It feels like there is a lot to learn about Mindfulness.
And yet, there’s not.
As always, I continue to struggle with the best way for me to center myself. So I started paying attention to what others do.
I’m going to share what Gretchen Rubin decided in her The Happiness Project, with some added back up from mindfulness gurus.
Ellen Langer, the mother of mindfulness –
Mindfulness is just paying attention. It is an activity of the continuous creation of new categories, openness to new information and an implicit awareness of more than one perspective.
According to Kabat-Zinn (guru of mindfulness) –
“Mindfulness is paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally.”
Note- Mindfulness is different than meditation. And there is mindfulness meditation. Etc. Etc. Etc.
Both meditation and mindfulness use the breath as a tool to connect with your body.
Simpler approaches…..
It comes down to being aware. It’s a sacred experience, not a religious one.
With mindfulness, you are an observer of your body, your surroundings, or your object of focus.
What I love about Ruben’s conclusion, much like Langer’s, is that mindfulness can be what ever you make it to be.
If you can’t sit and meditate, then don’t.
If you can’t focus on an object, then don’t.
If you don’t like spending time in nature, then don’t.
Ruben finds her mindfulness through keeping track of her daily projects, among some other fun things. Others do it through journaling, etc.
The point, …. Mindfulness is Anything to “jolt yourself out of automatic behavior and awaken sleepy parts of your mind.” GR, p 238.
Now I see that most hobbies are a fabulous source of mindfulness. (So I have stopped being judgmental of hobbies that seem silly to me.)
Make Mindfulness yours….
Honor What Ever Awakens You!