It’s funny that I always assumed that the term ‘mindfulness’ was created in today’s wave of wellness that we seem to be surrounded by. Don’t get me wrong, I’m fascinated by the impact of mindfulness and I love wellness. I’m very grateful to what it’s done for me and my sanity and no, I didn’t become a hippie. Overall, it’s made such a positive impact to my mental stability but it also helped me see the world differently. Once that door has been opened though, there’s no going back … for better or for worse. 

Where does the Word ‘mindfulness’ Come From?

I’ve just finished a 10 day meditation retreat with a Malaysian Buddhist temple, Sasanarakkha, which was both intellectual and spiritual. Most of all, as always, I learnt a bit more about myself and freed myself even more again from some of my shackles. Having said that, I’m not sure why the fact about the term mindfulness has stuck in my mind. I can almost imagine the 19th century, more precisely 1881, Buddhist scholar trying to come up with it. Apparently it was rejected for a while before finally being accepted. 

Remembering – Memory

Whether you’re interested in mindfulness or not, perhaps you agree with me that it’s quite a clever term. Although, I did learn on this retreat that it comes from a Pali word that actually seems to be closer to ‘memory’ or ‘recollection’. I really do find the whole thing fascinating because you could say that we love remembering past events and rehashing them over and over again. On the other hand, you could be like me and keep creating all those intricate future scenarios. But no, it’s all about remembering the present and then, being in the present once you’ve remembered to forget your internal thriller or novel, depending on how you look at it. 

The Impact of Mindfulness? 

I could give you all the health benefits, including reduced stress and anxiety, but I’d rather take it back to the roots, so to speak. It was such a relief for me to find a way to step out of my personal drama … and bizarrely, it’s fun too.

Without sounding too hippie, it makes you a better person by enabling you step out of your personal drama that’s going on in your head. And that is a huge relief! Well, it was for me anyway … but what else? 

1- You learn to explore how your mind interprets events and with time, you react less 

The more you see the patterns of your mind then the easier it is to see the gaps and pauses. As Victor Frankl says “in that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom”. 

2- You gradually accept the ups and downs of life so that you become more resilient 

With mindfulness, you practice observing your emotions such that you realise, with time, that they don’t define you. You don’t need to be overwhelmed by them but on the contrary, you can let them go.

3- You get a little bit closer to finding out who you really are 

Once you’ve uncovered the emotional triggers, the conditioning and belief systems that make up your mind, what will you find?

Only you can answer that question for yourself but doesn’t that make you just a little bit curious? This is where I find the real impact of mindfulness because you rise above the pettiness of life with this question. For me, this meant meeting my anxiety this time round … now that was intriguing.  

Finding Balance

Naturally, from a purely selfish point of view, with all of this, we end up more at peace and in balance with ourselves. The great thing is that this also helps those around us because we react less, we become more compassionate and we listen better.

Of course, everything has a dark side though … it’s all about balance. It can be terrifying to truly see how our minds operate and it often involves meeting our demons. This can mean that most, if not all of us, will need help along the way whether that’s in the form of a teacher, therapist or coach. 

Interact with the world more Wisely

The work isn’t easy and the best part of the retreat was that the teacher made it playful. We shouldn’t take ourselves too seriously otherwise it really does feel like hard work. At the same time though, it’s not a relaxation technique even if the impact of mindfulness is to give you some inner calm. To really get to know your mind and body and how it interacts with the world though is a brave thing to do. There’s a reason many of the more recent psychotherapy tools incorporate mindfulness in one form or another.

No one can escape the suffering of life but you can train yourself to interact with it more wisely such that it doesn’t throw you off keel every time. Then, believe it or not, you’ll never be able to follow any other way for living your life and supporting you through all the joys, sorrows, mistakes and successes. You’ll feel a lot more free and balanced… as well as that elusive ‘happy‘.