What is Meditation? How do you ‘do’ meditation? What is mindfulness?
I want to clear my mind, so why do I want to be mind-full more than now?!..
I don’t have time to sleep, let alone meditate!.. It all sounds a bit stressful?!.. ..Anything sound familiar?
I guess the best place to begin, is to highlight, for me, what the benefits of meditation are. Of course, this will vary from person to person, but I’ll substantiate with some science from studies further down the page; as there seems to be much correlation with what the scientists are finding and what, I, as an individual, am living..
- Better focus and concentration on task in hand. I.e. able to cut some veggies up, without cutting myself..
- Feel calmer, able to manage ‘stress’ more easily
- Not so worried about what others think of me
- Getting to sleep easier and better
- Improved relationship with myself and my body
- Better relationships with other people
- Enhanced creativity and allowing my own ‘spark’ to shine
..Thus, to name but a few reasons why life feels better since including mindfulness meditation into my personal practices..
Mindfulness seems to be the meditation technique to best suit my personality, so far; from what I’ve explored meditation wise. There are many other techniques one can use to get to know ones self, different techniques to suit different people at different times; as if a specific technique doesn’t feel right, listen to that inner voice and change course if necessary. As Ekhart Tolle describes in his book, “The Power of Now”, everything is about this moment; whatever it is we’re feeling, living, exploring, it all happens right now, and mindfulness is a great way to get you into that space of the Now.
Through being mindful, we can pay attention to what is going on internally, in each moment, and therefore respond to external events in a way which is more congruent to our core beliefs; rather than perhaps to fall into habitual patterns and not knowing what is right for us.
Paying attention to the present moment not only helps our response abilities, but it also gets you out of worries, regrets, fears, anxieties and judgments. None of these exist in the present moment, right now, how are you? Where are you now? Why worry about what’s not happened yet, or, what you can’t change from past happenings. When living in this moment, worry cannot exist. Judgement comes from comparison and unseen dark corners of ourselves, by highlighting these corners, and taking time to presently explore how you feel about certain things, let emotions run their course, and, bring a whole new wealth of understanding of yourself, to yourself.
Mindfulness in the moment = You + Extra Space + Extra Time = Relief from the confines of the thoughts in your mind
Have a holiday from self-limiting beliefs and raise the roof on what you think is possible for you… Breathe..
Resources:
- A video from Oxford Mindfulness by Mark Williams and Danny Penman who also wrote one of my favourite Meditation books – “Mindfulness: A practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world”
- The American Psychological Association : http://www.apa.org/monitor/2012/07-08/ce-corner.aspx