I am pleased to hear that mindfulness is something more people are really getting into at the moment. I was having dinner with some friends at the weekend when it came up as a topic in conversation. It was mentioned that some of our friends are into practicing mindfulness. We discussed the importance of the act of mindful eating, how you should eat your food slowly so that you enjoy the taste and the sensations of each mouthful, chewing your food well before swallowing. It aids the digestion and keeps you present and enjoying the moment.
So what is mindfulness? Simply put, when you are mindful you
are conscious of what you are doing. You are thoughtful of yourself and others
and you don’t act without thinking.
Unfortunately most people in the
world still operate on autopilot and do not pay any attention to what they do.
They are not consciously aware of what they are doing from day to day and what
impact this is having on them or the world. They go around like zombies rushing
here and there, repeating patterns they have held in their subconscious for
many years. We are all guilty of doing this, and it is easy to do when you are
super busy and get into a routine - slurping the skinny late from Starbucks on
the way into work every morning, getting the chicken and avocado sandwich from
Pret and eating it at your desk while answering emails. We form habits that we
do day in and day out, most of them are not helpful. They get put into our
brains as subconscious programmes and we do these acts without much thought to
the matter. However, this doesn’t mean that you should operate on this
level.
When we become mindful of the little
things, everything begins to take on more meaning: you start to feel much more
alive and present in every moment. You break free from routine and think for
yourself. You are far less likely to have a 'follow the herd' mentality. You
feel sensations more deeply like taste, smell and touch and have conscious
awareness of what you are doing and the effect this is having on you and your
surroundings. You feel less liked a programmed robot and more like a human
being.
When people think of mindfulness,
meditation is probably the first thing that comes to mind. Buddhism is the most
well known of all the teachings to embody the practice of mindfulness.
Mindfulness should not just be seen as something you do in meditation, but as a
way of life, so that your whole life becomes an act of meditation. When you are
mindful you take your time doing things, time stands still for you, allowing
you to respond, rather than reacting without thinking to things people say,
making you less likely to come from a place of judgement and jumping to
conclusions from preconceived ideas and prejudices. You become tolerant,
patient and co-operative with others.
A very simple but profound teaching
from A Course in Miracles is when Jesus asks us to ‘Choose once again’.
He is asking us to be mindful of everything we say and do and to choose a
different response than we would normally. Einstein famously said the same
thing in his quote, 'Insanity: is doing the same thing over and over
again and expecting different results.'
However, this is still how many
people think (worryingly!). This is why people find similar situations in their
life playing out over and over but with different people and wonder to
themselves, ‘why is this happening all over again?’ Whatever the situation is,
if you act unconsciously or on autopilot you will find your life resembling
groundhog day: same shit, different day.
When you stop running your life on
autopilot and become mindful or start living consciously, you will see things
from a deeper and more expansive perspective. You will begin to realise that so
many things you have done for years without thinking are not helping you to
live a fulfilling life. The practice of mindfulness will prompt you to start
changing many aspects of your life that have become part of your normal
routine. You may notice things like you eat too much processed food, or you are
critical of yourself, or maybe you drink far too many skinny lattes and spend
far too much time worrying about things when worrying doesn’t change anything.
It then allows you to make all those small changes that make all the
difference.
The small changes will then lead onto
even bigger shifts in your lifestyle. In my own life I became conscious about
eating more healthily, first I gave up fast food, then I became vegetarian and
now I am making the transition to become vegan. I have stopped drinking coffee
and watching TV. I only buy organic fruit and vegetables and eco-friendly
products, because I am thinking of the impact I am making in the world and
consciously want to be kind to myself and Mother Earth. If you are not mindful,
then you are unlikely to be conscious of these things, and if we want the world
to be a better place, then it starts with us making a difference in our own
lives. It is why so many people have bad habits that they can’t seek to break
free from. Decide to become mindful of what you do today and then begin making
those changes and see what a difference it makes in your life.
I would like to hear your experiences
of mindfulness in your own life. Please leave a comment below:
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