Building Equanimity

Scientist, professor and researcher, J David Cresswell, has studied meditation at Carnegie Mellon University at the Health and Human Performance Laboratory for more than 20 years. Specifically, he focuses on the role of strengthening one’s equanimity and its ability to reduce stress and improve overall well-being.

Equanimity, “refers to a mental attitude of being at peace with the push and pull of experience.” During meditation, we can strengthen our equanimity by inviting a curious, non-judgmental mindset. We can welcome all thoughts and experiences equally. This is not about placing someone in an unsafe place or torturing oneself; rather it is about training the body—without injury or shutdown—to a higher level of performance. Building equanimity is about finding a tolerable stretch and building the ability to notice and stay with something—an emotion, challenge, loss—a little bit more now and a bit more tomorrow to take in all parts of the experience.

Here is an example. I might be feeling sad that a friendship has ended. The sadness may connect to not having someone to accompany me on museum visits. Maybe I can tolerate thinking about this friend and all of the things that happened in the arc of the relationship. I can be both sad for the ending and grateful for all the positive experiences. I could have some confusion over why it ended. I might also feel hope around connecting with another person in this way (if I did it once, I can do it again!) I can hold the push and pull of sadness and gratitude and happiness and confusion and have a positive judgment on what I learned and what I will do next time. This can set me up for meeting new people or investing time in people I already know.

By building acceptance for all that is happening in the moment—whether joyous and/or painful—we build the ability to tolerate feelings with a positive judgment. Practicing positive judgment may result in improving our well-being which comes from building equanimity.

At Our Healing Therapy, we will work with you to build your equanimity and resilience. Contact us today.

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