MINDFULNESS

Are you mindful or is your mind full? And how do you tell the difference?

The mind is a great tool for problem-solving, but it’s not great at settling down and being with what is. Most of the time, the mind is wandering around in the past or the future rather than in the present.

That means it’s full of thoughts, stories, and narratives that don’t necessarily have anything to do with what’s actually happening at the moment.

In some cases, the mind may be caught up in stories that aren’t even based in reality. Mindfulness can offer respite from a busy mind, though it takes conscious intention and regular practice.

Want to learn how to incorporate mindfulness in your day-to-day? You’re in the right place.

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is the practice of gently focusing your awareness on the present moment over and over again.

It often involves focusing on sensations to root yourself in your body in the here and now. It can be practiced during formal meditation or during everyday activities, like cooking, cleaning, or walking.

On the other hand, a full mind means you’re not rooted in the present moment. It’s the nature of the mind to think, analyze, and figure things out. That’s its job. That means that left to its own devices, the mind will constantly seek out new stimuli, new things to think about, and new ways to check out from reality. Mindfulness practice is a way to gently retrain the mind to settle into the present moment. It’s kind of like becoming a parent to your mind rather than letting it control you. In the end, the mind is simply a willful toddler.

By practicing mindfulness over and over with patience and compassion for yourself, you can teach the mind to be still.

Eventually, the mind may even dissolve altogether, meaning that there is no intellectual or conceptual overlay between you and what you’re experiencing.

Instead, you’re fully immersed in and at one with the present moment. This experience is what’s known as true presence

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Mindfulness benefits

Formal investigations into mindfulness in the Western world began in 1979 when John Kabat-Zinn developed what would become the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center.

Kabat-Zinn combined his studies of Hatha yoga with mindfulness practices and Buddhist principles he learned from his many teachers.

Since then, research into MBSR and general mindfulness has exploded, and the benefits are many.

This can include:

improving cognitive ability
slowing brain aging
reducing stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms
increasing a sense of well-being
helping with pain management
improving quality of life for those living with chronic conditions