| What is Mindfulness? | | | | in the first place. |
| Mindfulness is a form of self-awareness that I will | | | | A New Way to Heal Emotional Disturbances |
| describe as "a state of being in the present moment | | | | Mindfulness also applies to your inner awareness, just |
| and accepting things for what they are without | | | | as much as it does to your awareness of the |
| judgment". While mindfulness was originally taken | | | | activities taking place in the world around you. In the |
| from Buddhist meditation teachings, it has been | | | | same way that a rude motorist might intrude into |
| adapted for use in the treatment of depression and | | | | your life, negative thoughts or troubling emotions |
| for assisting with mood regulation, and has been | | | | may also interfere with your inner harmony. The |
| found to have considerable health benefits. When | | | | practise of mindfulness will help you to observe these |
| you are mindful, your awareness is in the current | | | | inner events, thoughts and feelings, without |
| moment. You become keenly aware of yourself and | | | | judgment. You will still feel them, but you'll be aware |
| your surroundings, but you simply observe these | | | | that that they are not who you are, and that they |
| things as they are. You are aware of your own | | | | are temporary. It is inevitable that life will involve |
| thoughts and feelings, but you do not react to them | | | | some hard times and that you are bound to feel |
| in the way that you would if you were on "autopilot". | | | | emotions such as sadness, grief or anger along the |
| It is like a form of alert meditation that you can | | | | way. We can't be happy all the time. But with |
| absorb yourself in at any time, or all the time. | | | | mindfulness, you learn to observe these feelings |
| Switching off Your Autopilot | | | | without labelling them good or bad. You can choose |
| Most of them time we live our lives on "autopilot". | | | | to accept "what is", even if it is taking place inside |
| Our minds seem to have a will of their own. | | | | you. This is such an important concept to understand. |
| Thoughts come and go, and it seems as though we | | | | When you allow an emotion to "just be" you give it |
| don't have much say in what thoughts turn up in our | | | | the opportunity to pass on by. We all have emotions, |
| head. If each of us were to stand back and observe | | | | like the tides they come and go, they rise and fall. No |
| our own mind, we would notice how easily our | | | | feeling that you ever experience is permanent, but |
| thoughts skip from one unfinished idea to the next, | | | | by labeling emotions as "bad" and resisting them, then |
| constantly interrupting each other and overlapping in | | | | they tend to carry on a lot longer than they need to. |
| a constant stream of pictures, ideas, memories and | | | | Remember... |
| desires. Through mindfulness you learn to "take a | | | | "What you resist, persists." - Carl Jung |
| step back" and observe all this mental activity and all | | | | Mindfulness is "allowing", and allowing emotions to |
| the feelings and impulses that it causes, and you | | | | come and go is one of the most powerful ways to |
| begin to separate yourself from their influence. This is | | | | relieve yourself of inner turmoil. As Sogyal Rinpoche |
| the essence of mindfulness. When you are mindful, | | | | writes in his book, "The Tibetan Book of Living and |
| you become a relaxed witness to your inner life, and | | | | Dying", "The practice of mindfulness defuses our |
| you are freed from being constantly affected by all | | | | negativity, aggression, and turbulent emotions.....Rather |
| your mental activity and by all your judgments about | | | | than suppressing emotions or indulging in them, here |
| the world and everything that's taking place within it. | | | | it is important to view them, and your thoughts, and |
| "Observation" is the key word here. You consciously | | | | whatever arises with an acceptance and generosity |
| observe your thoughts and feelings, rather than | | | | that are as open and spacious as possible." |
| allowing yourself to swim around in them. The | | | | Mindfulness and Meditation |
| moment you become aware and conscious in this | | | | Meditation and mindfulness go hand in hand, and the |
| way, you are living in the moment, and not on | | | | practice of one strengthens the other. But unlike |
| autopilot. At first this feels like you are creating a | | | | other relaxation techniques, mindfulness can be |
| sense of space within yourself. With time and | | | | developed to the point where it can be practiced |
| practice it opens up a whole new dimension of | | | | right in the middle of stressful situations. While being |
| freedom, relaxation and stillness. | | | | mindful you can still remain alert and respond |
| Mindfulness will free you from harmful judgments | | | | appropriately to the situation at hand, but without |
| When you are mindful, you remain in a state of alert | | | | resorting to your autopilot and reacting. By practicing |
| attentiveness to the present moment. Instead of | | | | mindfulness, you will find that you accumulate far less |
| judging the things that are going on around you as | | | | mental noise during the course of the day. You will |
| "good" or "bad", you simply accept them for what | | | | begin to feel calmer and clearer as you go about |
| they. By not labelling or judging the events and | | | | your activities, and when it comes time for you to |
| circumstances taking place around you, you are freed | | | | practice your daily meditation, you will find that you |
| from your normal tendency to react to them. | | | | are already quiet-minded to begin with. As a result, |
| Consider this basic example of just how fruitless | | | | you will find it much easier to enter into a state of |
| judgment can be... | | | | deep meditation, as you have less mental clutter to |
| Imagine you are driving down a freeway when all of | | | | work through. Just as the practice of mindfulness |
| a sudden, another motorist cuts in front of you. Your | | | | enhances your ability to meditate, the practice of |
| mind instantly judges the motorist's actions as "bad" | | | | deep meditation strengthens your ability to be |
| or "disrespectful", and within an instant you begin to | | | | mindful, so that during the course of the day, you |
| feel angry. Now you surely have the right to feel | | | | pick up even less and less mental chatter. Meditation |
| anyway you choose about the other motorist, but | | | | and mindfulness are completely synergistic and |
| make no mistake, your anger is definitely a choice, | | | | complementary. |
| albeit a choice that your autopilot made for you. | | | | The Gift of Mindfulness |
| When you are on autopilot, your thoughts, feelings | | | | One of the greatest benefits of mindfulness is an |
| and reactions just seem to happen to you. But when | | | | increased appreciation of life. A person who is highly |
| you are alert and mindful of the present moment, | | | | attentive and mindful tends to find that all of life's |
| you respond to the world with an openness, and a | | | | activities become more fulfilling. You may find that |
| sense of acceptance, rather than with judgment and | | | | intrinsically pleasant experiences, such as eating food |
| automated reactions. | | | | or listening to music, are more vivid and satisfying |
| So often, judgment is not just fruitless, it's also | | | | simply because you are more fully "in the moment." |
| harmful to yourself. If you have just reacted with | | | | Furthermore, ordinary everyday experiences like |
| anger towards another driver (for example), then | | | | driving your car or washing dishes can take on a |
| stop and realize that there is nothing you can do to | | | | quality of extraordinary vibrancy and fascination. |
| change what has just happened. The event has | | | | Some people go to great lengths to enjoy the |
| come and gone. You'd probably rather not be feeling | | | | uplifting feeling that mindfulness provides. For |
| angry, and yet you are. This makes you even angrier. | | | | example, bungee jumpers and skydivers (adrenaline |
| You are probably blaming the other driver for making | | | | junkies as we sometimes call them) experience a |
| you feel this way and yet, you are the one who | | | | form of mindfulness when they leap from bridges or |
| CHOSE anger as your reply to their actions. | | | | jump from aeroplanes. Many of them describe how |
| Remember... | | | | their mind "just stops" during the brief moments |
| "You will not be punished for your anger, you will be | | | | when they are falling. While adrenaline is probably the |
| punished by your anger." - Buddha | | | | main reason for the "high" that they feel, it's |
| When you are mindful, you are more keenly aware | | | | interesting to note that most people who perform |
| of everything that is going on around you in this | | | | sports like these speak with great excitement about |
| current moment, because you are not so | | | | the feelings of joy and freedom they experience |
| preoccupied with your usual mental wrangling. The | | | | when they are "totally in the moment". |
| "space" that mindfulness opens up gives you the | | | | Awareness of the present moment is an incredibly |
| opportunity to observe the happenings of the world | | | | enlivening and liberating experience, but you do not |
| in a fresh light and to accept "what is" and leave it at | | | | need to jump out of an airplane to experience it. The |
| that. Without mindfulness, you react mentally, | | | | practice of meditation and mindfulness will clear away |
| emotionally and physically, and sometimes the | | | | the dullness of being on autopilot, and free you to |
| consequences of those reactions are even more | | | | live more fully than you ever have before. |
| damaging that the events that brought them about | | | | |