What Is Midfulness?

Mindfulness

"All the troubles of man stem from his inability to sit quietly in a room"
Pascal

When you begin mindfulness and relaxation practices you may feel that you need to sit or lie completely still. This usually prompts itchy or fidgety feelings in the body. It's important not to see this as failure but as yet another opportunity to practise mindfulness. So you move your body with awareness, itch with awareness, settle again with awareness. It's all just moment to moment awareness, there is no right or wrong way. There is just
Mindfulness, present moment awareness without judgement.

The general idea is not to feel you have ‘to do’ anything, not to feel that you have a goal. When using Suí the idea is just to listen and let it happen. To practise just ‘being’. It's a nice change from trying to 'make’ things happen and trying to control.

When using mindfulness practices, you will probably be very aware of time, you may feel like you are just sitting, getting nowhere, your mind busier than ever, and you may even feel it is just a waste of time. Don't be put off by this. This is quite a normal reaction, it is not failure, it is learning.

Mindfulness is moment to moment awareness without judgement. Each time you actually notice the mind has wandered is a moment of mindfulness! This is exactly what the exercise is about. The more you notice the mind wandering and bring it back the more moments of mindfulness you are experiencing. Practising this repeatedly creates the habit of bringing the mind back. It is the direct opposite to the habit of distraction we've spent a lifetime cultivating.

“Mindfulness is awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment & non-judgementally to things as they are.”
Jon Kabat-Zinn

Eventually outside our formal Meditation session we begin to practise spontaneously throughout the day. So Meditation becomes a way of being.

This helps us to be a little more patient and realise why our daily sitting session is called Meditation practice. What is amazing is that after a while when you settle into your practice you lose awareness of time. This in itself brings a feeling of serenity. In such a busy world where we all feel so pushed for time it's very difficult to sit and lose track of time in comfort. If we set aside a specific amount of time for our daily practice, we need to be able to relax within that time frame, without being distracted by clock watching, even if it's just for five minutes.

Suí gives you numerous options all within specific time frames. Therefore it gives you the freedom to practise without distraction. The guided sessions help bring your focus back to the present moment, while your mind is soothed by tranquil tones.

The Silent and Immersion Meditations with the intermittent 'om' vibration of Tibetan healing bowls, allow you the freedom to time your own practice in a gentle manner conducive to stillness and mindfulness. As your mind wanders, the soft tones of the bowls call you back kindly to present moment awareness.

You could describe Mindfulness as 'conscious living'. If you're looking for an antidote to forgetfulness, Mindfulness is the answer. How often have you left one room in your house in search of something and found yourself in another room without any idea of what you came in for?

Basically while performing daily tasks we are very often not aware of what we are doing. Our minds are almost always elsewhere, we are distracted, preoccupied, and therefore find it hard to remember. Part of the reason we are so forgetful is because we operate on a daily basis in a mechanical and mindless manner. We go through the motions of 'doing' different tasks while our minds are busy elsewhere, very often wallowing in negative thoughts about the past or anxious thoughts about the future.

We wonder why time flies, yet we move through each day at a rapid pace in a distracted state. By not being fully present, moment by moment life quietly slips by. This leaves us with a feeling of discontentment, a feeling of being time-starved. Developing the habit of being aware allows us to see every moment as a new beginning, a new opportunity. This helps us counteract the feeling of being stuck or fed up. It helps create balance in the mind and frees us from limited thinking. In theory we know all of this, we have read all the books, however while theory informs us, we need practise to convince us. Suí is an invaluable tool to encourage you to begin and to develop a practice and to actually experience what you already know in your heart.

Shit will always happen...it's how we deal with it that matters. External circumstances may often be out of our control, but our thoughts can be within our control. We can learn not to get caught up in worrying or anxious thoughts, we can choose which thoughts we'd like to dwell on and we can learn to choose present moment awareness.

Sogyal Rinpoche, author of the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying informs us that just as clouds temporarily obscure our view of the clear blue sky so our thoughts obscure the clarity of our mind. It’s important to remember that both thoughts and clouds are transient. Practising Mindfulness meditation makes us aware that grasping at negative thoughts and emotions obstructs us, letting go gives us freedom. Remember, no matter what's going on in your life, it's ok to let go of your anxious thoughts just for this moment.

"we are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit" Aristotle

Benefits
One of the greatest benefits of mindfulness is that it can be used anywhere. Mindfulness Meditation is flexible and mobile. You do not need to be an experienced meditator to be mindful! However a regular Meditation practice helps you to bring Mindfulness into your daily life. As we develop the habit of practising mindfulness our aptitude for relaxing and letting go grows.

Several times a day, everyday, most of us experience inappropriate arousal of the ‘Stress Response’ in the body. During the ‘Stress Response’ there are increases in metabolism, heart rate, respiration and blood pressure. We rarely give ourselves an opportunity to release this stress, so it builds and builds and often leads to ill-health. It is widely accepted that inducing deep relaxation counteracts the effects of the ‘Stress’ or ‘Flight or Fight’ response. The simple practices on Suí ease the burden of accumulated stress in body and mind and restore a sense of balance.

Experiencing ‘Inner peace’ need not require years of training. It need not require sitting for extended periods in Meditation, it may be touched in one moment of Mindfulness. Inner peace is generally obscured by obsessive thinking and doing, but may be uncovered through stillness. Dr. Bernie Siegel, esteemed Surgeon and Author, strongly advocates meditation for Cancer patients. In his book ‘Love, Medicine and Miracles’ he says “I know of no other single activity that by itself can produce such great improvement in the quality of life’. I discovered this for myself through my own experience of recovery from illness.

We may dedicate our practice to someone or something. Some Buddhist traditions recite a dedication of merit prayer before their meditation, usually dedicating their meditation to the happiness of all beings. There is another way of using this technique which may be more suitable for the Irish amongst us, … as my mother used to say when I moaned about doing something I considered boring …"offer it up!"

Some of us feel selfish taking 'time-out' however, it’s important to remember that spending time with ourselves practising these sessions settles the mind. This makes us less reactive and more balanced which ultimately benefits others, especially those close to us. So you’re not just doing it for yourself!




“…..I was also very impressed with the booklet - very comprehensive yet simple and practical……”  Prof Mary Jo Kreitzer, Director, Centre for Spirituality & Healing, University of Minnesota’s School of Nursing.

 




Tell a Friend