Friday, June 03, 2005
Mindfulness
Most of us spend much of our waking hours on "automatic pilot," or "asleep at the wheel." We're preoccupied with thinking about the past or anticipating the future. Meanwhile, the present moment slips by barely noticed.
Mindfulness involves simply keeping your attention in the present moment, without judging it as happy or sad, good or bad. It encourages living each moment—even painful ones—as fully and as mindfully as possible. Mindfulness is more than a relaxation technique; it is an attitude toward living. It is a way of calmly and consciously observing and accepting whatever is happening, moment to moment.
This may sound simple enough, but our restless, judging minds make it surprisingly difficult. As a restless monkey jumps from branch to branch, our mind jumps from thought to thought.
In mindfulness meditation, you focus the mind on the present moment. This 2,500-year-old Buddhist meditation tradition is thoroughly modern and relevant to our present-day lives. You don't have to be a Buddhist to practice it. Mindfulness doesn't conflict with any beliefs or traditions, either religious or scientific.
The only moment we really have is this one. And living this moment as fully aware as possible is what mindfulness practice is about. It nurtures an inner balance of mind that enables you to respond to all life situations with greater composure, clarity, and compassion. It reduces our tendency to react automatically to any circumstances. For example, the sound of someone's voice (your mother's, teenager's, or boss') might automatically trigger tension, anger, or fear. You can learn to just mindfully observe the reaction their voice sets off in you without responding to it or judging it.
The "goal" of mindfulness is simply to observe—with no intention of changing or improving anything. But people are positively changed by the practice. Observing and accepting life just as it is, with all its pleasures, pains, frustrations, disappointments, and insecurities, often enables you to become calmer, more confident, and better able to cope with whatever comes along.
To develop your capacity for mindfulness, try the following exercises.
Single-focus mindfulness
Sit comfortably on the floor or on a chair with your back, neck, and head straight, but not stiff. Then:
Concentrate on a single object, such as your breathing. Focus your attention on the feeling of the air as it passes in and out of your nostrils with each breath. Don't try to control your breathing by speeding it up or slowing it down. Just observe it as it is.
Even when you resolve to keep your attention on your breathing, your mind will quickly wander off. When this occurs, observe where your mind went: perhaps to a memory, a worry about the future, a bodily ache, or a feeling of impatience. Then gently return your attention to your breathing.
Use your breath as an anchor. Each time a thought or feeling arises, momentarily acknowledge it. Don't analyze it or judge it. Just observe it, and return to your breathing.
Abandon all thought of getting somewhere, or having anything special happen. Just keep stringing moments of mindfulness together, breath by breath.
Practice this for just five minutes at a time at first. You may wish to gradually extend the time to 10, 20, or 30 minutes.
Your thoughts are like waves on the surface of the ocean. Don't try to stop the waves completely so that the water is flat, peaceful, and still—that's impossible. But you'll find relief from constant turbulence when you learn to observe and ride the waves.
Mindfulness involves simply keeping your attention in the present moment, without judging it as happy or sad, good or bad. It encourages living each moment—even painful ones—as fully and as mindfully as possible. Mindfulness is more than a relaxation technique; it is an attitude toward living. It is a way of calmly and consciously observing and accepting whatever is happening, moment to moment.
This may sound simple enough, but our restless, judging minds make it surprisingly difficult. As a restless monkey jumps from branch to branch, our mind jumps from thought to thought.
In mindfulness meditation, you focus the mind on the present moment. This 2,500-year-old Buddhist meditation tradition is thoroughly modern and relevant to our present-day lives. You don't have to be a Buddhist to practice it. Mindfulness doesn't conflict with any beliefs or traditions, either religious or scientific.
The only moment we really have is this one. And living this moment as fully aware as possible is what mindfulness practice is about. It nurtures an inner balance of mind that enables you to respond to all life situations with greater composure, clarity, and compassion. It reduces our tendency to react automatically to any circumstances. For example, the sound of someone's voice (your mother's, teenager's, or boss') might automatically trigger tension, anger, or fear. You can learn to just mindfully observe the reaction their voice sets off in you without responding to it or judging it.
The "goal" of mindfulness is simply to observe—with no intention of changing or improving anything. But people are positively changed by the practice. Observing and accepting life just as it is, with all its pleasures, pains, frustrations, disappointments, and insecurities, often enables you to become calmer, more confident, and better able to cope with whatever comes along.
To develop your capacity for mindfulness, try the following exercises.
Single-focus mindfulness
Sit comfortably on the floor or on a chair with your back, neck, and head straight, but not stiff. Then:
Concentrate on a single object, such as your breathing. Focus your attention on the feeling of the air as it passes in and out of your nostrils with each breath. Don't try to control your breathing by speeding it up or slowing it down. Just observe it as it is.
Even when you resolve to keep your attention on your breathing, your mind will quickly wander off. When this occurs, observe where your mind went: perhaps to a memory, a worry about the future, a bodily ache, or a feeling of impatience. Then gently return your attention to your breathing.
Use your breath as an anchor. Each time a thought or feeling arises, momentarily acknowledge it. Don't analyze it or judge it. Just observe it, and return to your breathing.
Abandon all thought of getting somewhere, or having anything special happen. Just keep stringing moments of mindfulness together, breath by breath.
Practice this for just five minutes at a time at first. You may wish to gradually extend the time to 10, 20, or 30 minutes.
Your thoughts are like waves on the surface of the ocean. Don't try to stop the waves completely so that the water is flat, peaceful, and still—that's impossible. But you'll find relief from constant turbulence when you learn to observe and ride the waves.
