Mindfulness And How It Affects Your Quality Of Life
"If you are depressed you are living in the past – If you are anxious you are living in the future – If you are at peace you are living in the present.
~ Lao Tzu
We hear it all the time, Mindfulness. You probably associate it with Meditation, Yoga, and that 'airy, spiritual,'' who's got time for this mambo-jumbo.
But actually, Mindfulness plays a big part in your everyday, rushed, high speed, practical life. You're just not using it enough and not in the right places.
How many times did you get into your car, arrive at your destination, and have no recollection of the drive itself?
What about the times that you dropped something, tripped, forgot, and had a misunderstanding with someone?
All those are part of being mindful. When you say "Mind the __________ (gap, dog poop, your own business, step, the bag, etc.) - You are, in fact, asking someone to be mindful.
Mindfulness is simply being aware of something. It's a mental state achieved by paying attention and focusing your awareness on the present moment with observation.
Most of us fixate on the random thoughts and emotions that come into our heads. And they take up a good portion of our day.
Spending countless hours worrying about why someone didn’t respond to your text to find out later their phone died seems like an absolute waste of energy and time.
Cultivating mindfulness will allow you to spend less time on those random thoughts and exemptions. More than that, it will give you more control over what occupies your mind and focus on more constructive habits.
“Much of our thinking about ourselves and the world is either pointless or actively harmful, because it’s so often borne of anxiety, envy, self-hatred, or other negative emotions, and in turn, it perpetuates those states of mind.
Definition
1. the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something. "their mindfulness of the wider cinematic tradition."
2. a mental state is achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, which is used as a therapeutic technique.
3. the practice of maintaining a nonjudgmental state of heightened or complete awareness of one's thoughts, emotions, or experiences on a moment-to-moment basis.
What Does It Mean?
Mindfulness means maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, emotions, feelings, bodily sensations, and the surrounding environment through a gentle, aware and empathic lens.
Being Mindful also involves acceptance of the now.
We pay attention to and are aware of our thoughts, emotions, and feelings without judging them or believing them. Without the judgment that there’s a “right” or “wrong” way, you observe. In other words, mindfulness requires both Paying attention and Awareness.
When we practice mindfulness, our thoughts tune into what we’re sensing in the present moment rather than rehashing the past or imagining the future. Therefore when we are mindful, we also maintain a level of detachment from our automated brain while increasing and developing our observation skills.
Mindfulness was introduced to the American mainstream in recent years, in part through the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn and his Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program, which he launched at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1979.
Why It's Important
Mindfulness allows your senses to experience the present, moment-to-moment, in a neutral, non-judgmental way. It is simply observing without reacting.
It's noticing the details of a moment and then letting it pass, redirecting your focus if necessary while being fully open to the possibilities of the next moment.
Once we become aware and mindful of what is happening with our thoughts and emotions, we can start getting curious and looking inside ourselves with a more profound observation and self-compassion that opens us to new possibilities.
In a way, mindfulness is like a microscope; It's deeper, close up into ourselves, where we observe to get a deeper understanding, which allows us to choose differently and make changes.
The function of the microscope/mindfulness is to present what is there. At the same time, it is an active mind involved in dualistic perceptions.
Curiosity is a strong desire to know, to learn something. When we're curious about something, we're open to seeing something differently. We observe it. We try to look at it in different ways. We're asking questions to deepen understanding. We try to look at it from different angles that open the door to be able to start looking at things differently.
When we are curious, we see things differently; we use our powers of observation more fully. We sense what is happening in the present moment, taking note of what is, regardless of what it looked like before or what we might have expected it to be. Curiosity is about having an open and active mind. It's about exploration.
Curiosity puts the brain in a state that makes learning more accessible, more enjoyable, and longer-lasting. It's asking questions to deepen understanding. So by being aware of our thoughts, paying attention to our emotions, and being mindful of what is happening inside us, we can open ourselves up, get a little detached and ask questions about what is going on. And that is the place where we can start making better choices.
How It Helps
Mindfulness can help us to improve our mental well-being in at least two ways. Mindfulness-based therapy and interventions take a more structured approach to addressing mental health symptoms. In contrast, less structured processes can be found in many forms and cover various topics. Let’s look briefly at both.
Whether you want to practice mindfulness to deal with anxiety or stress, or if you wish to improve your attention and intentional skills, there’s plenty of scientific evidence in your favor.
Mindfulness can help us cope with depression, boost our psychological well-being, manage physical pain, and even have a better memory. When it comes to the way we think and feel, being mindful of our emotions helps us switch to more positive mindsets and work towards being a ‘better’—or at least, a happier—person.
In terms of relationships, mindfulness has a positive implication for how we communicate and relate to those around us.
We can learn to cultivate the state of mind through practice that lets us be mindful when we feel we need it most.
Mindfulness allows you to experience your life in the present, without ruminating about what just happened, what should have happened, what almost happened, what might yet happen, etc. So the connection to happiness is very direct. At bottom, mindfulness is the ability to pay attention to what actually matters. It’s hard to imagine a more powerful productivity tool than that.”
The Benefits
Over the years, thousands of studies have documented the mental and physical health benefits of practicing mindfulness.
Mindfulness is frequently promoted in wellness circles as a component of a holistic approach to a wide range of health issues or as part of an integrative treatment plan. Some of its benefits include:
- Stress relief
- Lower levels of Anxiety
- Managing Physical Pain
- Help manage Depression
- Better sleep
- Lowering blood pressure
- Enhanced attention
- Improved Memory
- Reduced Emotional ‘Reactivity’
- Greater overall sense of well-being
- Increase in baseline of happiness
(In my personal experience, both with myself and with clients, all of these are true. And there are many more benefits.)
How Do We Practice Mindfulness?
There are many simple ways to practice mindfulness.
- Pay attention. It's hard to slow down and notice things in a busy world. Try to take the time to experience your environment with all of your senses — touch, sound, sight, smell, and taste. For example, when you eat a favorite food, take the time to smell, taste, and truly enjoy it.
- Be aware. Get curious. Take time to observe and notice as much as you can. Try not to jump to conclusions, but rather, explore more to get a wider view of everything that is happening inside you and around you.
- Live in the moment. Try to intentionally bring an open, accepting, and discerning attention to everything you do. Find joy in simple pleasures.
- Accept yourself. Treat yourself the way you would treat a good friend.
- Focus on your breathing. When you have negative thoughts, try to sit down, take a deep breath and close your eyes. Focus on your breath as it moves in and out of your body. Sitting and breathing for even just a minute can help.
You can also try more structured mindfulness exercises, such as:
- Body scan meditation. Lie on your back with your legs extended and arms at your sides, palms facing up. Focus your attention slowly and deliberately on each part of your body, in order, from toe to head or head to toe. Be aware of any sensations, emotions, or thoughts associated with each part of your body. Click Here to try a Body Scan Meditation guided by Jon Kabat-Zinn
- Sitting meditation. Sit comfortably with your back straight, feet flat on the floor, and hands in your lap. Breathing through your nose, focus on your breath moving in and out of your body. If physical sensations or thoughts interrupt your meditation, note the experience and then return your focus to your breath. Click Here to try a Body Scan Meditation guided by Jon Kabat-Zinn.
- Walking meditation. Find a quiet place 10 to 20 feet in length and walk slowly. Focus on the experience of walking, being aware of the sensations of standing, and the subtle movements that keep your balance. When you reach the end of your path, turn and continue walking, maintaining awareness of your sensations. Click Here to try a Walking Meditation Guided by Jon Kabat-Zinn
- Here are some links to great meditations
There are a variety of guided practices on YouTube and many apps that provide great Mindfulness practices. My favorite App is Insight Timer
What Can We Be Mindful of?
There are different types of mindfulness, which you might find similar to the types of awareness you already have from the previous article. Categorically speaking, they are:
- Body
- Emotions
- Thoughts
- Words
- Reactions (ours and others)
- Mindfulness of Dhamma (“where we pay attention to what is arising”)
Bottom Line
Personally, I believe with all my heart that mindfulness is the most important skill a person can learn when the goal is to be happy and live a fulfilling life.
If you are looking for a way to transform your life and improve your baseline of happiness, this is it–you’ve found it.
There is nothing that I know of that comes close to matching it in how much it will improve and change your life, how you feel and your relationships.
Once you develop mindfulness and practice it in your daily routines, your experiences throughout the day will be more meaningful and empowering.
You will spend less time worrying about what he said/she said, why “so and so” didn’t ________ (fill in the blank), or how to get back at that idiot that just cut us off on the highway.
This means you will have more time for other, much more pleasant experiences.
As you develop your mindfulness practice, you will gain the ability to accept and appreciate life and challenges better, strengthening your resilience, bounce back quicker from setbacks, and move forward with your life.
Mindfulness, paying attention, and awareness work together when experiencing your entire presence in a moment. As you refine these practices into your daily experience, you will begin to notice an improved sense of well-being and awareness of your surroundings.
You will find yourself appreciating the things around you a little bit more, noticing more colors, sensing more smells; even your taste will improve.
Over time, You will also notice an increased ability to acknowledge your thoughts and let them pass in a nonjudgmental manner.
You will become less reactive and more aware of our current moment.
Bottom line…
You will spend less time looking for your car keys, and more time reading my blog
Wonderful Lian, I loved it. Trying to practice it in everyday activities.
Thank you Iris. Great perception – It really is all about trying to practice it in our everyday life. We continuously flow from mindfulness to autopilot which is how it should be. We just want to find a better balance between the two. right? 🙂