Moment by Moment by Moment

What is Mindfulness?
How do I do it?

Blowing a dandelion

What are you doing right now? Probably sitting down reading this. But what else are you doing? Thinking? Eating? Listening to music? Spending time with your family? Planning the rest of your day?

What if you paid full attention to one thing at a time? You can do it now: Bring your attention to the way your body feels in the chair. Feel your feel on the floor. Now, bring your attention to the sounds in the room at this moment. Now move your awareness to the way your breath feels. This is the practice of mindfulness.

"Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way: On purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally."

This is Jon Kabat-Zinn's definition of mindfulness. Kabat-Zinn, if you haven't heard of him, he is the founder of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. He also wrote the books Wherever You Go, There You Are, and Coming to our Senses.

Mindfulness is a term used to describe the practice of bringing one's awareness back (from thoughts of the past or the future or distraction of any kind) into the present moment. This practice trains your brain, so to speak. It isn't that you want to forget about the past or future, it's more about bringing a balance to your awareness. Most people spend only a little time right here. Right now.

This moment is where you live your life. You're not breathing in the past or the future, you're breathing now. You don't feel sensations in your body in the past or future, you feel them now. Emotions too. Future, past, they don't really exist except in your mind. This moment is the only real thing. Tomorrow, or the next moment, will be experienced in what we call the here and now. When? Now. Where? Here.

Being mindful is just what it sounds like. Letting your mind be full with what you are doing. Mindfulness can be practiced formally as a meditation, and can also be practiced while you are engaged in activity, at any time in almost any situation. You can be mindful of the sensations in your feet while walking or the feeling of warm soapy water on your hands while doing dishes. Simply notice all sensations while witnessing the mind's usual judgments and continual commentary. This helps the mind's ability to stay in the present moment.

Let's look at the practice of eating mindfully - do this at your next meal. Sit down and become purposefully aware of the process of eating. Deliberately notice the way your body is positioned, the sensations in your body, and the mind and body's responses to those sensations. When you take your first bite notice all the sensations: see the food, hear the food, touch the food, smell the food, and of course taste the food. You might notice the mind wandering, and when it does, you can purposefully bring your attention back to the eating. The Buddha gave instructions to monks to take meals silently, with no books or conversations to distract them, only an awareness of what their body needs to get through the day. But you don't have to be Buddhist to practice mindful eating. (Read more about Mindful Eating here) ... Practice, practice, practice.

Have you ever sat down to lunch only to talk about what will be happening for dinner? Have you ever sat down to eat a meal and suddenly looked down and your food was gone, and you didn't remember eating the whole thing? That is the opposite of mindfulness! When you eat without awareness, you may in theory know you are eating, but your mind might be somewhere else. You might be thinking about other things or be watching TV, talking, or reading - or all of those. So a very small part of your awareness is absorbed with eating, and perhaps you are only barely aware of the physical sensations and even less aware of your thoughts and emotions. We can even miss the whole experience.

Why would someone want to practice mindfulness? It has been proven to be effective in many research projects leading to:

Increased self-awareness, self-trust, and self- acceptance
Enhanced appreciation of life
Serenity in the face of difficulties
Lasting decreases in a variety of stress-related physical symptoms, including chronic pain
Significant decreases in anxiety and depression
Improved concentration and creativity
Improved immune system functioning
Decreased symptoms secondary to cancer
More accepting attitude toward life and its challenges

Now who wouldn't want that?