What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is a beautiful practice that helps in connecting and being rooted in life as it flows by. It involves getting our minds back to the present and paying attention to the life that is unfolding right now within us and around us.
Definition of Mindfulness?
“Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way; on purpose, in the present moment, and non judgmentally.”
Our attention and where we apply it is all that is in our control. Nothing else really is. We canot control whether a thought comes our way or a memory emerges. But we can decide whether we want to attend to it or not.
It is about being deliberate and choosing consciously with a certain degree of awareness. You consciously choose what you wish to pay attention to-what is healthy to attend to in this moment. By being conscious and aware you can change the reactive habit patterns that have been conditioned over years.
Life in always unfolding in the here and now. In the present moment. It is only in the now that we can truly connect to and engage with life. Every other moment where we put our mind- be it past or future or fantasy- is only in our imagination, it is truly non-existent.
It’s not about liking or disliking the present moment. It is not about wanting or not wanting it. It is simply about staying with it, witnessing it, connecting to it. Non-judgmental acceptance of experience alters the way a difficult situation is handled. Responses can be skillfully selected choices rather than reactions driven by habitual emotional and physiological behaviour patterns.
This is another very crucial aspect of the mindfulness practice. Mindfulness is not a practice of force. It is a practice of compassion and gentleness. It is a way of bringing the mind to the present without being forceful towards it, without a achievement mindset.
Benefits of Mindfulness
While mindfulness has many benefits, these ideally should not be the incentive to practice. Ironical as it is, mindfulness isn’t practiced to achieve benefit, but only to realize the truth of the reality that is in this moment. So it is important to leave aside the achieving mindset and simply be open and attentive to watching what is going on.
Most benefits mentioned below are incidentally a result of a more centered mind and body, which is a natural outcome of mindful living.
Why Practice Mindfulness?
If we need to live well, we almost do not have an option but to pay attention to our life as it is unfolding moment to moment. Mindfulness is about wisely paying attention to what is occurring within and outside us without judging it. It helps us because most of our suffering comes from our mind. It comes from judgments about how life is not good enough or how it should be bettered. It comes from continuously interpreting rather than experiencing it and from our lack of clarity about the nature of reality.
As Henepole Gunaratna says:
So why bother? Why waste all that time and energy (meditating), when you could be out enjoying yourself? Why bother? Simple. Because you are human. And just because of the simple fact that you are human, you find yourself heir to an inherent unsatisfactoriness in life which simply will not go away. You can suppress it from your awareness for a time. You can distract yourself for hours on end, but it always comes back–usually when you least expect it. All of a sudden, seemingly out of the blue, you sit up, take stock, and realize your actual situation in life.
Research On Mindfulness
Research has consistently shown significant positive shifts on different aspects of our physical health and mental health, resulting from practising mindfulness
Mindfulness FAQs
As humans we get pushed and pulled by life, relationships and circumstances which we attempt to manage in our own way. Mindfulness is just a way to perceive and authentically stay with what is happening within and outside. An attempt to put aside the solution focused mindset just for a little while and experience with openness and acceptance what we are going through, what each and every one of us is going through.
A Mindfulness &
Self-Awareness Guide
By Sadia Saeed
This book is written with an intention to help young people adopt perspective and practices to live life joyfully, to initiate valuable learnings from Indian wisdom traditions early in life and to avoid learning unhealthy patterns that will lead to mental health difficulties later.
