Mindfulness — Being Present
Photo by Erol Ahmed on Unsplash
What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is the ability to be comfortable in the present moment without analyzing or judging.
To become more mindful, start by simply noticing and accepting your thoughts and feelings without reacting emotionally. This will enable you to cultivate an inner state of calm detachment and acceptance of yourself and the world around you.
Acceptance allows you to have more flexibility to adapt to your circumstance, to be open to growth and break habitual patterns of thought and behavioral rigidity. To call forth your own innate ability to be mindful, simply notice your breath, thoughts, body, and surroundings without judgment. Fully commit your attention to being present in the moment, wherever and however you are.
When you are anchored in the moment, you can observe your inner self and outer world more clearly than when you are busy and distracted. Strive to gradually let go of the past as it brings up unresolved pain and suffering. In a series of mindful moments, you can release thoughts of the future with attendant worry that often triggers anxiety. The past and the future are not yours to manage or control in a mindful state. They don’t define or determine who you are as a human being.
Aim to be at peace for a few moments or as long as you can. No need to plan how to process your past or protect you from future threats, though ideas may drop into your quiet mind that you can remember and use when in your action mode.
How Can We Reside in the Present Moment?
For many, it begins with sitting quietly, noticing one’s breath. For some, using a phrase or mantra can be helpful, such as I am safe and secure in this moment, or I am one with God and the universe. It is good to practice mindfulness by spending time in nature going for walks, hikes, at the beach or forest and observe the world without people disturbing it. Enjoy the serenity of a sunrise or sunset, of birds, bees and the trees taking in the sun and vibrating with life.
Forget yourself and detach from the world of mass media, eco and social crisis and become one with the natural world. If you cannot go into nature, color a scene of you being in nature into your mind when sitting quietly in meditation at home or at work.
As you relax, and release tension, breathe slowly into your nose and out through your mouth. Notice your thoughts, but don’t manage them. They will dissipate as you settle into a comfortable, aware state of being. As you connect with your center of peace, love and unity, you will gradually experience a state of greater calmness, clarity and gratitude for your life and all of the good you can do for yourself when you have integrated mind, body, spirit and service within your being.
Mindfulness can be an active state of showing up in the world as well as a reflective state of being with you, alone or in nature. Being mindful of the moment, wherever you are allows you to be respectful of the process of others, without being caught up in their behaviors or imbalances. As we are more mindful, respectful, and loving, we invite the same behavior in others, creating an unspoken bond of fellowship to create peace for all our relations.