The "Sunflower Health" Self-Reflective Mindfulness Practice for Resolving Recurring Distressing Experiences

Choose a Personal, 1-to-1 Coaching, Co-counselling or Group-Support Approach:
There is no doubt that Reflective Practice is generally more effective when we recruit the help of others, especially if they are non-judgemental, agenda-free and experienced in reflective practice or counselling work. It is helpful to have someone present who is familiar with the situation under consideration and also helpful to have someone present who is unfamiliar i.e. totally open-minded. Feedback from individuals representing the range of logical, emotional and intuitive qualities is especially powerful and ensures that we are not "blinkered" or missing a "blind spot" in our personal review. See Edward De Bono's classic manual "Six Thinking Hats" (Details: USA  Canada  UK [Europe]) for details of these decision-making human faculties which empower lateral-thinking and creative workplace solutions.

Preparation:
Clear stress and release held-in emotions to enter a skilful, clarity-vision state via the simple and quick centering, clearing, grounding & integrating exercises that we teach in our stress management workshops or Get into a relaxed state using relaxation breathing techniques or meditation techniques

 

Mindfulness: Protocol for the Sunflower Health Structured Reflection

1. The Nature of the Experience - The Story You are Telling Yourself        Describe briefly: Background to the experience Key events as the situation unfolded Cause & Effect relationships (assumed) Final outcomes: immediate, delayed, predicted 2. Clarification of Personal (or organisation) Involvement * What was my (our) involvement: reactions, actions, decisions * What was I trying to achieve or gain? * Why did I/we act as I/we did? * How did my/our actions affect: My/our goals? Me personally? (Us as a group) Other people? Other people's goals? Economics, Social cohesion, other entities? * What did I feel and think at the time of events?   3. Factors which Created the Results * What factors influenced my/our actions, decisions, judgements: internal factors? external factors? historical or developmental factors? * What factors did I/we fail to consider? 4. Alternative Actions What other choices were open to me/us? What might have been their consequences? What would I/we do if situation recurred? 5. Learning and Growing How do I/we now feel about the situation now? What have I/we learned? How have I/we changed? If unclear: what advice, feedback, information or procedure might help? [see below]

 

Continuing unease or lack of progress?

In the reflection process we seek to act as detatched observers - logical and objective. Unfortunately of course, human beings are highly subjective creatures and we always (unconsciously often) see situations partly in terms of how they reflect on us, or how they reflect on the kind of world we want to live in.

Continuing feelings of unease or a sense of an unsatisfactory outcome of a health care decision situation or other personal or professional intervention - even after we have extracted new understanding and new learning from it - usually means that the incident touches on an unhealed emotional, psychological or spiritual wound (a "heartache") within ourselves.

Chuck Spezzano has spent his adult life researching the sources and the cures for these residual "uneasy feelings" or guilty feeling: situations, see his guide to healing personal wounded feeling to uncover and heal any residual disappointment or sense of failure, frustration or feeling personally traumatised.

It can be very difficult for us to see beyond our own preconceptions and "blinkered" vision in order to find new solutions to recurring troublesome situations. We may need some 1-to-1 Stress Management Coaching or Holistic Healing in order to find new solutions. In cases of recurring frustration, anger or depression [anger turned inwards], Anger Management & Release Training or Cathartic Healing can "open doors".

 

Mindfulness & Reflective Practice UK Training Courses in Stress Management Skills

 

Reflective Practice Guide - Index
Introduction
What is RP? What does RP offer?
What does RP look like?
The "Sunflower Health" Reflective Protocol
RP in Schools
References & Additional Resources
Personal interest & experience
Author details