Why mindfulness, my father asked? I explained it would reduce his stress and anxiety. The interesting answer was that he doesn’t feel stressed or anxious. The constant mutterings and pacing tell me otherwise… then again, this is coming from a narcissistic family. The human brain by definition ‘thinks’ in order to protect us. Mindfulness allows us to be more aware of those thoughts as well as our emotions. Why mindfulness is a question that allows us to become more human and more alive by better understanding our brains and the constant chatter.
Positive Psychology Connection
In positive psychology, the term ‘being in the flow’ was coined by Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi during the 60s when searching for what makes people happy. When in a state of flow, the mind is completely engaged, present, focused and clear. The mind has let go of the ego and is at one with the world. As in yoga philosophy, the mind and body are united and fully aware of each other and the space they hold in the universal consciousness. Mindfulness is another tool that allows us to achieve that state.
When I first came across this concept and thought about times I might have experienced flow, I realised those moments were when connecting with people and animals. I finally realised that my day to day life lacked those moments. I knew something had been missing for a while but I became more aware of my disconnectedness through mindfulness.
Why Mindfulness: Deliberate Action
Through mindfulness, or the state of awareness of what is currently happening, we can connect with the present moment such that time feels stopped. Every action is deliberate and sensed clearly by both body and mind and we feel alive. Understanding our mind, connecting with our bodies and feelings allows us to forget the past and not over-think the future. We are at one with the present and have forgotten our stress, worries and anxieties that make up our daily suffering. In that moment, we are happy.
Next Steps
So what can you do to start or even continue your own discovery?
1- Meditation and connecting with the breathing
This is one of the 4 foundations of mindfulness and I particularly like the headspace app, especially the daily snippets with some words of wisdom.
2- Why Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction course
This was first developed in the US by Jon Kabat-Zinn based on buddhist tradition and I highly recommend taking this 8 week course somewhere near you. The key takeaway is learning to observe the ‘storytelling mind’, another mindfulness foundation, with some tools for how to do that so you can better understand your mind and emotions.
3- The morning 5 breaths
Taking 5 deep focused breaths when you first wake up to feel your body and your mood. Is your breathe fast or slow? Deep or shallow? How fast is your heart beating? We spend all day breathing but never notice it so this simple action will connect you to your body first thing in the morning and delay that planning and chatting that your mind will start doing. Another foundation of mindfulness is feeling and connecting with the body.
4- Be aware of your simple tasks
How does water feel on your skin when you shower? How does your breakfast really taste? How do you brush your teeth? How does the toothpaste smell? Really be aware of all 5 of your senses and how they respond to everything. Watch everything unfolding as if you were the main character of a film but with curiosity and without judgement.
