“Mindfulness is awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, nonjudgmentally. It’s about knowing what is in your mind.”
When you are in distress, as if by magnetic force, your mind will be drawn to prior examples of similar distress. Like with depression, we can find ourselves distracted by ruminating, usually, over regrets about the past, or about what may be coming. In this way we miss out on the present moment. The mindful path is about refocusing on the present moment, effectively, thereby letting go of the troubling thoughts. With mindfulness we can acknowledge the source of distress without having to cling to or engage with it. When mindful we can recognize when our mind has wandered into distressing thoughts, so we can let it go and gently nudge ourselves into refocusing on the present moment.
Mindfulness is about practicing being present throughout your life. This means that when engaged in daily tasks of, say, showering or washing dishes, or the like, we can choose through mindfulness to not be on autopilot with our minds fleeting here and there, perhaps revisiting the past and or anticipating the future.
Instead we will gradually fill our daily life with balance and moments of full awareness of the present. Living mindfully is about noticing when our mind is wandering from the here and now, gently bringing it back, and focusing on matters directly at hand.
In this way we can see how mindfulness can relieve symptoms of psychological stress, negative thoughts, and physical pain.
Once mindfulness has been learned through practice and dedication, we are enabled to integrate the technique into every situation that arises in order to maintain any clear added sense of control in what might otherwise be a painful or overwhelming experience.
The focus of mindfulness is on improving our abilities to manage stress and other quality of life issues towards seeing the positive elements in one’s daily environment even while facing and coping with challenges. Vast amounts of scientific and anecdotal evidence reflect the benefits of mindfulness which include,
Being fully present in the here and now.
Being aware of what one is avoiding.
Becoming better connected to yourself, others, and world around you.
Being more self-aware and less reactive; thus less disturbed by negative experiences.
Learning to distinguish between yourself and your thoughts.
Being in direct contact with the world rather than living through your thoughts alone.
By learning and accepting that everything changes including our own thoughts or feelings.
Becoming less emotionally volatile and more balanced.
Becoming more calm and peaceful, self-accepting, and self-compassionate.
That is in contrast with our present culture of doing and possessing which is valued above being, and our own bodies and emotions which end up paying the price of always pursuing the next thing. Jon Kabat-Zinn and most responsible for bringing mindfulness into mainstream medicine as the founder of the Stress Reduction Clinic
and the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
My experience of capital and mindfulness is based upon my six years of studying and practicing on a daily basis plus observing the experience and especially the benefits
which have accrued to clients through their own experience with mindfulness. In fact, it has become more than evident that clients who take to and apply mindfulness in whatever way to their daily existence make considerably better and faster progress in the therapy towards reaching their goals.
