What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is being fully awake to ourselves and the world around us. It involves being here for the moments of our lives, without striving or judging. You step fully into the moment. There is a sense of complete-ness and enough-ness. These can be the moments of our lives when we feel most at home with ourselves.
Mindfulness is a state that can be cultivated in which one is aware of your present experience and respond to this experience in a non-judgmental and non-reactive way.
Focus on the present moment, as opposed to the past or future, is a central quality of mindfulness. This attention to the present moment without judgment produces a deep shift in how we think about and how we experience the world. If we are not aware of our direct experience in the present moment, then we are missing out on our lives and often avoiding many of the things we are being presented with.
When we are mindful, we feel everything more fully. We are happier and are more connected in our relationships. Sadness and pain feel more bearable. Living with a moment of pain, both physical and emotional, is bearable; it’s the idea of a future pain that wears on us so much. If we stay in the present, we stop creating an imagined future and instead remain curious and open to what is happening now and whatever comes next.
Why should you engage in mindfulness?
The practice of Mindfulness often leads to a sense of balance and psychological well-being.
The practice of mindfulness is ideal for cultivating greater awareness of the unity of the ways unconscious thoughts, feelings, and behaviors can undermine emotional, relational and physical health
Whether we are conscious of it or not, the mind is constantly looking for a place to settle. With practice we can increase our ability to notice and recognize when we are lost in fantasy, a deeply distracting thought, or negative thoughts.
We practice this so that we can understand, tolerate and learn to genuinely accept our own and others emotional and judgmental tendencies. Deepening our understanding of these tendencies allows us to develop a greater empathy and compassion for others.
If we are not aware of the present moment or spend our energy on trying to avoid unpleasant experiences, we can indulge in addictive behaviors to distract or numb ourselves. These distractions can take us away from our live, our families, and our job duties. Over time, through the practice of mindfulness, we become less defensive and less reactive, and we are better able to tolerate unpleasant experiences without indulging in negative habits.
How to create mindful skills to help you fully engage in your daily life?
Mindfulness involves both formal and informal practice.
To cultivate mindfulness your task is to become aware of each thought, feeling, or sensation as it arises in the present moment and to let each thought, feeling or sensation pass away without judgment or attachment. While this is a simple practice, it can be both challenging and transformative. Our usual mode of being involves replaying scenes from our past and planning our future. I can help you utilize mindfulness as a tool for training your mind to be fully present without experiences as they are happening and get back to a life you want to live.