Mindfulness

What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness Meditation is the foundation of all meditation training.

Mindfulness meditation is the skill of paying attention without being easily distracted.

Mindfulness is the training in having a stable and calm mind; the deliberate paying attention to either internal or external objects with a non-judgemental awareness.

Mindfulness is being able to notice what’s going on with clear attention but also be non-reactionary. Mindfulness meditation is one of the oldest meditation practises dating back five thousand years.

The mindfulness meditation technique taught below is mindfulness of breath, a powerful and simple meditation with enormous therapeutic benefits.

Also taught is the mindfulness of the present moment during the day.

Mindfulness Meditation Skills

Three main skills to learn mindfulness meditation are Attention, Concentration and Introspection.

Attention ~ A clear non-judgemental awareness single-pointedly focused on an object like the breath or broadly focused on the present situation.

Concentration ~ Ability to stabilize that clear awareness on its object without forgetting it or being distracted.

Introspection ~ Knowing when you are distracted and knowing when you are focused.

Mindfulness can be divided into two types:

1) Single-pointed mindfulness during meditation
2) Broad-focused mindfulness during everyday life

What is Mindfulness for?

Mindfulness is for developing stable attention that brings a calm, inner peace that is not easily disturbed. The capacity for a stable attention increases awareness, intelligence and harmony. Mastering mindfulness also brings amazing flexibility and control of attention. In other words you can focus on what you want, when you want for however long you want.

The mental peace and flexibilty brought about by mindfulness has deeply therapeutic healing properties. Mindfulness Therapy is known as the ‘third wave’ in psychotherapy, following psychoanalysis and cognitive behavioral therapy, and is having remarkable success.

Through rigorous studies, mindfulness training has been found to be effective in the treatment of a wide variety of mental and emotional disturbances such as anxiety, stress, depression and addiction, as well as boosting the body’s immune system, neurological functioning and self-healing capacities.

Mindfulness meditation allows detachment from the thinking mind which is judgemental and by nature disturbing. Once detached from the restlessness of the thinking mind, mindfulness allows our awareness to settle down to a naturally calm state of stillness and clarity.

While mindfulness training undoubtedly brings a connection with inner peace and has enormous therapeutic and healing capacities, it also serves the function of being a sensitive tool to explore and contemplate our spiritual essence and the fundamental nature of our own mind. 

Once stabilised, mindfulness is used as a precise tool to penetrate deep into our own awareness, facilitating a deeper understanding of its nature and qualities.


Mindfulness Meditation Quotes

“Breathing in, I bring the mind home to the present
Breathing out, I let go of thoughts and relax”

“Mindfulness is the aware, balanced acceptance of the present experience. It isn’t more complicated than that. It is opening to or receiving the present moment, pleasant or unpleasant, just as it is, without either clinging to it or rejecting it.
~ Sylvia Boorstein

“Breathing in, I am aware I am breathing in Breathing out, I am aware I am breathing out.”
~ Buddha

“Thoughts and feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky, conscious breathing is my anchor.”

"Such clarity, such simplicity. No room for problem-making. Just this moment as it is."
~ Thich Nhat Hanh

“When mindfulness is mastered, the mind is unwavering, like the flame of a lamp in a windless place.”
~ Krishna


Mindfulness In Daily Life

In daily life Broad Focused Mindfulness training is being completely aware of what you’re doing in the present moment. By avoiding over-thinking about the present situation and remaining in open awareness, without using the present moment as a ‘means to an end’ or considering it as a problem to be solved, but remaining open and aware of even the most boring tasks. An attitude of relaxed openness and curiosity is essential to be able to enjoy what IS happening rather than wishing it was different. By neither attaching to or pushing away anything the ability to remain centered in open awareness without being distracted are the key elements to broad focused mindfulness.Similar to single-pointed mindfulness training, a continual letting go of thoughts and opinions is needed.

Pause and Notice Five things

This is an incredibly simple yet effective way to draw your attention to the here and now:

1) PAUSE during the day and simply NOTICE five things you can see, and observe them without analysing or judging them; just hold them in your clear awareness for a minute or two without being distracted by thoughts or stories.

2) PAUSE and NOTICE five things you can hear, and without judging or analysing them, simply hold the sounds in your clear awareness for a minute or two.

Mindful Eating by Thich Nhat Hanh

“Mindful eating is a very pleasant practice. It is a deep practice. Each morsel of food becomes an ambassador from the cosmos. When we pick up a piece of vegetable, we look at it for half a second. We look mindfully to really recognise the piece of food, the piece of carrot or string bean. We practise mindfulness by simply knowing, “This is a piece of carrot. This is a piece of string bean.” It only takes a fraction of a second of recognition. When we are mindful, we recognise what we are picking up, when we put it into our mouth, we know we are putting it into our mouth, and when we chew it, we know that we are chewing.

It’s very simple. Some of us while looking at a piece of carrot can see the whole cosmos in it, can see the sunshine in it, can see the earth in it, and the rain. It has come from the whole cosmos for our nourishment. You may like to smile to your food before you put it in your mouth.When you chew it, you are aware that you are chewing it, and don’t put anything else into your mouth, like your projects, your worries, your fear, just put the carrot in, and when you chew, chew only the carrot, not your projects or your ideas.You are capable of living in the present moment in the here and now. It is simple but you need some training to just enjoy the piece of carrot. That is a miracle.

Mindful Listening

When your attention moves into the Now, there is an alertness.It is as if you were waking up from a dream, the dream of thought, the dream of past and future.

A great time to practice mindfulness is when listening to others. By remaining completely present to what they are saying and avoiding the tendency to be distracted by our anticipated responses or judgements we can notice subtle cues we would normally miss. Paying full attention to the person you’re talking with allows the best quality of communication to happen and also avoids what’s known as ‘communication anxiety’. The practice requires ‘on the go’ introspection to ascertain whether you have become distracted or preoccupied with thoughts and judgements. Similar to formal mindfulness training, simply bring your attention back to mindfully listening as soon as you discover you’ve been distracted, without any further internal dialogue about your distraction.


Try This Guided Meditation On Mindfulness
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