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| Dr Cheryl Rezek |
It is a great pleasure to introduce you to Dr Cheryl Rezek who has written a number of books about mindfulness. I will let you find out more about Cheryl in the interview below, and if you happen to be a Netgalley reader please see the link at the bottom too.
Hello Cheryl, and welcome to my blog
Please tell us a little bit about yourself
and your career.
I’m a
clinical psychologist, mindfulness teacher (though I’m not sure one can
actually teach mindfulness, as such), workshop leader and author. I’ve lived
and worked in a variety of settings over the years which has given me a broad
perspective of life. I can’t read people’s minds though I do have a sharp
intuition and I tend to see life through a magnifying glass which can be a
drawback as I find it hard not to notice small details. It’s an asset in my
work but not as much outside of it. Humour is key to my sanity.
How did your interest in mindfulness begin?
I first
started meditating when a friend and I attended some groups, many decades ago.
I often felt quite spaced out and a bit uneasy doing the type of mediation that
focused on a third eye. Quite a while down the line, I came across mindfulness
meditation and found it to be far more grounding and stabilising than the
previous form I was using and have stayed with it ever since. I think that the
mindset, the philosophy, of mindfulness is so valuable. Recognising that life
is impermanent and transient, that things change, that we can step back from
our thoughts and emotions and not attach to them as though they are our only
reality, and developing our capacity to be in this moment of our lives, no
matter what is or happening or how it feels, have been profoundly helpful to me.
Doing the practices is what develops this so it’s not only a head thing.
What made you decide to start writing books?
I had
studied English at university as one of my majors so books and knowledge have
always been part of my life. I’ve never liked reading long books and,
particularly with non-fiction, found myself wanting to skip ahead or becoming
frustrated at much of the nonsense that is written. So many people are afraid
of the idea of therapy so I wanted to get sound information across to people to
help them understand their lives and try and manage them in a way that would
allow them to feel more in control and engaged. My books are written for a
public audience, for those people who frequently won’t go into therapy but are
needing understanding and some guidance.
Would you like to tell us about your books
and what they are about?
They
combine psychological concepts and mindfulness. I don’t think that mindfulness
alone, without a personal context and understanding of one’s life, will
necessarily give someone what they need to know. We need to put our lives
within a context and make some sense of them, even when things seem senseless.
Added to this, we can’t expect ourselves to shift simply because we have gained
some adult, cognitive, knowledge about an issue or meditated for 20 minutes a
day. We need to know what drives us, what unconscious beliefs and motivations
are propelling us to do things even when we know they aren’t helpful. Just like
a car, there is an external frame but it is the engine within that determines
the power and capacity of the vehicle. As people, we are no different. We need
to know something about what’s inside as simply having an adult thinking
awareness isn’t going to bring about any lasting shifts. Importantly, we are
mind and body, not mind or body, so by combining mindfulness with psychological
concepts, it really opens up a way to view and manage life in a far more
integrated way. The mindfulness practices are gentle, grounding and very
powerful. It’s a pity that people sometimes read the books without doing the
practices as that means they are only getting half the value. I’m not a
flowery, fluffy sort of person so my books are based on what has worked
clinically, and personally, for me as a psychologist and what I believe can
help people to move forward with their lives. I place a lot of emphasis on take
responsibility for our lives as that is central to it all. The expectations
we’re fed frequently don’t match the realities of life and its difficulties.
This unrealistic view doesn’t prepare us for life so we’re constantly feeling
as if we are failures or are inadequate rather than being present in each
moment of our lives and valuing it for whatever it is. My work goes under the
banner of Life Happens, so I guess that says it all.
Are you working on a new book at the moment?
My big project at the moment is getting my children’s book off the
ground. It’s written for children but adults really seem to like it too. It’s a
scaled down version of my adult books and it aims to give children a way of
reigniting their natural ability to be mindful and to develop a set of skills
that they can use now and throughout their lives. It’s simple and engaging –
and very grounding as it helps children to use themselves to manage
difficulties as well as to enjoy all the good things in life. We all have a
mind that jumps around and wanders off, and we all wish we could be more
settled and quiet. Consequently, it’s called Monkey Mind and The Mountain:
Mindfulness for 8 – 80 year olds (and older).
Off the back of the book, I’ve started a campaign of A Million Happy Mindful Children. A percentage of profits will go to a children’s charity. For me, that’s my way of expressing my gratitude for having the opportunity to write and sell the book and a way of giving something to the community.
If you could write a book on absolutely any
topic, what would you choose?
I would
love to write a book that curbed greed, corruption, violence and abuse and that
transformed the people in the world into a variety of kind and respectful
communities. I’m not sure what the title would be but I don’t think too many
copies would be sold.
Thank
you for joining me here on Ramblings of a
Rusty Writer.
Monkey Mind and The Mountain is currently available to download via Netgalley.
You can
find Cheryl online in the following places:
