Mindfulness

I have used the word a lot in my post about meditation. Mindfulness. Yeah, sounds great. But nobody knows what I mean exactly. Fair enough. It isn't that cut and clear. And that's because most of us are normally not mindful at all.

The best way I have seen it explained is by its opposite. The opposite of being mindful is being mindless. That means you are without a mind. You are not aware. You don't know what you are doing. In fact that is how a lot of people spend the day: they just go through the motions. Scatterbrained. Forgetful. Awkward. Stressed. We arrive at work and we don't know how we got here.

In the context of counting the breath I use the word to make you focus on your breath. You become mindful of your breath, your body. And that is the way your body and mind become one. That's new age talk for: they are doing the same thing for a change. That's meditation. But mindfulness doesn't stop there. You can be mindful anywhere doing anything.

Being mindful is about concentration. Your focus is on one thing. When you breathe, you know you are breathing. When you walk you know that your feet are touching the world. And if your thoughts stray, don't become annoyed: recognize it and be aware that you're distracted. (If you do become annoyed: fine. There it is. Acknowledge that too. Know it).

Difficult? No. Just try to do it. Do it now, when you're waiting for the elevator, the trafic light or the bus. Breath a couple of mindful breaths. Take a step and really know it. Look at something. A tree. Your hand. A picture. Really look. Breathe. It's fun. You'll feel great. You'll smile. Like magic. You'll not only feel alive. You'll really be alive.