Listening and Looking Deeply:
A Mindful Cognitive Process

Day of Mindfulness (one-day retreat)
for Health Care and Human Service Professionals
from 9:30 to 16:30 on Saturday Nov. 15, 2014
at Centre on Behavioral Health, The University of Hong Kong

Click here to get the registration form (PDF) on page 3 of this document. Registration is on a first-come, first-serve basis. There are only 60 spaces available.

October 7, 2014

Dear friends,

You are invited to attend a Day of Mindfulness (DOM) for health care and human service professionals, co-organized by HKU Centre on Behavioral Health and PVFHK Asian Institute of Applied Buddhism (AIAB). This DOM is part of our “Healthy Body, Healthy Mind” Initiative to integrate mindfulness practices to the physical and mental health fields. The foundations of this initiative are the teachings and practices of Mindfulness based on the Discourse on Full Awareness of Breathing (Anapanasati Sutta) and the Discourse on the Four Establishments of Mindfulness (Satipatthana Sutta), as taught by the Buddha about 2600 years ago. We also studied how the mind works, based on the teachings of Manifestation-Only Psychology , which was systematized in the 4th century by the Indian Buddhist monk and philosopher Vasubandhu of the Yogacara Buddhist School. Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh has used these teachings to form the foundation for mediation practices to help us nourish our body and mind, to develop insight and to help us transform pain and suffering into peace and happiness. Even though the teachings are from Buddhist tradition, the practices are non-sectarian and are open to people of all faiths.

In 2014,we will have a Day of Mindfulness for Health Care Professionals once every 3months,on the 2nd Saturday of Feb, April, Julyand November (changed from October).For the upcoming Nov. 15 DOM, we will look into the art of listening and looking deeply. We will see how, because of past experience, we can be easily misled by what we hear, see, taste, smell... i.e. sounds, sights, tastes, odors... coming from the sense organs when we got into contact with things. We will look into the cognitive process, which are connected with the contacts, attentions and feelings that we associate with the perceived objects. How do the contacts, attentions, and feelings influence our perceptions - the ways we look at thing. We will examine the connections between Cognitive Science - which includes neuroscience, psychology - and Manifestation-Only Psychology. What are the roles of the six universal mental formations (vitality, contact, attention, feelings, perceptions, and volitions) and the 5 particular mental formations (intention, determination, mindfulness, concentration, and insight) in the cognitive process? Surveys say that 70% of visits to doctor's office are due to stress, and 50% of stress cases comes from wrong perceptions. Mindful cognition helps improve our well-being.

In the day of mindfulness, we will learn the practice of going back to our breath, anchoring our mind in the in-breath and out-breath. We become calm and clear when the mind and body are together in one place, with the help of our mindful breath. We will practice listening to the bell, walking meditation, eating meditation, exercise meditation (mindful movements), and relaxing meditation (total relaxation) … We practice to stop, to slowdown the thinking in our mind via bodily actions.

You can find more information about activities of past days of mindfulness at http://pvfhk.org/index.php/en/activities/body-mind

In the day of mindfulness, we will learn the practice of going back to our breath, anchoring our mind in the in-breath and out-breath. We become calm and clear when the mind and body are together in one place, with the help of our mindful breath. We will practice listening to the bell, walking meditation, eating meditation, exercise meditation (mindful movements), and relaxing meditation (total relaxation) … We practice to stop, to slowdown the thinking in our mind via bodily actions.

 A sample programme schedule for the Day of Mindfulness is as follow:

9:30                 Sitting and Slow Walking Meditation (indoor)

10:30               Lecture

12:30               Lunch

13:30               Total Relaxation

14:30               Group Discussion

16:00               Walking Meditation (outdoor)

16:30               Farewell

Location:        Centre on Behavioral Health, The University of Hong Kong
2/F, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Building for Interdisciplinary Research,
5 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong

香港大學行為健康教研中心
香港薄扶林沙宣道5號香港賽馬會跨學科研究大樓2樓

Fees:               HKD200.00 per day (including light vegetarian lunch and tea)

How to register:

CBH-DOM-2014-July-RegistrationForm-Final.pdf. Registration is on a first-come, first-serve basis. There are only 60 spaces available.

For more information, please contact us at Centre on Behavioral Health, e-mail: bhealth@hku.hk, Tel: (852) 2831 5163.

Breathe and Smile,

Sr. Hanh Nghiem (Sr. Adornment with Action), PVFHK Asian Institute of Applied Buddhism

Venus Wong, HKU Centre of Behavioral Health