An Invitation to Mindfulness
We hear about ‘mindfulness’ more and more these days. But what does it actually mean? The word ‘mindfulness’ is a translation of the Pali word sati, which means awareness, or ‘remembering’. It’s it most technical sense, sati is a form of mental stability that inhibits the distraction of our attention.
Mindfulness involves paying attention to each experience in the present moment within our body and mind, without judgment and reactivity, with acceptance and equanimity. While the concept of mindfulness is simple, it can be difficult to define in scientific terms. Louis Armstrong, one of the most influential jazz musicians of all time, once observed that, “If you have to ask what jazz is, you will never know.” Similarly, you have to experience mindfulness to know what it is. Munindra, the great mindfulness meditation master, suggested that mindfulness is an ordinary act that we should integrate into our whole life and we can practice at any time.
“Whatever you are doing, everything should be done mindfully, dynamically, with totality, completeness, thoroughness. Then it becomes a meditation, meaningful, purposeful. It is not thinking, but experiencing from moment to moment, living from moment to moment, without clinging, without condemning, without judging, without evaluating, without comparing, without selecting, without criticizing—choiceless awareness”
—Munindra
Mindfulness can be thought of as being alert and aware, of not forgetting what is happening in the present moment, remembering to BE in the present moment. Dr. Bruno Cayoun, clinical psychologist and developer of Mindfulness-integrated Cognitive Behavior Therapy (MiCBT) defines mindfulness as a tool that can be developed to help us learn the mechanisms underlying our thoughts,emotions, bodily sensations, and actions. It allows us to cultivate intention and wisdom in how we respond. We quiet the mind. We observe our experiences. Not trying to turn thoughts off, not avoiding or suppressing emotions, not pushing anything away, not clinging to anything. Just observing what arises. Not doing, just being. It’s a way to decrease distractability and the habit of being caught up in unhelpful thoughts about the past or future. It’s a way to develop a better understanding of our thoughts and emotions and how we respond to them. We become less judgmental, less reactive, more objective, more accepting. In short, it's a practice that helps us live more consciously.
Before I can tell my life what I want to do with it, I must listen to my life telling me who I am.
—Parker J. Palmer
Living more consciously expands our ability to make choices and be intentional about how we respond, how we show up, and how we meet the world—inwardly and outwardly in every moment.
The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice.
—R.D. Lang
I invite you to try mindfulness today. Just be simple and easy. Breathe and let go. Give yourself permission to accept the moment as it is and allow yourself to be as you are.
Just this.
