Mindfulness: Your Inner Source of Happiness

When thinking about the concept of Mindfulness and its power to teach acceptance for what is, I wondered who it would interest and the following people come to mind, obviously:

• those who are curious about Mindfulness and would like to try meditation,

Those wishing to open another path to recovery,

• those who suffer from stress, anxiety or depression,
• those who are trying to overcome childhood hurts or addictions,

and, lastly ideas for those who have the most important of jobs!

• Parents with young children who can miss the pleasures in those early years. Learn more about mindful parenting.

Mindfulness is an inner resource that can help to overcome many of life's curved balls and, is about developing and applying the skills needed to support one's freedom and happiness.

Jon Kabat-Zinn is a Professor of Medicine Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. He developed, in 1979, the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programme and defined Mindfulness simply as :

• "Paying attention in a particular way :
• On purpose :
• In the present moment and,
• Non-judgmentally"

Many studies have since shown the benefits of MBSR in cardiovascular disease, depression, addictions and other conditions, such as chronic pain.

Mindfulness becomes much more powerful than distraction for tolerating pain, more often than not, the sensory side of chronic pain will reduce as well. Instead of turning away from pain, you give it your full attention and extraordinarily, its releases it grip on you.

Please note that a trained Psychotherapist or instructor to guide you, when needing help for serious problems is the sensible, safe choice.

The University of Massachusetts Medical School has a list of practitioners.

Mindfulness aims to shut out the noise, it is a technique which enables mental clarity, thereby enhancing concentration and focus, by using breathing skills practiced in yoga and meditation.

• It is paying attention to the present and removing clutter from the brain to make room for creativity and clarity.
• In the workplace today, we have uncertainty and instability, pressure and information overload. As the pace of change accelerates, mindfulness training allows one to focus on the moment, rather than allowing the mind to wander, or be over run by past thoughts or worries for the future.
• Stopping the overload and functioning on autopilot.
  How scary is it find that you remember getting into your car, and now have reached your destination - but cannot remember anything of what happened on the way?

The aim of the breathing exercises is to become more aware of your thoughts and feelings, without judging or fighting them, thereby enabling better management without being overwhelmed by them.

As an aside, the US Military, recognises that mindfulness training it is an effective form of mental discipline and offers it to their marines before deployment. So if you thought it was airy-fairy, mumbo jumbo - it's not.

Introductory Training in Mindfulness

When asked by Time Magazine, Dr. Kabat-Zinn said, "In the beginning, the most prevalent experience is becoming aware of how mindless you are and how many impulses you have to distract or entertain yourself, to fix or change what is happening, so that you don’t have to tolerate this moment the way it actually is."

Pausing, is baby steps and the alert experience stops your thoughts from wandering and trains your mind to focus sharply in the present and watch for distraction.

Pausing: Pausing can just take a few seconds at first, take a single deep breathe so that your stomach rises.
Observe: Did you remain focused - if not refocus.
Objective: Use the pause to bring your focus back into the present moment in the midst of your day.

Therapists agree that training attention and awareness will, over time, enhance cognitive functioning and assist in supporting emotional balance, thereby creating ease and happiness in life.

Focus on the small things that you do in your life.

Washing up, instead of letting your mind wander, or being annoyed because nobody washed their dishes, just concentrate on what you are doing, breathe deeply.

If you mind wanders bring it back to what you are doing, if irritated thoughts creep in, change them to a good thought, such as how lucky you are to have a family and they'll be happy you did the washing for them, then re- focus on what you are doing.

Kindness, the Essential Ingredient, both toward yourself and others.

Learning to quiet and calm the mind and cultivate positive emotions like appreciation, gratitude and enjoyment, will bring these benefits to you.

The key points in Mindful Meditation are:

A Quiet Environment. Choose a quiet place either indoors or out, where you can be without interruptions.
A Comfortable Position. Sit up straight, either in a chair with your feet flat on the floor, or sit on the floor perhaps cross-legged, or the lotus position.
Find a Point of Focus. Anything may be used, internal such as a feeling or scene, or something external such as a candle flame, or other object. You can close your eyes or keep them open, or choose a word or phrase that you repeat throughout your session to enhance your concentration.
An Attitude that is Observant and non-judgemental. Don't worry about the ebb and flow of your thoughts, if they intrude your relaxation session, gently turn your attention back to your point of focus.

Another benefit worth mentioning, is that Mindfulness can help you see and make connections that were not apparent to you in the past:

Many people have learned to block out feelings, or don't recognise an emotion until it becomes extreme.

Mindfulness gives you the opportunity to observe and work with emotional chain reactions and triggering.

You will see and make connections between perception, thought, memory, emotion and impulses - and prevent your mind and body from going out of control without you knowing why.

When you are stressed, or anxious, or in emotional or physical pain, do the following for a few minutes - ideally you need to work up to 30 minutes, morning and evening. At this stage relax for whatever time makes you comfortable.

Clearly, changing your awareness and focus, will loosen the grip of habitual response patterns, be it alcohol, drugs or food and, bring greater freedom to choose how you respond to the inevitable unpleasant and unwanted experiences in life, work and relationships.