Mindfulness
“Calm mind brings inner strength and self-confidence, so that’s very important for good health.” - Dalai Lama
Mindfulness is an ancient Buddhist practice which is extremely relevant to our daily lives. You don’t have to be a Buddhist to practice mindfulness. The word, “Buddha”, for example, simply means one who has awakened to his or her own true nature. According to Jon Kabat-Zinn, author and founder and director of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center and Associate Professor of Medicine, mindfulness “has everything to do with waking up and living in harmony with oneself and with the world. It has to do with examining who we are, with questioning our view of the world and our place in it, and with cultivating some appreciation for the fullness of each moment we are alive.”
Mindfulness is about being in touch with ourselves and the world around us. In practice, it provides an easy and graceful way of getting “unstuck” and back in touch with our own inner wisdom. It’s a way to take charge of the direction and the quality of our lives, including our relationships—with our families, friends, with our careers and work, with our communities and the larger world. Most importantly, it puts us back in touch with our relationship with ourselves.
Mindfulness, says Zinn, “will not conflict with any beliefs or traditions—religious or for that matter scientific—nor is it trying to sell you anything… it is simply a practical way to be more in touch with the fullness of your being through a systematic process of self-observation, self-inquiry, and mindful action.”
How do we begin to practice mindfulness? While mindfulness requires effort and discipline, one way to begin to practice is to stop all the “doing” in our lives and tune into the “being” for a few moments. It means paying attention to how we are feeling, and tuning in to the moments we are experiencing, instead of getting caught up in the current that often carries us through our lives without us realizing it.
Mindfulness is about getting out of the current of our daily lives and focusing on the present moment. So, take this moment to ask yourself: Am I able to stop, even for a few moments? And when you stop, what do you notice? What do you hear, feel and see? What is happening?
The first step in learning to be more mindful can be simple: Take a few minutes every day, whether it’s 1 minute or 5 minutes and STOP. When you STOP, sit down for these few moments and notice your breathing. Notice what you are feeling and what you believe is happening. Don’t try to change or fix anything… just breathe. Mindfulness means being awake. So ask yourself, “Where is my mind right now? And what am I focusing on?" If I am thinking about the past or worrying about the future, then I am not actually present in my life. Practicing mindfulness can put us back in touch with our true selves and what our lives offer moment to moment.