What is mindfulness?
In the field of personal and spiritual development, mindfulness is one of several states of awareness that naturally come and go.
Mindfulness finds its origins in Buddhism. It is an attentive state of awareness that is strongly connected with the present moment and reality as it is. We all have experienced ‘mindful’ moments before, in which we’ve felt deeply at peace with ourselves and our surroundings; for example, when we are in nature.
Pure ‘mindful’ moments bring along a clear comprehension of reality as it is, in many different ways and at many different levels.
Mindfulness exercises often invite us to focus on our senses, for this helps us to become more aware of the present moment. Our senses are closely related to our physical body, which is centered in time and place in the present moment.
Our attention and experiences are often not as closely related to the present moment as our physical body is; our perception of reality is often distorted. It is part of our nature of being.
A simple exercise, such as ‘the body scan,’ may help you to become more aware of the lapses and holes that are in your perception of your own physical body.
Don’t worry, it is perfectly normal to discover that it is harder than you thought to focus your attention! Let me explain why.
Moving in and out mindfulness
Having ‘mindful’ moments does not mean you (have to) live mindful all the time. In fact, you will soon experience that that is almost impossible to do. When you focus on your senses (as many mindfulness exercises invite you to do), you move closer to the here and now.
The experience of ‘experiencing here and now’ may last for a shorter or longer amount of time. After a while, you’ll notice that you have been distracted. Unconsciously, your attention moved elsewhere, away from the present moment.
Whenever our attention moves away, our natural recover ability (about which you can read more in the Meditation and its benefits article) brings our attention to wherever it is needed most at that time. This happens automatically; it is beyond our control.
We all carry scars, wounds and bruises with us as we carry on through life. Some scars may be physical, others emotional, psychological or spiritual. That is why, whenever you practise meditation and mindfulness, either one or both sides of the healing medal may show itself to you:
- you may feel what good may come out of it when a certain aspect in yourself is healed
- while being healed, you may experience or receive background information in an intuitive way about how this aspect of yourself became blocked or wounded
Both sides are equally powerful in healing. Both sides may bring along (intense) emotions. We are often not the ones that choose which side comes first. Normally, both sides will show to you, eventually.
It is one of the reasons why it is important to exercise in meditation regularly. Even when you practise the same exercise 10 times in a row, not once will you experience it exactly the same. Out of a wide range of different meditation experiences, your path in inner growth may become clearer.
So, whenever you catch yourself being absent, that is ok. It is part of the ongoing healing process that automatically takes place inside you. Moving into mindful moments is, therefore, just as healing as the moments when we automatically move out of mindful moments.
The power of now
Ok, so now you know that moving in and out of mindful moments is healing in itself. But perhaps it also made you doubtful whether to start with this ‘meditation and mindfulness thing’ or not. I totally understand if you do.
Because what’s the point of practising meditation and mindfulness when this natural recover ability in ourselves is already doing its job?
Well, let’s see:
The present moment contains all of our past, present and future in one. It is encapsulated in our attitude towards life and in the way what we think, what we say and what we do are or are not in harmony.
Our attitude is reflected in the way we talk, walk, eat and work. The way we love, relate, connect and disconnect. The way we cherish our loved ones and the way we deal with our limitations. The way we express our emotions, instincts, inspiration and the way we set our boundaries.
Our attitude towards life influences every step we take, every day again. It is connected with the things we learned in life so far, from our parents, teachers, from life itself. And it is connected with the things we still need or wish to learn.
So the present moment is very powerful. That is why it is also called ‘the power of now‘. And yes, we do all have a natural recover ability that is continuously working very hard to help us heal on a psychical, emotional, psychological and spiritual level.
The point is that as long as we don’t know and trust ourselves, we do not dare to surrender to the present moment and its healing ability. We literally undermine ourselves (and others) in our attempts to heal and live our lives to the fullest.
We sabotage our own healing system, because we distrust it. Or because we are afraid of the (intense) emotions that may pop up; afraid that we won’t be able to deal with them. We might also be afraid we won’t be able to deal with the (physical and/or emotional) pain that is lying underneath.
Mindfulness and inner growth
An underlying reason why we (un)consciously move away from the present moment, might be that we find it hard to accept ourselves and life as it is. Every time we suppress or ignore a part of our instincts, feelings or emotions, we lose a little more contact with the present moment. We don’t do it on purpose; it just happens.
For it may at times (or all the time) be challenging to learn to deal with our instincts, emotions and feelings as they are. Learning to deal with our instincts, emotions and feelings is to learn to deal with our humanity.
Every person who takes the effort to tune in to their inner being and to listen to what she or he needs, is a brave creature. For the place where we meet our deepest qualities and longings, is also the space where we meet our deepest fears.
The process of finding a way and balance through this is what I call inner growth: to get to know and to learn to experience emotion on a deeper and deeper level, in order to become more conscious and aware of yourself and of life’s vast tapestry of experience.
To become aware and to allow instincts, emotions and feelings will lead us to the deepest possible fulfilment in life. At the same time, everywhere in this world, there’s nothing we find harder to do than this! We tend to walk away (or run away) from our feelings and to suppress or ignore our instincts and emotions. It is part of our humanity. It is part of who we are.
This is also why mindfulness and meditation are great tools to support processes of inner growth. Meditation and mindfulness exercises help us to (re)gain a natural control over our attention and mind by staying connected.
It helps us to become more aware of the moments we tend to let ourselves go. It helps us to become more aware of what it is we really need in our daily life. Meditation and mindfulness exercises are in this way tools for inner healing.
The more aware and conscious we become, the more we heal and grow, and the more ‘alive and kicking’ we become. We become more present. Meditation and mindfulness exercises widen our possibilities to deal with pleasant and unpleasant aspects of life. They help us to train our skills to enjoy life as it is, in the present moment.
It is up to you
Every second, again, we have the opportunity to get to know ourselves and others better. Every second, we have the possibility to learn to deal with unknown or unpleasant aspects of our lives in a different way, so that it may start to heal. Every second, again, we have the chance to give ourselves the attention we need in order to grow.
The online Meditation and Mindfulness Training I’ve made, offers you a possibility to learn how to meditate and become more aware of who you are and what it is you need in daily life. It offers you help and support in your process of inner growth.
The training invites you to make a start in becoming the balanced, grounded, sparkling and open person you long to be.
You may continue the Online Meditation and Mindfulness Training here: http://bit.ly/1iCXZFr
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