Mindfulness means being mentally and physically in the same place at the same time.
Mindfulness
“The awareness that arises from paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally.”
—Jon Kabat-Zinn, American biologist and professor,
founder of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
Mindfulness happens when you pay extraordinary attention to ordinary things. It’s characterized by openness, curiosity, and acceptance.
Mindfulness is not a panacea, and practicing it will not rid your life of challenges. Mindfulness does NOT mean emptying your mind of thoughts. It is noticing the thoughts with awareness of being “lost” and returning the focus to the present moment.
Mindfulness is a power tool of self-awareness, the superpower that lets you realize better outcomes in all areas of this human journey we call life.
Practice
This 5-minute introduction to mindfulness practice brings attention to a biological process that usually takes place behind the scenes — breathing.
FOR REFLECTION: What did you notice when you focused your attention on your breathing?
The Science Behind It
Countless studies back up the benefits of mindfulness and researchers around the world continue to study its effects on the human condition. We put together a list of resources for you if you want to geek out.
But you don’t have to know why mindfulness works for it to work for you. There’s no memorization required to reap the benefits, no quizzes coming, no need to spout statistics. You just do it. Breathe, with attention to the sensation of breathing. Inhale, with awareness of inhaling. Wash dishes, with attention only on the dishes. After you practice paying attention, you’ll find that you remember more, have more clarity and insight, and give the people in your life the benefit of your full attention.
We offer these three simple actions (we said simple, not easy!) as the most important takeaways from this course:
Pause. Breathe.
Notice what you notice.
Trust your inner expert.
And of course, practice, practice, practice. The more you do, the stronger you’ll get.
Stay on Play
We like to say that mindfulness puts you in control of the remote, so you don’t get caught in rewind or fast forward. In rewind, we tend to ruminate on the past. When we fast forward to the future, we worry about things that may never happen.
It’s only in the present moment that you can affect life. When you “stay on play,” your brain and biological system do better.
So how do I become more mindful?