Mindfulness can be thought of as ‘Mindfitness’, a way of thinking, originally from the East, has become popular everywhere. Mindfulness is keeping awareness of your feelings, sensations and thoughts without judgement by focusing on the present moment. It takes practice, just like getting your body fit through exercise.
Our mind wanders – mindfulness brings us back to the present. As humans, we have a unique capacity to think in abstract calling up memories from the past, thinking of the future, about others. We have what neuroscientists have called a ‘default network’, which can be turned on in fractions of a second. Simply put, our mind wanders. We get a ‘mind race’, which can make us feel anxious or keep us awake at night. According to a study by Killingsworth & Gilbert, 2010, even when we are doing tasks, our mind is wandering a third of that time. This doesn’t make us happy. We are not focused, it may take longer to get things done, which leaves less time to do other things we want to do, which gives us a feeling of stress and we land in a vicious cycle.
Mindfulness – why do it?
Mindfulness has its roots in Buddhism as a practice to reach a path to happiness and peace. It works on the premise of four establishments of mindfulness that you need to be aware of the sensations in your body, the thoughts in your mind and your perceptions (of others and your surroundings). Thich Nhat Hahn, a Nobel prize winning Zen master defines it: “I define mindfulness as the practice of being fully present and alive, body and mind united. Mindfulness is the energy that helps us to know what is going on in the present moment.” Thich Nhat Hahn.
It has been widely adopted in clinics, retreats and by psychologists. The Mayo Clinic defines Mindfulness as a “type of mediation in which you focus on being intensely aware of what you’re sensing and feeling in the moment, without interpretation or judgement.’
Eckarht Tolle, in his best selling book ‘The Power of Now’ takes the reader on a spiritual journey about the power of the present. Mindfulness is a way of helping us stop our mind wandering, which can trigger emotions that become overwhelming. Scientific study has shown that it an help improve working memory concentration.
Mindfulness – what it really means for daily life
Let’s take a practical situation between two people, a friendship, co-worker or family member. There has been a misunderstanding, which has triggered anger, a dangerous instinctive emotion which often causes us to react with violence or offensive words. Taking a deep breath, turning our thoughts to ourselves, recognizing our sensation of anger, taking a moment to look at the situation, to think empathetically outside of ourselves and at the other person, the situation of conflict may be diffused. Through a thinking practice, we can recognize our instinctive emotions and choose to deal with a situation calmly as opposed to overreacting and hurting others. When looking inwards, it is a practice that helps us stop our mind wandering into worry, overthinking and anxiety, which triggers our ‘fight or flight’ stress response, making us exhausted and ill in the long term.
The practice of ‘mindfulness’ doesn’t mean not planning for the future or taking a pleasant walk down memory lane. It is a thinking practice that helps ground us in the present moment, from which we can look to the future without losing ourselves in the anguish of uncertainty or call up the past without being emotional slaves to past experiences. When the present moment is unbearable, asking for help or taking a mental time out to observe something pleasant can help us get through it.
Mindfulness – Practical Tips
Just like going to the gym, mindfulness takes practice. The way our brain and our society works, we are constantly being pushed to think and act quickly, bombarded with messages triggering our minds to wander. We have hectic schedules, many tasks to achieve, demands from other people – we are on autopilot a lot of the time, unaware of ourselves or our surroundings until the point when we explode at someone who is simply just in the wrong place. It takes time to rewire. Some practical tips, based on Thich Nhat Hanh’s Books to help you adopt a practice of mindfulness:
Take a ‘mindfulness’ time out – choose a day or a couple of hours to really concentrate on the moment. Use the voice in your head to tell yourself what you are doing ‘ I am walking down the stairs’, I am looking at ‘Social Media’. If your mind wanders, make note of the thoughts without judging. Often the voice in our head judges and puts ourselves or others down, which triggers negative emotions.
Meditation – take a few calm minutes everyday or once a week. It doesn’t have to be cross legged on the floor but in a calm quiet place where you can pay attention to yourself. There are many different forms of meditation – loving kindness focuses on positive thoughts for others or yourself, focusing on an object, paying attention to breathing or simply awareness which is looking at your thoughts as if you were outside of yourself, an independent non judgmental observer.
Do a body scan – turn your attention to your body. What are you feeling physically? Can you hear your heartbeat? Is there a ringing in your head? Have you got physical pain that you have been ignoring? Are there any warning signs to take care of yourself or can you simply congratulate yourself of having a healthy body and calm soul with which you are able to enjoy the present moment.
Yoga – there are many forms of yoga. Look for the spiritual meaning behind some of the moves and interpret them to your needs. Focusing the mind through movement can help some people stop their mind wandering and become grounded in the present.
Mindfulness takes practice. It is becoming scientifically recognised as an effective mind practice to emotional wellbeing, as well as cognitive concentration which can help us manage our daily lives in a happy way.
