What is mindfulness?
- Mindfulness is awareness – of ourselves and others
- Mindfulness is observing our thoughts and feelings.
- Mindfulness is the present moment, not the past and not the future.
- Mindfulness connects the mind with the body so that we can react differently to our life experiences.
- Mindfulness has no judgement.
- Mindfulness encourages a kindness for ourselves and others.
A lovely way of understanding the principles of Mindfulness, is to watch this clip from Kung Fu Panda.
“Yesterday is history
Tomorrow is a mystery
But today is a gift
That is why we call it the present.”
You may have heard Mindfulness being called Meditation. Both are words we use for a particular kind of brain training.
It helps us in these ways:
- We become more self aware.
- We notice that that our thoughts are the link to our emotions.
- By guiding our attention to the present moment, we can quieten the mind and the emotions will follow suit.
- We can manage stress and anxiety more effectively.
As we get more practiced, we start to see what we have to be grateful for in our lives. We start to be much kinder to ourselves and once we can be kind to ourselves it’s much easier to be kind to others.
This makes us feel happier!
Being Quiet
Being quiet is an important part of Mindfulness. Sounds arise in silence and go back into silence just like thoughts. So when we are quiet we can just notice sounds, allow them and then watch them come and go without judgment, as best we can.
- When the mind quietens we experience calm and more peace.
- When the mind quietens we have a better chance to access our common sense.
- When the mind quietens we often see things more clearly.
With practice we can can call on this whenever we need it and this increases our ability to make wise choices and manage difficult situations. Mindfulness is a way to move from emotional reasoning to logical reasoning.
