At the AIM group session last night we were exploring some new ideas I have been working with. I began by proposing we need to move beyond an exclusively skill-based approach in learning and practicing mindfulness. I proposed that what we have called the PARA skills (purpose, attention, resilience and activity), while potent and crucial, are incomplete in the cultivation of mindful living. We need to include two other elements. The first is compassion, which includes loving kindness, what we have called the Four Immeasurables (compassion, loving kindness, equanimity and sympathetic joy). The second has to do with expressing one’s mindfulness practice in purposeful action, especially in a context bigger than oneself, such as one’s community.
We were playing with creating a catchphrase which would represent that, something based on letters, beginning with p-a-r-a.
I have been using “parachutes” as that phrase. I proposed this represents Purpose, Attention, Resilence, Activity, Compassionate Heart, and “used-to-end-suffering”. It also has some wonderful imagery about floating to ground. Some other variations for the last letters were CH could be “community” and “heart of compassion”. For the UTES, we came up with “undertaking the empowerment of self/society” or “using to enable self and society”.
We also wondered if some other word, beginning with PARA might work better. Although we liked the similar imagery of “para-sol” , we laughed at being stuck with what “s-o-l” usually represents.
Here are some other possible candidates. Any comments?
- PARAdox
- PARAgon
- PARAkeet
- PARAdigm
- PARAsite
- PARAlyze
- PARAnoia
- PARAllel
- PARAlegal
- PARAbola
- PARAgraph
- PARAplegic
Yours , on purpose,
Ray
The purpose of life is a life of purpose
Robert Byrne
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