What is Mindfulness?
The term “mindfulness” and “meditation” often leave people conjuring up notions of sitting in a circle holding hands and singing Kumbaya — but it’s not that. Not at all.
I sometimes find it helpful to talk about what Mindfulness is not, before actually delving into what it is.
Mindfulness is not…
sitting in the lotus position for 45 minutes, chanting the om mantra transcending the physical universe and achieving enlightenment.
Mindfulness is not…
meditating to be happier, calmer, more peaceful, or to attain everlasting bliss.
Mindfulness is not…
the practice of trying to become more of something else, or trying to change our current mindset to become better in some way.
Mindfulness is simply, paying attention to the present moment, on purpose, and without judgement.
That’s it.
Mindfulness is not the practice of never ever ever being distracted no matter what. I can’t tell you how many times I go off track throughout the day, let alone how many times I become distracted in my meditation or yoga practices. The practice, however, is noticing when the mind wanders and bringing it back to the present moment. It’s a practice, and no one is perfect — that’s why they call it a practice!
A mindfulness practice is the practice of paying attention to each moment as it arises, and accepting it as it is. It isn’t about trying to be something different or better, it’s simply about noticing. Maybe through your practice you get to notice your desire to be something other than you are – and that’s perfect. We are not trying to push away feelings, or sensation through this practice, rather we are simply bringing our attention and awareness to these things. Through awareness we give ourselves tremendous power in our lives.When we become aware, we give ourselves the power to make choices that are in alignment with our present moment.
When we are aware of our feelings, our limitations, our circumstances in the present moment, and we are able to acknowledge these things with acceptance, we give ourselves the ability to make choices in alignment with the present moment. It sounds so simple right? And it is. But I want to be clear that there is a difference between simple and easy. Mindfulness is very simple, and it can be hard at the beginning. Mindfulness is a practice for a reason. Like I said earlier, it isn’t a place to end up – like: “I am finally here! I have arrived! I am mindful!” Rather it is something that we continue to cultivate in each new moment. Like all things, with practice we can improve our ability to be mindful, but there is no final destination. With practice we will constantly be uncovering new depths of our mindfulness practice, hidden treasures, and begin to cultivate the ability to move from a state of reaction, to response.
Mindfulness is what we can learn to cultivate in our hardest moments. In the toughest phases, and spaces in our life. Even in the toughest of moments, being mindful allows us the opportunity to respond rather than react. When we show up in our life, and we are present in each moment, we might actually observe the beauty in a moment that would otherwise seem awful – or at least observe it with equanimity. It can help us turn traumatic, devastating moments in our lives into opportunities to observe and learn about ourselves. Mindfulness is what has us be present to the beauty in our lives, the beauty in all things – both the obvious and the subtle beauty all around us.
