We experience grief when there is loss in our lives. There are many types of loss: Loss of a loved one, a relationship, an identity, an object, a community. It can also be loss of vitality, loss of health, loss of a particular way of life.
Grief is a process through which we come to terms with and adjust to loss and its impact on our lives. Dr. Kubler-Ross identified five stages of grief in the 60s: Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Some schools of thought posit that it is not a linear process but a cycle. We can move in and out of different stages at different times.
The key point is that we need to go through the process fully, and it takes time for the process to unfold. More importantly, everyone goes through the process in their own unique way and at their own pace.
Mindfulness practice helps us create space for this experience. It helps us have more self-compassion as we allow ourselves to go through the process.
Mindfulness is nonjudgmental awareness of the present moment, so whatever we are experiencing in the moment, we allow ourselves to notice it and experience it, without judgment.
What does nonjudgment mean in the context of grief? It means allowing ourselves to notice our experience without comparing ourselves to how another person might be dealing with it, or comparing to an expectation of how we should be dealing with it.
So, any kind of emotion that appears – sadness, anger, depression – we just notice it and experience it fully. We allow the emotion to appear, unfold, and disappear. And when it appears again, we again allow it to appear, unfold, and disappear. Mindfulness training helps foster self-compassion and acceptance as we go through this process.
Mindfulness FAQ 