Tag: Mindfulness in Law Practice

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Holistic Philosophy Law Practice Mindfulness

Holistic Law: Blame and Attribution As a Means of Sidestepping Legal Problems

Through evolution, as an important means of survival, it was often critical when faced with challenges in meeting our basic needs that we were able to identify a cause in the environment that we could then act upon to remove the current obstacle.  In many of these primordial situations, if one were to just do nothing, he or she could be physically attacked by a hostile adversary or animal posing a direct threat to survival.

Thus, from an evolutionary psychology standpoint, it makes sense that he human ability to find external causes for difficult situations was critical for survival of the species.

As with many of our more ingrained coping strategies, however, our strong tendency towards identifying environmental factors as causes of challenging situations has become strongly habitual.  In contemporary society, we are seldom faced with immediate threats to our physical survival.  Nevertheless, when faced with difficult situations that prompt anxiety or fear, our conditioning often looks towards external causes that we may come to believe caused our current difficulties.

If this conditioned response mode is not met with a threshold of consciousness (i.e., grounding in present-moment experience), one can quickly become absorbed and seriously distracted with thought-driven stories about how this person or that person caused or brought about the threatening situation.  This tendency can soon lead to outward expressions of anger, blame, etc. as if these expressions might somehow alleviate the challenging situation.  In the process, however, one will become increasingly disconnected from present-moment experience and come to experience deeper unhappiness that, in itself, may prompt another cycle and layer of blame and attribution.

This type of cycle may be common within individuals involved in, or considering, legal action.  Whether involved in divorce, an employment law dispute, an accident that has caused physical injury, criminal prosecution of some type, etc., it is not difficult to imagine one easily becoming enmeshed in this blame and attribution cycle.  The extent to which this cycle gains momentum is the extent to which the individual is likely to overlook creative solutions to the current situation that might potentially serve to transform his or her life in truly positive ways.  Instead, decisions are likely to be made as to how one might exact revenge or retribution against the person, institutions, etc. that are considered responsible for the current situation.

Holistic law practice works with clients to, among other things, help temper this ingrained tendency towards blame and attribution and instead heighten one’s connection to present-moment experience.  It is within this heightened mindfulness that clients can identify optimal solutions to their challenging legal situations.  To learn more, contact Holistic Attorney Michael Lubofsky at (415) 508-6263, or visit http://www.holistic-lawyer.com.

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Holistic Philosophy Law Practice Mindfulness

Mindfulness in Law As An Essential Starting Point For Clients

When distilled to their roots, most legal problems, both civil and criminal, can be traced to thought-driven ideas of what one needs to obtain, achieve, realize, etc. in the future in order to be “happy” (and associated fear of what one thinks may happen if one fails to make the future conform to these ideals), or anger, resentment, etc. over past events that one may consider responsible for suffering in life that he or she may be experiencing.

What these orientations towards life share in common is a strong tendency to withdraw attention from the present moment, and it it is only within the present moment that peace and happiness can be realized. Legal problems often trigger habitual responses that one may have employed in thanks hon east to cope with painful life situations.  The problem in reacting in such a habitual manner, however, is that one becomes largely disconnected from the realities of the present moment.  In the process, he or she is likely to overlook important factors and dynamics of the current situation thereby losing opportunities to identify creative solutions that hold transformational potential for his or her life, as well as the lives of others likely to be effected by the resolution of the current situation.

The incorporation of mindfulness in law facilitates the identification of optimal solutions to legal problems by working to help clients dis-identify from learned conditioning and habitual reactions, prior to implementing a decisive course of legal action.  In the absence of this clarity, one is highly likely to repeat similar undesirable life situations in the future.

To learn more about mindfulness in law practice, contact Holistic Lawyer Michael Lubofsky at (415) 508-6263, or visit http://www.Holistic-Lawyer.com.

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Holistic Philosophy Law Practice Mindfulness

The Critical Role of Mindfulness in Successfully Dealing With Legal Problems

Whether dealing with marital difficulties, financial stressors, problems in the workplace, etc., individuals seeking legal assistance are often feeling threatened and insecure.  Often these individuals are grappling with fear that can often trigger habitual, defensive reactions that cloud decision-making when clarity is most needed.

Such defensive reactions are of little surprise when considering the extent to which individuals in contemporary American society to construct identities based on certain life roles such as being a spouse, parent, type of professional, and certain indicia of social status such as income level and material possessions.  When such an identity is threatened by unforeseen life events, the ego will fight to defend its identity, the threat to which may be felt as some sort of impending death.

As long as those facing legal difficulties continue to act out of  anded to protect this ego-based identity, they will tend to approach legal matters in an adversarial fashion aimed largely at demonstrating that “I am right/you are wrong.”

What is critically necessary at this point is an ability to move beyond ego and cultivation of an ability to connect more intimately with present-moment experience.  It is this conscious connection to being that gives rise to a heightened sense of compassion, both for one’s self and others, as well as holding the seeds of creative solutions to best serve the needs of all involved in the long-term.

Traditional law practice, overtly built on an adversarial model, directly feeds the dualistic, ego-based identity and often ignores far better solutions that lie within a more mindful connection to present-moment experience.  By contrast, the integration of mindfulness exercises into law practice holds potential for the identification of optimal solutions that truly serve the needs of clients.

To learn more about holistic legal services that combine mindfulness and law practice, contact Holistic Lawyer Michael Lubofsky at (415) 508-6263, or visit http://www.Holistic-Lawyer.com.