CONCEPT OF MINDFULNESS FOR VETERINARIANS

Mindfulness is Buddhist philosophy of living with greater awareness in the present moment. I got introduced to this wonderful life transforming concept during my Army tenure. I was working as a Major in Indian Army and was posted at  High Altitude Animal Transport company , Eastern Command sector . About 200 metres from our camp, there was a  Buddhist Monastery at a place called T- Gompha . During my first visit to that monastery, a unique feeling of calmness and serenity embraced me as I could see happy and relaxed faces of monks with an aura of blissfulness. I met a monk named Dorje during a morning walk who transformed my concepts and approach towards life. Dorje was a microbiologist from Sweden  who left everything and became a monk in his search for peace . I was surprised by the fact that many monks in the monastery were professionals ranging from doctors, engineers, business men and even scientists who left everything for spiritual pursuits. Though my question regarding  the factor which made them leave all their material  possessions remained partially understood at that time , I was convinced by the fact that monks around me were in deep satisfaction , smiling heart fully and none of them was cribbing of their past, neither worried about their future. Everyone seems to be in harmony with their own self and with nature.  

In the monastery, I found all the monks busy with daily chores with utmost devotion and attention. Dorje explained that the monks were performing every action mindfully and that is the open eye meditation one can do. He explained that the only connection between the mind and body is breath and wilful attention to the breath will control the mind and prepare it to reach higher level of understanding. Mindfulness is the nonjudgement awareness of the present moment or in other words, a state of active, open attention to the present. Mind thinks between 60,000 – 80,000 thoughts a day. That's an average of 2500 – 3,300 thoughts per hour. Dorje said to me that “Even though we are thinking, we don’t know that we are thinking” and this takes us far away from the reality of the present moment living with preoccupied thoughts in mind of past or future .

 The key concept in practice of mindfulness is observing one’s thoughts and feelings without judging them as good or bad. In short maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment, through a gentle, nurturing approach. The day were are born we started breathing and will continue breathing till our last moment. An average person at rest takes about 16 breaths per minute. This means we breathe about 960 breaths an hour, 23,040 breaths a day.  We are living with 23040 breaths and 80,000 thoughts per day not being aware of the present moments. In other words, we are living in an” auto pilot mode “being unaware of our thoughts, always dwelling in past and future and unconsciously drifting through the most important present moments of our life.  

Simple step meditation process on mindful practice is based on four attributes: attending, listening, empathy and self-compassion.  The attentive mind is a courageous one that is not afraid to challenge what we thought we knew, and replace it with what we now see with new clarity.

Being a Veterinarian, we have sufficient opportunity to perceive the present moment by observing our patients and nature around us. Animal behaviour psychology is  the subject grounded in the concept of applied mindfulness . The way a dog responds after coming to your hospital, how a cat sleeps by responding to even a slightest disturbance, the way the dog smells at the outset of seeing a new person or an animal, the  way the dogs respond to different  sounds, the position of eyes, ears and tail in animals in each situation , how a crow approaches its food, the  way a tiger or a lion prepare for a hunt, the way a deer escapes by flight and how a crane stands on single leg, motion less and catching a fish in fraction of seconds are some wonderful examples of mindful animal life  . Buddhist monks practice mindfulness in very unique way of open eye meditation watching a flower blooming, watching ants pooling their food and even watching the cloud patterns moving in the sky.

“Be still- Stillness reveals the secrets of eternity” ― Laotzu

The present way of progress in mankind, made us more and more dependent on gadgets which took away our natural observation skills leaving us with more onscreen time in hours than  off-screen minutes which badly affects our perception. Simple practice of mindfulness like observing an animal thoroughly just by perceiving its responses without judging and careful assessment of its response with intention is an example of mindful way of diagnosis.

A daily sitting practice is the cornerstone of this intentional lifestyle. A beginner can spend 5 -10 minutes a day just watching the breath and focusing a routine activity. The deep sense of satisfaction that one attain progresses as the days advance in practice. This practice of intentional attention and observation allows us to be more self-tolerant to a wide range of our own emotions, including boredom, anger, frustration, happiness and contentment, without escaping from them.

Mindful veterinary practice involves each of us living moment to moment, trying to be an attentive listener who practices empathy for others, and holding oneself gently and with self-compassion. Simple practices of mindfulness had brought rewarding results in my personal life and my professional life as a surgeon. 

From the past few years  I am in to this wonderful area of discovery and the kind of peace that one experience by just focusing inwards and exploring the boundless  territory of self awareness is beyond  words to express. Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) was originally conceptualized by John Kabat Zinn and recently it had become a new area in corporate training.   I was invited to deliver a lecture on mindfulness based stress reduction  for police officers at Kerala Police Academy , Thrissur.  The 1 and half hour session was video graphed and posted in the KEPA youtube channel.

Greatest management in our life is self-management and unfortunately no university teaches us this fact. Mindfulness practice is a gate way to deeper self-knowledge. With mindfulness, the efficiency in performing any task in hand is multiplied with greater awareness. The animals and the clients get benefited from a compassionate mindful veterinarian so is the society and a family.  I wish all the budding veterinarians a happy and mindful veterinary career.

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