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Perhaps the Most Important Self-Practice Today: Mindfulness

What is Mindfulness?

The editorial staff of the Mindful magazine define mindfulness this way: “Mindfulness
is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what
we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going
on around us.” What is Mindfulness?

This definition is written in Psychology Today: “Mindfulness
is a state of active, open attention on the present. When we are mindful, we
carefully observe our thoughts and feelings without judging them as good or
bad .. It means living in the moment and awakening to our current experience,
rather than dwelling on the past or anticipating the future.”

Why Is It So Important Today?

It is ironic that, in trying to calm the very hectic pace of our lives — in
trying to feel more serenity in our lives — we do that by adding yet more things
to do: reading more self-help articles, taking more classes, and undertaking
even more stressful diets and exercises. Yet, for believers in mindfulness,
the “answer” to finding more serenity is in just not trying to find
it. It is in just noticing what’s around us now without a lot of thinking about
it. Practitioners of mindfulness have found that living in the present is much
more serene and satisfying as constantly living one step ahead of yourself.

They have also found that they get just as much — if not more — done in their
lives and what they get done is often more important, than just urgent. But
most of us are not at all receptive to a practice that is so contrary to what
we’ve been taught and how we’ve lived our lives so far. Without knowing it,
we’re doing that old adage of working harder, rather than smarter; of doing
the same thing over and over again, and of expecting different results each
time.

For too many of us, we realize that insight only after suddenly suffering a
significant physical ailment. Yet, we believe that “solutions” to
complex problems have much have complex solutions. Or, at least, they must come
from experts, certainly not from ourselves — and they should be darn expensive,
as well.

For some countries and cultures, they have practicing mindfulness, especially
through the form of meditation, for millennia. Much longer than our country
was formed. Perhaps they learned the practice through frustration, confusion
and pain like many of us are experiencing today. Yet today, research continues
to show the benefits of more mindful approaches, such as meditation and eastern
practices such Tai Chi and Yoga — practices you can understand and do with
yourself or with others.

How Do You Practice It?

We live in a busy world. With emails and texts flying all around as you are stepping over your children’s toys and trying to get the dog fed while the food on the table is getting cold, you probably feel stressed out on a daily basis.

Fortunately, there is a simple habit you can use to naturally calm yourself down and appreciate life a bit more.

It’s called mindfulness.

Mindfulness is the practice of purposefully focusing all of your attention on the current moment, and accepting it without judgment. This is a great place to start if you are looking for the key element in happiness.

Done correctly, mindfulness will allow you to decrease your stress and anxiety, minimize the amount of time that you spend feeling overwhelmed, and help you appreciate each small moment as it happens. In a world of chaos, mindfulness might just be the trick you need to learn to be able to cope with the madness.

20 Benefits of Mindfulness

  • 1. Mindfulness reduces rumination and overthinking.
  • 2. Mindfulness alleviates some stress.
  • 3. Mindfulness improves memory, concentration, and performance.
  • 4. Mindfulness helps with emotional reactivity.
  • 5. Mindfulness promotes cognitive flexibility.
  • 6. Mindfulness creates happier relationships.
  • 7. Mindfulness reduces anxiety.
  • 8. Mindfulness improves sleep.
  • 9. Mindfulness promotes mental health.
  • 10. Mindfulness provides pain relief.

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