Mindfulness
Learn to increasingly bring your awareness to the present, accepting the here and now.
when you get overwhelmed or overcome by negative emotions, your mind is probably thinking about the past or worrying about the future. It helps to bring your attention to the present.
When we spend too much time thinking about the past or future, we can lose track of what’s going on right now.
“Formal mindfulness is probably better known as meditation; it involves following established practices; taking time out of your day to be still and silent, to focus on your breath, to be aware of sounds, senses, thoughts and feelings.” — Gill Hasson, Mindfulness
-
Mindfulness, in a sense, is finding time to stop thinking. It’s finding time to be aware of your internal condition. It is a moment-to-moment awareness and an acceptance of each experience as it comes.
-
Mindfulness as a way to increase your awareness of the present is part of almost every enlightenment practice out there. It’s described as a state of mind which puts it in company with states like “conscious,” “sleeping,” and “dreaming.”
-
Meditation is distinct from similar, adjunct practices such as contemplation, visualization, and prayer.
Therefore:
Learn to increasingly bring your attention to the present—to the here and now—to bring mindful awareness to your everyday life.
Mindfulness is a necessary starting point for other practices like Inquiry and Contemplation