MIND-BODY-SPIRIT
Mindfulness in Everyday Life BY PATRICIA ULLMAN ©2021 The main point of practicing mindfulness-awareness medi- tation is to benefit yourself and your world. That may seem like a lofty goal, but if you limit your meditation practice to the oc- casional mental escape, like a mini-vacation or visit to the spa, its effect is only temporary and its usefulness unclear. The re - turn to your stressful responsibilities can almost immediate- ly overwhelm any sense of benefit from the meditation session. What does it mean, then, to “benefit yourself and your world” by meditating regularly? Escape-type meditations, like gentle guided visualizations and sounds, can help people to relax, escape from the loop of stressful thoughts, and calm their breathing and heart rate. This is all helpful and at times is what’s most needed. But mindful - ness-awareness meditation fosters a deeper, more systemic change that benefits our bodies and our minds and ultimately helps others. This systemic change comes from realizing that there is nowhere better than this present moment. You might imagine or wish for some- thing else, but there’s no getting around the fact that you are only alive right now. If you’re chronically unaware of this truth, you dwell in a mental picture, or idea, of yourself and your life, instead of engaging bravely and openly with what’s actually happening. You practice let- ting go of this made-up story by engaging in mindfulness meditation. Every time you notice your habitual thoughts and bring your atten- tion back to here, now–your body, your breath, your senses–you’re taking the reins of your life and riding its energy with awareness. Therefore, it’s important to understand what you are doing when you sit down to meditate. Rather than trying to escape your life, or
yourself, you are stopping to meet yourself in a sim- ple and direct way, just as you are. You may feel good, or anxious, or an- gry–many things–but you embody kindness to your- self just in the simple act of sitting down and letting yourself be, as you are, in that moment. It’s a simple act and yet it’s revolution- ary and transformative. Whatever thoughts and feelings come up during the session, they are greet- ed kindly, neither pushed away nor followed. Then you return to your breath and body, again and again, just here, right now. Every time you notice that you were
caught in thoughts, carried away from this simple present situation of sitting and breathing, you strengthen your ability to be wake- ful during your life. If you live your life without any awareness of what you are thinking, you are almost like a robot, driven from one thought to the next in an endless and mindless chain reaction. Wak- ing up to your thoughts as thoughts empowers you to have choices
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PATHWAYS—Summer 21—25
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