Bill Abbott presents how mindful awareness can be used with SMART Recovery at the 2015 Annual Conference.

1. Mindfulness and Self-Empowerment
How and Why Mindful Awareness can
add to SMART Self-Management
By Bill Abbott
Assisted by Suzy Whalen

2. HERE

3. The Talk a series of Stories
• My Story
• The Buddha Story
• The SMART Story
• The Mindfulness Story
• The Science Story
• The Practice & Experience Story

4. My Story
• Amazing transition-”transformative”
• My Recovery & SMART
• MBSR
• I am not a Buddhist ..or any ic or ist
• Today

5. The School of Athens– Plato v Aristotle

6. The School of Athens– Plato v Aristotle

8. The Buddha Story
• Kind of a Buddhism - lite
• Will be simplified.. corners cut
• Will have important omissions ..so incomplete
• Will spin it for relevance to Smart Recovery
* With Apology to Buddhists *

9. The Buddha Story
~500 bce
A Man, Siddhartha Gautama; NOT a god
Not a religion
Philosophy and Psychology
4 Truths
8 step path
to enlightenment
and freedom

10. The Buddha Story
Concepts- Pali or Sanskrit
• dukkha…suffering, unsatisfactoriness, stress
• karma ….actions-consequences
• bodhi….enlightenment
• nirvana …..liberation
• dharma….truth

11. The Buddha Story
Dukkha
• Difficult word to understand
• Suffering comes closest
• Unsatisfactoriness
• Stress ..in broad context

12. The Buddha Story
Karma or Kamma
• This is not fate
• Cause and effect
• “What goes around comes around”
• We are responsible for our lives via actions
• We have choices and need to make wise ones

13. The Buddha Story
Four Noble Truths:
1. Life has suffering and is often unsatisfactory (dukkha)
2. The cause of suffering (dukkha) is craving
3. The relief of suffering is possible
4. By following an 8 step path

14. The Buddha Story
The Causes of “Suffering-Craving” **
The 3 Poisons:
1. Attachment (clinging) or greed
2. Aversion or hatred
3. Delusion or ignorance
**Dukkha

15. The Buddha Story
The Causes of “Suffering-Craving” **
The 3 Marks of Existence –Realities
failure to accept :
1. Impermanence—every thing changes
2. The truth of Suffering
3. Material Egoic Self
**Dukkha

16. The Buddha Story
Marks of Existence
• Impermanence- ………………..anicca
• Suffering –……………………………dukkha
• Impermanent Egoic Self ……….anatta

17. The Buddha Story
Enlightenment … Bodhi-citta
• Awareness of the reality of our existence
• Buddha << Bodhi << awake and aware
• Allows wisdom and clarity in making choices
• Not all or none in western Buddhism

18. The Buddha Story
Nirvana or Nibbana:
• The achievement of total awareness state
• Brings liberation and freedom from suffering
(dukkha)
• Not all or none in western Buddhism

19. The Buddha Story
The 8 Fold Path – The Middle Way
1. Right* understanding
2. Right* intention
3. Right* speech
4. Right* behavior
5. Right* living
6. Right* effort
7. Right* mindfulness
8. Right* concentration
* Right = Skillful or correct or appropriate
Wisdom
Behavior
Concen-
tration

20. The Buddha Story
The “Second Arrow” of the Buddha
First Arrow --------------- Pain
Second Arrow --------- Suffering
Pain is Inevitable
Suffering is Optional

21. The Mindfulness Story
Mindfulness = Mindful Awareness
Mindfulness is the opposite of Mindlessness
70 – 80 % of time not here
Lost in story of past, future, fantasy

22. The Mindfulness Story
Mindfulness brought to the US by some disaffected youth in the
1960’s
Names include Joseph Goldstein, Jack Kornfield, Sharon
Salzburg et. al.
Applied to “physical problems and stress” by Jon Kabat-Zinn
(70s)
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)

23. Mindfulness- just what is it
1. Paying attention is a special way* to the present
experience without judgment
2. Allowing things to be as they are
3. Accepting things as they are
4. Letting go – not clinging
* With bare attention= Receptive-not reactive
* Not Doing- Being

24. The Mindfulness Story
Mindful Awareness Practices can:
• add a new dimension to Self-Management
• add a new dimension to Self-Empowerment
• be a direct approach to emotional management
• augment and add to cognitive approaches

25. THE SMART STORY
Al EllisSid Gautama

26. The SMART Story
• In SMART Recovery we focus on mainly cognitive concepts
and tools from the work of Albert Ellis
• Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)
• There is an element of emotional management already there,
a mindfulness strategy will augment that
• Mindful awareness ideas can strengthen the SMART
approach

27. TWO APPROACHES
COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE
Thoughts Emotions/feelings

28. TWO APPROACHES OVERLAP
COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE

29. Where Buddhism and SMART Agree
Buddhism
• Self-Management
• Self-Empowerment
• Choice
• Freedom
• Skillful Action
SMART
• Self-Management
• Self-Empowerment
• Choice
• Recovery
• Tools

30. Where Buddhism and SMART Agree
Buddhism
• Craving
• Acceptances
• Equanimity
• Clarity/Wisdom
• Sangha
SMART
• Demandingness
• Acceptances
• Frustration Tolerance
• Understanding addiction
• Community

31. The Smart Story
7 factors of Buddist Enlightenment ..Smart Style
1. Mindfulness  Awareness of issues
2. Investigation  Understanding problems
3. Energy  Motivation to change
4. Joy  Happiness with recovery
5. Tranquility  Freedom from addiction
6. Concentration  Peacefulness, calm mind
7. Equanimity  Balance

32. SMART Tools :
• Unconditional Acceptances
• USA, UOA, ULA
• Urge Surfing
• ABC-tool---scaling , Irrational,unhelpful beliefs
• DISaRM

33. SMART Tools : DEADS
An urge coping tool
D - delay (Pause)
E- escape
A- allow (or accept)
D- distract
S- substitute

34. Smart Tools: STOPP
An urge coping tool
S- stop what you are doing or Pause
T- take a breath (or 2 or more)
O- observe what's happening
P- put in proper perspective
P- put into practice (new, learned responses)

35. Pause Button 4

36. Pause Button 1
Physics
Stimulus Reaction

37. Pause Button 3
Biology
Stimulus Response
Power to choose
Freedom to choose
Victor Frankl

38. Pause Button 6
Mindful Awareness Practice
SMART Recovery Tool

39. The Science Story (1)
Clinical studies find benefits for:
• Depression
• Stress-Reduction
• Addiction
• Anxiety Disorders
• OCD
• PTSD
• Personality Disorders

40. The Science Story (2)
Affective Neuroscience**
Demonstrated in objective human brain studies:
• Positive Outlook
• Self-Awareness
• Sensitivity to Context
• Resilience
** after 7-10 hours practice

41. The Science Story (3)
Emotional Management Benefits
• Peacefulness
• Safety
• Focus
• Empowerment
• Clarity

42. THE PRACTICE STORY
3 basic practices ( MAPs)
Calming concentration
“Coming back”
Shamatha
Insight –Clarity
“Being here”
Vipassana
Loving Kindness
Compassion
Metta

43. THE PRACTICE STORY
• Often but not always practiced with meditation
• Not all meditation is Mindful
• Not all mindfulness is via meditation
• Most common focus is on the breath

44. THE PRACTICE STORY
• Short, 11-14 min. guided meditation before wrap-up
• Unless active discussion seems more important
• Then optional – after meeting
• Mostly a Coming Back exercise; some Being Here last
part
• Often ends with brief Metta (loving kindness)

45. The Experience Story
• Informal survey:
• 75% found helpful, and/or beneficial,
• 50% SR was first exposure;
• 80% practice between meetings ;
• 50% as result of meetings
• Reported
• 85% reported increased calmness/peacefulness
• 76% reported decreased stress
• 59% reported more positive outlook
• 65% reported emotional stability

46. In summary
Mindfulness or Mindful Awareness
is a form of emotional self –
management
via Self-empowering practices

47. NOW

48. Mindful Self-Empowerment
“Come and See”
Buddha
Namaste
Annabelle Abbott

49. End Subtitle
Thank you
End Subtitle

50. ABCDEF
A = ACTIVATING EVENT
C = CONSEQUENCE (emotion)
B = BELIEF (about the event)
B  C
D = DISPUTE
E = EFFECTIVE NEW BELIEF
F = NEW FEELING

51. CONCLUSIONS
• A simple story of self-management of emotions via
mindful self-empowerment
• How is does and can integrate with SMART
Recovery principles and tools
• A simple practice with observed benefits described
• For more; Attend the Practicum on Sunday @7 AM
• NAMASTE

52. ABCDEF
A = ACTIVATING EVENT
C = CONSEQUENCE (emotion)
B = BELIEF (about the event)
B  C
D = DISPUTE
E = EFFECTIVE NEW BELIEF
F = NEW FEELING
MINDFUL AWARENESS

53. ABCDEF
A = ACTIVATING EVENT
C = CONSEQUENCE (emotion)
B = BELIEF (about the event)
B  C
D = DISPUTE or MAP
E = EFFECTIVE NEW BELIEF
F = NEW FEELING or OUTCOME
MINDFUL AWARENESS

54. ABCDEF + MINDFUL AWARENESS
A = ACTIVATING EVENT
C = CONSEQUENCE (emotion)
B = BELIEF (about the event)
B  C
D = DISPUTE or MAP
E = EFFECTIVE NEW BELIEF
F = NEW FEELING or OUTCOME
MINDFUL AWARENESS

55. Pause Button 5
Play tape backward

56. Pause Button 2
Biology
Stimulus Response
Fast Brain
Slow Brain Kahneman

57. Pause Button 5
Play tape forwardPlay tape backward

58. Laws of Physics
Seeking:
A Grand Unification Theory
Or Theory of Everything (TOE)
The Pause Button Tool is such an effort:
A unification idea meant to simplify the use of
SMART Tools

59. The Buddha Story
The 5 Precepts:
1. Avoid killing (harming others)
2. Avoid lying
3. Avoid stealing
4. Avoid sexual malpractices
5. Avoid intoxicating substances

60. The Buddha Story
Pali Sanskrit
Dukkha: Suffering Dukkha
Kamma: Action  Result Karma
Nibbana: Freedom from Suffering Nirvana:
Bodhi : Enlightenment Bodhi:

61. Elemental Buddha
The 3 Marks of Existence:
1. Impermanence – Anicca
2. Suffering – Dukkha
3. Non-Self – Anatta
The 3 Poisons:
1. Attachment / Greed
2. Aversion / Hatred
3. Ignorance / Delusion

62. The Buddha Story
Pali Sanskrit
Dukkha: Suffering Dukkha
Kamma: Action  Result Karma
Nibbana: Freedom from Suffering Nirvana: Freedom
Dhamma: Truth Dharma: Truth

63. The Buddha Story
The 3 Poisons:
1. Attachment / Greed
2. Aversion / Hatred
3. Ignorance / Delusion
The 3 Marks of Existence:
1. Impermanence – Anicca
2. Suffering – Dukkha
3. Non-Self – Anatta

64. The Buddha Story
Pali Sanskrit
Dukkha: Suffering Dukkha
Kamma: Action  Result Karma
Nibbana: Freedom from Suffering Nirvana:
Bodhi : Enlightenment Bodhi: