Mindfulness is deliberately paying full attention to what is happening around you and within you - in your body heart and mind. Mindfulness is awareness without criticism or judgement.
- Jan Chozen Bays, M.D.
Ehen we spend a lot oif time with our body doing one thing while our body is on vacation somewhere else (driving on autopilot), it means that we aren't preseent for much of our lives.
Thisw makes us feel vaguely but persistently dissatisfied. This sense of dissatisfaction, of a gap between us and everything and everyone else, is the essential problem of human life. It leads to those moments when we are pierced with feelings oif deep doubt and loneliness.
The Buddha called this the First Truth: the fact that every person will at some time experience this kind of distress.
We try remedies - food, drugs, sex, overwork, alcohol, movies, shopping gambling - to relieve the pain of ordinary life. All the remedies are temporary because most have side affects like debts, getting arrested, blacking out, or destroying your family which only increase our distress in the long run.
Regular mindfulness practice will allow you to deal with these feelings of discomfort and unhappiness.
Research on happiness conducted by Brown and Ryan aqt the U of Rochester shows "people high in mindfulness are models of flourishing and positive mental health". It is goo for all ailments your heart and mind, and even of your body.
When we "check out," our minds go to one of three places: the past, the future, or the fantasy realm. These 3 places have no reality outside our imagination. Right here where we are is the only place, and right now is the only time where we are actually alive.
When the mind doubles back to the past, it often begins to ruminate endlessly on past mistakes. We let our minds play the same old movie over and over , each time experiencing the same distress and shame. We allow our mind to continually bring up the past and to inflict anger and shame upon our inner being. It seems that our mind is afraid that we will fall prey to bad judgement, ignorance, or inattention yet agaqin. It doesn't believe that actually we are smart - smart enough to learn from one mistake, and not to repeat it.
Ironically, a mind filled with anxiety is likely to create what it most fears. Daydreams of regret about the past distract us from attending to the present. When we are not present, we tend to not act wisely or skillfully. We are most likely to do the thing the mind worries we will do.
The capacity of the mind to plan for the future gives us a roadmap and compass to steer by, thereby, increasing the chances that we will achieve our goals and be satisfied with our life path and what we have accomplished.
But the mind gets carried away leaping into the future, anxiously trying to plan many possible futures, most of which will never arrive. Thsi is a waste of our mental and emotional energy.
Better to make a reasonable plan and then pay attention to what happening right now. Keep a clear, flexible mind and an open heart , ready and able to modify our plans according to the reality of the moment.
The mind also enjoys excursions into realms of fantasy which is the basis of all creativity. Unfortunately, it can become an escape from whatever is uncomfortable about the present moment, an escape from the anxiety of not knowing what is actually moving toward us, an escape from whatever can bring us difficulties in the future...
Resting the mind in the present, awake to what is happening right now, redirecting it from the past, future or fantasy realms conserves the energy of the mind. It remains fresh and open to whatever appears before it.
The mind needs rest found in the present moment. Mindfulness practice reminds us not to fritter our mental energies away in trips to past and future, but to keep returning to this place, to rest in what is happening in this very time.
When we fparactice mindfulness we can lift the mind up out of its habitual preoccupations and focus it on what we ask it to illuminate. We are training the mind to be light, powerful, and flexible but also able to concentrate on what we ask it to focus on.
Mindfulness is a potent tool for training the mind, allowing us to access and use the mind's true potential for insight, kindness, and creativity.
In meditation we anchor the mind by returning over and over to one thing such as the bvreath or a mantra. This calms the mind and rids it of distractions.
A mind trained through mindfulness can stand steady under the rapidly changing conditions of modern life. We can remain calm and stable as we encounter the inevitable difficulties the world brings us. Eventually, we won't run from problems but see them as a way to test and strengthen our physical and mental stability.
Mindfulness makes us aware of the mind's habitual and conditioned patterns of escape allowing us to try an alternative way of being in the world.
If we practice mindfulness patiently eventually we become interested in what we can learn from everything that happens.
Mentally circling around endlessly in the raqlms of the past, future and fantasy life is not only pointless, it is destructive. It is fueled by anxiety. When we are anxious it affects our body, i.e., heartdisease.
Resting our mind where there is no anxiety, no fear allows us to discover resourcefulness, courage and quiet happiness.
Anxiety is fueled by thoughts of past and future. We drop these thoughts by temporarily withdrawing energy from the thinking function of the mind and redirecting it to the awareness function of the mind. This deliberate infusion of awareness is the essence of mindfulness. Relaxed alert awareness is the antidote to anxiety and fear, both our own and others'... it changes the atmosphere for the better.
If we are able to stay present and open, even to unwelcome experiences and people that make us uncomfortable, they will lose their power to frighten us and make us react or flee. Doing this will cultivate the power to be happy despite constantly changing conditions.
"Zen is not some kind of excitement, but concentration on our usual everyday routine."
- Suzuki Roshi
Mindfulness brings our awareness back to this body, this time, this place, appreciating each moment in gratitude for the gift of living.
The point is to live more and more in a concious way. Gurdjieff called this "self-remembering". Buddhists call it awakening to our true self. It is waking up to our life as it actually is, not the fantasy we often live in our mind.
The path of mindfulness and awakening has no end. We have an ever-expanding capacity for mindfulness.
Unconscious habits are strong and difficult to change without awareness and determination.
With practice we can transform ourselves in many ways, moving toward more flexibility and freedom in life.
Suzuki Roshi said, "In beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few."
Mindfulness allows us to keep returning to the unlimited possibilities of beginner's mind.
In Zen paintings turtle symbolize the practice of leaving no traces, because they sweep the sand with their tails as they creep along, wiping out their footprints. As an exercise try leaving no trace in the kitchen, for instance.
Often, we leave a room a bit messier than when we entered. To clean up later but later never comes, until the mess becomes unbearable, and we become irritated enough o do a cleaning. Or we get annoyed at someone else for not doing their part in the housework.
How much easier if we take care of things right away. No growing annoyance at the growing mess.
We become aware of the tendency to turn away from doing even small things that we could take care of during the day but lack motivation to do.
Becoming mindful about leaving no traces in one room could spread out to include other areas. We summon the initial energy, but thereafter, energy seems to breed more energy.
We tend toward being lazy and to leave messes for others to clean up. It is easy to leave dishes to be washed later. It is so easy to skip meditation when your life becomes hectic.
This task brings our awareness to the many things that support our life and work... when we wash, dry, sweep, fold and put away our things with mindfulness, it becomes an expression of gratitude for their silent service.
Exercise: First practice leaving no traces. Then practice leaving things better than you found them.
Mindful Eating:
"There are some people who eat an orange but don't really eat it. They eat their sorrow, fear, anger, theur past and future. They are not really present, with body and mind united. You need some training just to enjoy your food. It has come from the whole cosmos for our nourishment... this is a miracle."
- Thich Nhat Hanh
When eating, just eat. When drinking, just drink. Mindfulness is the best seasoning for your food and for your life. Enjoy each bite, enjoy each moment.
Kind words are a gift. They create wealth in the heart.
"You should know that kind speech arises from a kind mind, and kind mind from the seed of compassionate mind. You should ponder the fact that kind speech is not just praising the merit of others; it has the power to turn the destiny of the nation."
-Zen master Dogen
Mindfulness of posture:
Body and mind are not two but are deeply connected and interdependent.
When the mind or mood slumps, try adjusting the body's posture.
Gratitude:
Our mind seems to be magnetically attracted to the negative. It drags up difficult memories and chews on them over and over trying to alter the outcome. The past is gone so we can't change its outcome except by changing ourselves, and that can only be done in the present.
The mind thinks up things that might occur in the future. Economic collapse... the mind thinks it is doing the job of protecting us from danger, but is actually making us more fearful and tense.
The practice of expressing gratitude for good things that happened during your day at the end of the day is one antidote to this habit of disaster mongering.
By bringing to light the many positive and supportive occurrences of the day, it turns the mind stream in a positive way... allowing you to see the upside of most events in your life.
Exercise:
Turn the unhappy mind toward discovering even one thing it can be grateful for.
