Mindfulness

Some thoughts on Mindfulness from around the web and from me.

From Mindful Mornings:

Mindfulness is an ancient Buddhist practice that has little to do with Buddhism or being a Buddhist. It is the simple practice of bringing awareness and acceptance to our moment to moment experience which can help us develop calmness, resiliency, and a quality of peacefulness.

"It has to do with examining who we are, with questioning our view of the world and our place in it, and with cultivating some appreciation for the fullness of each moment we are alive. Most of all, it has to do with being in touch."

Mindfulness is about holding still long enough to be able to notice what's going on around and within us. It is about being in the present, paying attention to the now instead of rehashing the past or worrying about the future. It is about really living the experiences we're having now because "now" is the only place true happiness and joy reside.

From http://www.mindfulness.com/ :

Mindfulness or being mindful is being aware of your present moment. You are not judging, reflecting or thinking. You are simply observing the moment in which you find yourself. Moments are like a breath. Each breath is replaced by the next breath. You're there with no other purpose than being awake and aware of that moment.

From Wikipedia:

Mindfulness is the practice whereby a person is intentionally aware of his or her thoughts and actions in the present moment, non-judgmentally. Mindfulness is applied to both bodily actions and the mind's own thoughts and feelings.

From me:

In some ways, Mindfulness is what your mother meant when she admonished, "Pay attention to what you're doing."

It is doing the thing that you are doing with your whole self.

This may sound easy, but in our world where the ability to multi-task is often a desirable trait, it can be difficult to learn to just be and do what you are doing in any moment in time.

Sit for ten minutes and while you breathe in and out, only concentrate on your breaths. For some type-A personalities, simply finding ten minutes in a day in which one does "nothing" can be difficult.

Being mindful is difficult for me and I'm often thinking about what I'm going to do next - especially if I'm doing something boring or unfun. But even though I don't necessarily assign a word to every action, I have found that trying to be mindful is a good thing when doing chores I often feel are "beneath me" or are dreary.

Each day I do the dishes (once again I find myself temporarily w/out a dishwasher). I used to dread this chore. Standing in one place, rubbing ick off dishes, often in front of a window in the afternoon with the sun shining in my eyes - there's not much to like about doing dishes. But I've learned to think about dishes (and all "thankless" housework) in a different light. Those of us that keep the home clean and neat are doing good work. We keep the home comfortable and healthy for ourselves and the ones we love. I think of this when I am doing the dishes and it makes the time seem better spent than when I used to let my mind wander to things I'd rather be doing. I haven't learned to love doing the dishes. And it's hard to be mindful when cleaning a toilet. But these tasks are no longer things I dread.

Learning to be mindful about what I'm doing is one of the better things I do with my life. When I practice this, the thing I'm doing is always accomplished in a way that shows care and diligence. In this way, both the task and the journey to accomplish that task have meaning.

Oh, and I've learned to think of the cat box as a Zen garden with lumps.

Peace.