Mindfulness is a pretty straightforward word. According to Headspace and mindful.org, it refers to the basic human ability to be fully present in the moment, attentive to what you are experiencing via your senses without being overwhelmed by your surroundings, and being aware of your thoughts and emotions without getting caught up in them.
The ability to be fully attentive to the present moment might seem trivial to some, but we all can relate to the fact that our mind often veers from the matters at hand. Our thoughts take flight, and pretty soon we’ve drifted away, engrossed in obsessive thoughts about something that happened in the past or start fretting over the future. This might induce anxiety in some of us. And mindfulness is one of the ways of experiencing complete awareness of what’s happening around you and what you’re doing and thinking in the current moment. It also allows you to integrate that awareness into your day-to-day life. According to general mindfulness research, it can have numerous benefits, ranging from decreased stress and sadness to increased levels of focus and happiness.
- According to the University of Minnesota, one must seek to develop 3 key characteristics of mindfulness:
An intention to cultivate awareness without getting caught up - Attention to the present moment — the physical senses, thoughts, and emotions experienced at that moment (observing thoughts, feelings, sensations as they arise)
- Freedom from distraction or judgment.
- According to the University of Minnesota, one must seek to develop 3 key characteristics of mindfulness:
It is a quality that every human being naturally possesses. While it is not something you have to conjure up, it is more readily available when you practice it regularly. So, you just have to learn how to access it. To better understand what mindfulness is, you best give it a try.
Now that you’re familiar with the meaning of mindfulness, let’s see how it relates to meditation.
Mindfulness & Meditation
Steady and non-reactive attention is often diametrically opposed to the way we respond in our daily life. Many of us operate on autopilot for large parts of our lives, especially while accomplishing the daily monotonous tasks such as brushing our teeth, cooking, showering, or commuting to work. We usually drift away into our own world of thoughts, blissfully unaware of all the sights, sounds, and smells that we are missing out on in the process of executing those mundane tasks.
Mindfulness isn’t a temporary practice but rather a way of living in which one is able to snap out of a drifting train of thought at will and step back into the present moment. You might be able to (consciously) snap out of distraction once or twice with ease, but being fully present in the moment throughout the day, every day comes with a little bit of regular practice. And meditation is training grounds for learning and practicing mindfulness. But before going any further, let us clarify a common misconception about meditation and mindfulness — it is not a temporary, fleeting state of mind that is only present during the period of meditation. Meditation is training grounds; you meditate to center and familiarize yourself with being aware of the here and now and allow yourself to experience the present moment fully for a limited period of time.
Not only do we spend large parts of our lives on autopilot, but when we do notice something in the present, our habit or instinct is often to judge instantly and react quickly. So, along with being present in the moment, an essential part of mindfulness is freeing yourself from judgment and instant reaction by pausing for a moment to get a clearer picture of the situation and responding more skilfully.
Mindfulness by itself cannot reduce or eliminate stress, but by becoming aware of your unpleasant thoughts and emotions resulting from challenging situations, you now have more choice in how to handle them. But, of course, the practice of mindfulness does not mean that you’d be free of anger or unpleasantness — it simply offers you a better chance at reacting calmly and decidedly when faced with stress or challenges. By observing instead of reacting, you develop a broader perspective and can choose a more effective response.
Some Facts About Mindfulness:
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- Mindfulness isn’t a supernatural ability or an advanced meditation technique. We’re all familiar with it because it’s something that we already practice subconsciously.
- Solutions that require you to change who you are have failed us repeatedly. Mindfulness does not ask you to change who you are; all humans already possess the capacity to be present. But we can continually cultivate and hone these innate qualities with simple practices such as basic meditation and observation.
- Mindfulness is a way of living, anyone can do it, and it’s easy to learn.
- According to Headspace, mindfulness is more than just a practice, and it does not require anyone to change their beliefs. Instead, it brings awareness and caring into everything we do and our daily lives. It cuts down needless stress and makes our lives a little better.
- While the practices of mindfulness were particularly inspired by Buddhist traditions, you don’t have to take mindfulness on faith — it’s evidence-based. Both scientific and empirical evidence demonstrate the positive benefits of mindfulness on our happiness, health, relationships, and work.
Click here for 8 mindful meditation techniques
