MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Elise Bialylew – making a difference
Recently Elizabeth Jewell Stephens spoke with Elise Bialylew the
founder of Mindful in May about the difference she is making
worldwide in many people’s lives.
ELISE IS THE FOUNDER of Mindful in May, an online global mindfulness campaign that’s taught thousands of people around the world to meditate, while raising funds to build clean water wells in the developing world. She started meditating when she,
like so many of us, found her work very stressful. “I was training in psychiatry and facing high levels of stress and trauma on a daily basis in the psychiatry wards. As someone who is sensitive, I found myself being very affected by the suffering of my patients. I realised I needed to find a way to more skilfully manage the high levels of work stress or I would inevitably get burnt out.” Elise was surprised that it worked so
well for her: “Not only did it provide me a powerful way to manage my stress levels, it really transformed me into a more self-compassionate, resilient, courageous person. It became an anchor for me while I continued to work in the high stress environment of the public mental health system and I also began to introduce it to my patients and witness the power of the practice. “Mindfulness meditation has been an education in how to live with
10 APRIL 2015
more wisdom, navigate the inevitable challenges that arise and be more grateful and present to the beauty of life in each precious, fleeting moment.” I asked her what gave her the idea for
this sort of program. “The idea actually came to me one day while I was in meditation. I have found that it’s not uncommon for creative ideas to arise while people are meditating. Taking a pause through meditation gives our mind more space for creative thoughts to bubble up from our unconscious.” Before the idea can pop into our
minds though, we have to have the fertile ground. So I asked Elise about her background: “I was fortunate to grow up with a
mother who was passionate about personal growth and development and who introduced me to meditation when I was very young. I remember reading books by Thich Nat Han, Jack Kornfield and Sogyal Rinpoche and being curious about how to bring more presence and meaning to life. “I was always quite focused on the big
existential questions and determined to live my life in the most authentic, meaningful way possible.
I think one of my greatest fears was reaching the end of my life and feeling that I hadn’t lived as courageously and meaningfully as I could have.
“Although I knew meditation was so
valuable, like many people find, it was not uncommon for me to fall out of the routine especially at times of high stress, when I actually needed it the most. I imagined that there were many other
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