practice-mindfulness

Mindfulness Is Our Natural State Of Being

‘mind·ful·ness’
noun
1. The quality or state of being conscious or aware of something.
“their mindfulness of the wider cinematic tradition”
2. A mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.

The term ‘Mindfulness’ is becoming fairly well known.  But how is it understood?  Just a few years ago the general public would not be familiar with the term, whereas today it’s something we hear about all the time, and is used in a range of different contexts.

Mindfulness is simply, mentally pausing to stop and taking a look at what you are thinking in any given situation.  Is your mind on where you are at right now, what you are doing right now, or is your mind on something else?  And then, what do you want to focus on? Where should you be focusing?

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  • 288 Pages – 11/13/2012 (Publication Date) – Rodale Books (Publisher)

Last update on 2024-11-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Mindfulness is a conscious practice that can be considered developing a state of mind.  We can have a moment of mindfulness – awareness,  but also create a practice of mindfulness, which then can become a ‘more regular’ state of mind.

One can practice an intentional form of mindfulness by involving different postures and activities such as, sitting mindfulness, walking mindful, or being mindful when eating and cooking.  This conscious practice of mindfulness leads to even deeper moments of mindfulness and ultimately becomes an ingrained practice you do without being mindful of doing it.

This means that we are actually more mindful when we’re not consciously trying to be mindful.

Mindfulness and Our Mind

Our minds are easily distracted, and without even realizing it, we are habitually addicted to going over past events and or trying to anticipate the future.  Although becoming more conscious of our thoughts, and what we are feeling may not seem like a very helpful thing to do, by learning to do this in a way that positive way that suspends judgement and self-criticism, this will create a more positive energy and realization on how we are living our lives.

Mindfulness is a way of paying attention to, and trying to see clearly the events that are happening in our lives and in the world around us.  No, it will not eliminate the different pressures of life, but it will help us to see and respond to them in a calm manner that benefits our mind, body and spirit.

With continued practice, mindfulness will help us recognize and then take a step away from those unconscious emotional and physiological reactions to events we respond to in a habitual way.  We can then cultivate a powerful clarity, develop insights, and come to a more compassionate understanding of events.

Create a healthy habit of mindfulness

Mindfulness is a useful tool and it can be used to substantially improve your concentration, your overall awareness and increase your opportunities for happiness.  At the same time it has been misappropriated in many instances and many people don’t actually really understand what it involves.

With that in mind, let’s take a at what mindfulness is and what it isn’t – and how you can start using it to improve your life.

The ABC’s of mindfulness:
A is for awareness – Becoming more aware of what you are thinking and doing – whats going on in your mind and body.

B is for “just Being” with your experience. Avoiding the tendency to respond on auto-pilot and feed problems by creating your own story.

C is for seeing things and responding more wisely. By creating a gap between the experience and our reaction to, we can make wiser choices.

Juliet Adams

The Basics
Mindfulness is often used to describe a type of meditation.  Specifically, ‘mindfulness meditation’ is a type of meditation that involves reflecting on the thoughts or contents of your mind and how they might be affecting you.  Whereas the point of some other forms of meditation – such as transcendental meditation – is to ‘empty’ your mind.

The point of mindfulness is to detach yourself from your thoughts and become an observer of them.  You are using the mind to ‘control’ or watch the mind.  By consciously doing this, you can prevent negative thinking from affecting you and also gain a greater understanding of the contents, the how’s and why’s,  of your own thinking processes.

Sometimes this is described as ‘watching the thoughts go past like clouds’.   The idea is not to engage with them or let them affect you, but to observe them and to reflect on how they might impact on your happiness.

How Is Mindfulness Practiced Video

Equanimity

‘Equanimity’ may be an unfamiliar word to many, but has an important meaning in the context of mindfulness practice.  Equanimity is sometimes confused with indifference or passive acceptance of suffering in the world.  We can feel equanimity with our personal experiences, but yet be deeply committed to doing what you can to improving the conditions in the world.

Mindful Effects
By doing this, mindfulness allows us to take some time out of our stressful day to remove ourselves from our thoughts and thereby get some rest and relaxation.

But it’s not really just about meditation.  What mindfulness also means is being constantly aware of your own thoughts as you go throughout your day. Some people will tell you to be ‘mindful’ of your body, or ‘mindful’ of your environment.  But really what you should be focusing on is just what you’re mindful of.

An Introduction To Mindfulness Video

Click Here For Mindfulness Meditation Tools

Next time you go out for a nice walk by yourself, with friends or family, or when you are doing something that you should be enjoying right now, make a note of whether you’re really focused on what you’re doing and whether you’re actively engaging in it… or is your mind elsewhere?  Are you actually worrying about work?  Or stressing about other things?

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  • 08/22/2014 (Publication Date) – The Great Courses (Publisher)

Last update on 2024-11-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Mindfulness teaches us to be more aware of our thoughts and what we are thinking, this way we can decide, consciously, that we’re not going to let certain thoughts affect us, and then decide to make a conscious effort to refocus, to be happy and be present.

By practicing mindfulness, this allows us to become fully present in our life and work, and improve the overall quality of life.

Mindfulness is not mysticism or linked to a specific religion or belief, and it’s not a cure-all therapeutic technique.  It is a tool to develop a state of mind.  With continued practice, you can learn to be more in-tune with your own thoughts, mindfulness is the practice, the way of life that can change everything.

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