What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness, like Meditation is a word we are hearing a lot about lately. And like meditation, everyone is talking about it, but what is it really?

What are you thinking right now? 

Taking a moment to stop and notice what you are thinking is seriously profound and powerful.  Why? Because as soon as you become mindful about what you are thinking, you have to notice that ‘YOU’ is something other than your thoughts!

What does Mindfulness mean?

What does this mean?  Well, often, the way we FEEL is directly related to what we are thinking.When we get a bad grade in school, or take a loss in sports, our minds can start to run!  Saying things like ‘I am not good enough’, ‘I will never amount to anything.’  This kind of self talk can produce feelings of anxiety and if they go on long enough can lead to depression

When you learn to separate yourself from the thoughts in your head, you can take an active role in the words you say to yourself, and the feelings those words can produce. 

How does Mindfulness Meditation work?

Here is how it works.  First find a place to sit that is quiet and private where you are not likely to be disturbed.  Sit on a pillow so your butt is elevated a bit and cross your legs.  You know, like you were the Buddha ; )

Close your eyes and notice what you are thinking.  Then take a deep breath and really pay attention to the breath coming into your body.  How does it feel?  Exhale slowly and repeat.  Keep doing this until you notice that you are thinking something again!  Notice how the thought feels in your body.  Does it feel achy?  Is your stomach feeling upset?  Do you feel excited?  Happy? 

Do NOT judge your thoughts as good or bad!  This is incredibly important!  Thoughts are just thoughts, its only your judgment that makes them good or bad.  We are not sitting here practicing judgment, we are practicing mindfulness meditation!  What that means is we are simply here to learn to observe our thoughts, accept them for what they are and then take another breath. 

By practicing Mindfulness Meditation for a few minutes each morning and a few minutes in the evening we train our mind to notice itself.  Without this practice we can get caught up in what's going on around us, judging our selves and our life, and this often leads to unpleasant feelings. 

With mindfulness we can catch ourselves when our thoughts are slipping into negativity and we can tell ourselves a new story, alter our next actions to produce a result we are going to be more happy with, or accept things as they are and be happy and grateful for all the good in our lives! 

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What is Meditation?

Meditation is a big word that’s getting lots of attention these days!  So many people are talking about it but can anyone actually tell you what it is?!?

Meditation is not a religion; it is not a cult, its not scary or dangerous. 

Meditation is a way to gain a better understanding of what is going on inside your head and your body, and it can help you have a better life. 

There are almost endless different kinds of meditation but they all have one thing in common, the seated posture.  Sitting with your back straight and your legs crossed allows the body to become motionless for long enough to get in touch with the feelings you are having inside, and the effect those feelings are having on your state of mind.

All of the different forms of meditation have one purpose, to allow you to detach your ‘self’ from what’s going on in your head! 

Why does posture matter?

Why does this matter?  Because most of what is going on in our heads isn’t very nice! 

You see our brains have evolved over millions of years, to help us survive.  Back in the days of lions and tigers trying to eat us, we had to be VERY sensitive to dangers around us.  Now, millions of years later, the biggest threat we face in life is someone dissing us on Twitter, yet our minds are still programmed to seek out danger, so we tend to look at everything from a negative slant. 

Well, it doesn’t need to be that way!  It is only the primitive part of our brain that sees the world that way.  We are not cave people anymore!  The newest parts of our brain that have evolved are where our feelings of love and happiness and creativity function.

What does Meditation do?

Meditation helps us cool down the fear response that comes naturally to us, and helps us access the higher function areas of our brain. 

This allows us to live happier, healthier more productive lives.  By having access to this new awesome area of the brain we can do better at school, perform better in sports, have better relationships with our parents and friends, AND spot dangerous thoughts feelings and behaviors before they lead us into trouble!

Have Your Say

Do you meditate? How do you choose to relax? Comment below.