What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is a form of meditation which has its foundations in Buddhism. However it is not about converting to Buddhism or any other religion.

When people think of meditation they often believe it is about emptying your mind or getting into some trance like state. Mindfulness is in fact completely the opposite it is about becoming aware of everything: sights, sounds smells and even taste. It is about noticing the way things are and not attempting to change anything.

In today’s world we are often busy thinking about the future and the past, getting swept along with thoughts and conversations within your own mind. Very few people stop to be aware of what is happening right now at this moment.

People will often be travelling to or from work having a conversation in their head with a multitude of people, which may or may not have happened but the other people involved in your mind aren’t even aware the conversation occurred. In this way it could be argued thoughts aren’t real. That doesn’t mean you should ignore all thoughts but recognise them as just that. They are not part of you.

With regular daily practice Mindfulness has been shown to reduce levels of stress and anxiety. This does not mean however, you will never experience stress and anxiety by practicing mindfulness. You will! It is an inevitable part of life. What mindfulness does is helps you to see the whole picture and help you to cope better when these situations arise. Swami Satchitananda put it best when he said “You can’t stop the waves but you can learn to surf”

Mindfulness is in essence a very simple idea, you just have to notice what is happening right now that’s it. Mindfulness is not limited to sitting it can be done whilst gong for a walk or even when you are doing shopping.

Meditation is not about feeling a certain way it’s simply about feeling the way you feel nothing else.