Introduction
Our mind takes flight, we lose touch with our body, and pretty soon we’re engrossed in obsessive thoughts about something that just happened or fretting about the future. And that makes us anxious, or leads us to overthinking and all the consequences this has...
Sounds familiar ?
Wouldn’t you like to have better control of your mind and thoughts ? After all… changing your way of thinking can change your way of living
Mindfulness -or being Mindful- does not mean to clear or blank your mind to concentrate on something, usually by entering a state of meditation. This approach, which is taken in many cases as -or related to- Buddhism, is to be in control and in full attention of what is happening and going on with and through your thoughts, through your mind.
Although it sounds like something obvious, something traditional, something we should do often, it is surprising to see how little we are in control of what goes through our mind, especially when we are bombarded by information, positive and negative, on all fronts and in all scenarios of life. This technique that has become so popular in the west is intended to help people to adopt a state of greater concentration, in front of their tasks, in front of life, in front of what happens and how we take it and to a greater extent, how a thought can take absolute power of how -or not- we feel.
So Mindfulness is pretty straightforward.
It suggests that the mind is fully attending to what’s happening, to what you’re doing, to the space you’re moving through.
What is Mindfulness?
The power of your thoughts; of your mind, is not something you want to overlook. If your mind were a magnetic tower of attraction, as many thinkers propose, you wouldn't want to attract problems, uncomfortable situations or stress.
I firmly believe that no one likes these scenarios.
Although they are part of life, we are able to decide to what extent they affect us, and in this sense mindfulness is the tool that helps our magnetic tower called thought attract what we want and not the opposite.
Turns out the magnet you have in your mind will work, whether you believe in it or not. There are those who say that great people are those who have managed to stagnate the growth of destructive or harmful thoughts against what they want to build for their lives and the lives of those around them.
A thought to which I adhere.
Let’s go to the formalities of the definition: Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.
Mindfulness is a quality that every human being already possesses, you just have to learn how to access it. This technique comes from the East, and has come to the West to stay. Mindfulness was born in what is now the border between the subcontinent of India and Nepal, in Kapilavastu, which is why when we think of this term most likely the first thing we imagine is a monk, sitting and meditating. However, this tool is the ability we have to be fully aware of what we think, do and say, in order to concentrate on what is useful and react, mentally, in the best way to what happens around us.
Why is Mindfulness Important?
The great purpose of mindfulness is to develop a higher mental discipline, with the purpose of being able to divert and block negative, counterproductive and toxic thoughts in order to fill the mind with completely opposite thoughts: productive, constructive and positive.
The importance of Mindfulness lies on how it can help us live a better reality and take us from uselessness states into usefulness states.
Among the multiple benefits of mindfulness you can find these improvements:
Your Well being: Mindfulness can take you to a more fulfilled life because it helps you enjoy every moment of life and it also helps you face difficulties in a much better way. Besides these benefits the practice of mindfulness has shown that people who engage in it have less concerns about past events and future thoughts.
Your Physical Health: Mindfulness will help you relieve stress, treat heart disease, lower blood pressure, reduce chronic pain, improve sleep, and other health benefits.
Your Mental Health: Overall health improvements come with the development of a better mental health, in that order of ideas mental health will be one of the top benefits that come from mindfulness. This practice has shown to aid in the treatment of a number of problems, including: depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, couples’ conflicts, anxiety disorders, and others.
How to Practice Mindfulness (Breath Meditation)
Now that we know how much we can take out of the practice of Mindfulness, let us see how we can put all these benefits in use by ourselves.
Although this practice could be guided by a mentor or a tutor, there are many ways you could start practicing right after you finish reading this post.
This one is the Breath Meditation:
Find a comfortable place, outfit and position to meditate (sitting is a good choice so you don’t fall asleep).
Set a time and a timer to meditate (Losing track of time won’t become an excuse this way). A good starting point can be anywhere between 5 and 10 minutes.
For starting You’re only going to focus on your breathing. Pay attention to the temperature change when the breath is inhaled versus when it's exhaled. Feel your belly rise and fall as the air enters your nostrils and leaves your nostrils. Be aware of your breath.
During this exercise your head will be bombarded with a lot of thoughts, pay attention to what they are, what they mean and why they are there. Don’t ignore nor judge them but note them.
Because this is a starting practice you may find it difficult to stay focused on just breathing, thoughts will inevitably fly around, be aware of them without judgement and return your thoughts to only your breathing.
This, apparently, simple practice is the starting point because in the end the finality of this practice is to be more and more aware of how we think, what we think and how we interact with our thoughts.
Closing
Mindfulness is a complementary approach, which is part of what we know today as integrative medicine, since "every disease exists in the triple form of body, mind and spirit. There is no disease that affects only one part without causing alterations in the other two".
By bringing this practice to our daily life, to the world of work or to the world of relationships in general, we contribute to relate to the reality in which we live in a different way.
Mindfulness is something more than being aware of the present around us and within us. Consider this practice as an investment in yourself, your present self and your future self. You have already read what your return on this specific Investment will be.
Let us know in the comment section how you think Mindfulness will help you the most and how you plan on starting practicing it.
Philippians 4:13: "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
Comments