."
David Lewis
"Becoming more self-aware, has been challenging. But I can feel the wall of self-deception crumbling and for that I am grateful. My capacity to be honest with myself, and therefore with others has increased tremendously (something I doubted would ever happen). Part of what has not been easy is to consistently pay attention to my internal responses. The habit of ignoring those feelings was formed long, long ago. But now I know not to ignore those feelings, because it is precisely, those internal responses, that help me to be more honest – that help me to experience greater integrity.
Thank you! (I think) . . . Just kidding."
Peter Madden
"I have been taking a very active approach to this course. As I do so, it becomes clearer and clearer, that my life is what it is, as the result of the choices that I have made. This has led me to re-set the intention every day, to make different choices – to DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT!
I can honestly say, I am challenged every day, to muster up the courage to do something different. But because I see the positive changes in my life and in my relationships, I will continue to do so. I will also continue to do so, because doing so fills me with hope.
Thank you for challenging me to "muster up the courage!"
Anne Langston
"After doing the 3-week course I now KNOW that whenever I feel something in my body that is uncomfortable, something is going on that needs to be addressed. In the past, I would have surely ignored that information. So that was already progress. But I had been discounting the need to "name it". I just figured it was enough to "notice" the uncomfortable feeling. But the other day something happened that made it very clear, that "naming it" is very important. I won’t be skipping that step in the future.
What happened is that I noticed a tightening in my gut that was not pleasant. I knew it was anxiety. It didn’t take too for me to "connect the dots". My boss was due in anytime. She can be quite unpleasant and I really did NOT want to run into her. This time I DID name it – "tightening in response to the thought of my boss arriving". I repeated it slowly to myself a few times and the tightening in my gut started to dissipate! Like I said – I won’t be skipping that step anymore – especially when I consider the stress feedback loops that you talk about in your Creating Space For Your Lung Series!"
Diane Patterson
"Just a single moment in time . . . a brief upset between my wife and I . . . But the question from your Week One, Day Two Note was floating around in the background of my mind. What am I not noticing? When I reflected on this conflict between her and I, with that question in my mind, it became crystal clear how my "not noticing" was at the very heart of most of our conflicts and upsets.
In this instance, I did NOT notice that I had reverted to my habitual patterns of 1) being presumptuous; 2) not answering the question that she asked (I do this A LOT!); and 3) hearing what I wanted to hear and NOT what she said (I also do this A LOT!). All of this occurred in that moment of upset, without any awareness, on my part, at the time. What I concluded from this is that this conflict, and many other conflicts could have been avoided, had I simply noticed "in the moment" what I was not noticing. Honestly, just that insight was worth the price of the course."
Sean W. Langston
"Thank you for sending me the Week 2, Day 2 Note from your Mindfulness Course. We are now 6 months into the outbreak of Covid. With the isolation, as you know, I have been finding it a challenge to keep from dwelling in the inner recesses of my darker mind. So, turning my attention outward, into the environment was a relief.
Plants continual growth reassured me of life’s continuity and beauty despite the horror of our present situation. My white ginger plant is flowering. It soothes my aching soul. The fragrance is heavenly. It reminds me of a safe home. The sunshine on my bare skin feels like a salve – so comforting. I decided to trim my plants and that reinforced my fascination with all life cycles. Seeing a new shoot gave me a shot of joy.
I guess I’ve answered the question you posed in your Day 2 Note – at least for me, in the moment. Why Is It Important to Notice What We Are Not Noticing? Noticing what I was not noticing, literally changed my internal state!"
Gail Sahara
"I am fully aware, that at this point in my life, becoming more mindful, on several levels, is the key to improving my over-all health. But frankly, so far, I have found becoming more mindful to be a painful process -- something to be avoided.
Facing some truths about myself that I absolutely did NOT want to face, led to substantial resistance, which I could actually feel at a bodily level. But when I listened to your Excerpt No. 2 of The Silver Lining (Week 1, Day 4) suddenly I had an entirely different perspective.
I am going to start looking at this Embodied Mindfulness journey, as the road to returning to the best of who I am – to re-acquainting myself with the parts of me that I have unwittingly abandoned during the course of my life. Thank you for that – a refreshing new perspective – which fills me with excitement, rather than dread."
Adrian Atkins
"By the time I even finished the Meet Dr. Parker video (Week 1, Day 1), I was filled with hope and I just wanted to let you know. The distinction you made between the suffering that is inherent in life, and the unnecessary suffering that we all experience really hit me from the get-go! Just the thought that most of my suffering might actually be in the category of "unnecessary suffering" filled me with hopefulness. Thank you for that!
The image at the end of that video was icing on the cake. That had a powerful impact on me. The broken links of the chain -- the birds flying away from the cage – really powerful!"
Byron Katz
"“I just finished reading your PDF "For the Curious Minded Only." (Week 1, Day 1). I had no idea that, 80-90% of people who go to doctor’s offices these days, go for stress related conditions. But it rings true and it was a real eye opener. I was recently diagnosed with metabolic syndrome. One doesn’t have to do much research to find that stress is a major contributing factor in the development of this condition. So, I am really looking forward to the rest of your course! I am happy to have found a guide -- especially one with so much knowledge of stress related conditions."
Jonathan Hart
"I just finished listening to your Week 1 Day 3 Note. It was a powerful reminder of how easily we can disrupt our physiological function, by NOT staying in the present moment. I cringe to think how a "steady diet" of NOT staying in the present moment, has, over time, impacted my overall health. With your help, that is becoming more self-apparent to me all of the time. I feel hopeful that I can start to reverse my declining health – by making Embodied Mindfulness a way of life."
B.J. Madden
"First, I would like to thank you for sending me your "Sample Note" from Week 2 of your course. It really impacted me. I was reminded of a movie I watched years ago called "The First Time". There is a scene in that movie where one of the main characters was with her boyfriend. She was worried about a variety of things and she was lost in thought about getting back to her uncle’s place. She was totally unaware of what there was to notice in her environment.
But then she just paid attention to her environment and had the experience of a lifetime. I know that I really related to her character at the time. But it never occurred to me to apply that to my own life. But after reading your note, it struck me that I could have a similar experience with MY boyfriend . . . if only I would do the same thing -- if only I could make it a practice, to not get lost in thought about other matters, when I am with him."
Olivia Brown
""Thank you for your devotion to the topic of stress related conditions. I have known for many years that my reaction to stress was exaggerated. But I didn’t really know what to do about it. Years ago, I used to get regular chiropractic "adjustments". Each time he would "tap" C1 back into place. But it was short lived! The adjustments never seemed to last, so I just stopped going.
But in all this time, I had never put "two and two together". I had NO idea of the connection between C1 and C2 misalignment and ventral vagal dysfunction. No wonder I have always had such an exaggerated response to stress! The power point in Week 1, particularly the image of the misalignment of C1 and C2 was more than a little bit enlightening! To further connect the state of our stress control system to our capacity for Mindfulness -- same thing. It sounds obvious when you hear it, but it never occurred to me that the two were connected. I suddenly feel more compassion for myself than I have in the past."
Joe Garcia
"I have just started your course, but felt compelled to communicate this. Today’s note stressed how important it is to notice what we are not noticing. To be honest, that sounded a little silly to me. How can we notice what we are not noticing? But today on the way to work, I was reflecting on an experience I had. This experience made it clear to me that something I have taught over the years was simply not true.
I am embarrassed to say, I can be quite arrogant and perfectionistic at times. That, I was already aware of. But when I realized that what I had been teaching all these years was wrong, I noticed a substantial increase in body tension. I doubt I would have noticed that before. That was a real eye opener.
My diagnosis of hypertension a few years back didn’t really make sense to me at the time. I have always thought of myself as being in "good shape". But that diagnosis certainly makes sense now. My body has undoubtedly been reacting like that every time that I discover that I am, or might be, wrong about something – every time I realize that I have made a mistake – or every time I don’t do something perfectly. Yikes!"
Lucy Halston