To measure tolerance for pain and coping mechanisms for pain, researchers filled a bucket with cold water and ice.

They told two groups of participants to place their hand in the ice bucket and keep it in the bucket of ice and water for as long as they could bear.

For one group, they told them to focus on fighting the pain.

The other group told them to stay present with their feelings and accept the pain.

The researchers found that those who remained present and accepted the pain managed to keep their hand in the bucket for a longer duration.

What does this tell us about mindfulness and acceptance as coping mechanisms?

Discuss.

#20percentchallenge

There was a jackal in distress.
It sat under a tree, then moved to a cave, rushed out of the cave to a bush and then ran out into the long grass, eventually returning to the tree.

The jackal blamed the tree, the cave, the bush, the long grass, and the tree again for its distress.

All the while, the jackal was in distress because it had mange.
[Rajapaksi, Kinglsey, The Way to inner Peace, 1997]

How often do we blame people, places and things, when our distress may reside from within ourselves?

Discuss.
#20percentchallenge