Las Cosas

Week 1
Thank you for your interest in this practice.You will be included in the forum "Mindfulness Online" at YahooGroups so that you could receive reports/comments from other participants and the instructor(s) (current messages by emails only; members can not access old posted messages). Please let us know if you see no messages a week after you have joined, also check the spam/junk mail boxfor messages filtered there. There will be, on the average, 2-5 "daily digests" sent to you per week (depending on how many participants are active that week). You do not have to but could create a Yahoo account and change your email address or the preference of how you would like to receive messages in this forum. You may unsubscribe to this forum or stay on when you complete the course.-Again, asa courtesy, please inform us(email thanhhawaii@yahoo.com) and complete the survey form should you decide not to take this course, and if/when you discontinue (or interupt) the course, unless due to emergency. -The training includes carefully reading all the instructions of the week and frequently reviewing the introduction in order to practice correctly. -We suggest that you download the mp3audio files to an mp3 player or to a CD (mp3 or audio format) disc or record to a cassette to listen to during the formal practice (the links to the 3 audios of this week are at the bottom of the web page). Download by right-mouse click on the link then choose "save link as" in order to save it to your computer and perhaps later to an mp3 player. Listen directly from the course website (on thecomputer) by left-mouse double-click on the link, which could take some time for buffering (It is suggested that you turn off or cover the computer screen during the formal sitting). -Keep a diary about your practice and write directly to Dr Huynh (thanhhawaii@yahoo.com) weekly (not to the forum) to report your practice and to ask questions. Please do not send the diary and report as attachments butpaste them in the email. Most participants share their practice diary since it is helpful in reporting their practice. Indicate in the email subject your first name and last initial, your location and where  you are in the course (first, second week etc...). Example: Jane D (London/UK) week 2. You will receive week 2's materials after reporting week 1's practice. Please post questions early in theweek if there is something not clear in the instruction, in order to practice correctly. The reports and questions are important parts of the training that would show the students and the instructor what needs to be reinforced/clarified. They will  be anonymously posted to the forum since it also helps other participants in their practice. If you do not see a response within 2 days, please re-sendthe message since it might be lost or in the "Spam/Junk" mail box or overlooked. I - FIRST WEEK Please review the Introduction to Mindfulness this week, and later perhaps weekly, using the frequently revised version in this link: https://sites.google.com/site/mindfulnessonlinecourse/mindulness-online-introduction If you have used other meditation techniques, please start fresh by trying not to applythem (as much as you can) during this course, since they could hinder your progress.
We begin the program by learning how to establish Mindfulness within the body (first foundation of mindfulness). This will include  being aware of the body postures and movements, the breath and to observe the changing sensations associated with these experiences. The body scan  will help bring awareness throughdifferent areas of the body in order to reconnect with our body, to help relax the body and mind. Start with one sitting meditation a day (immediately after the walking meditation if practical) while listening to the audio-guided instructions on mindfulness of the body (mp3 file in the attachment at the end of this page. This material can be copied into a MP3, CD, or cassette for playback...