Mindfulness
A Harvard study found people’s minds are wandering an average of 47% of the time, and that “a wandering mind is an unhappy mind.”
The goal is not to get read of your thoughts but to notice them and to relate to them differently.
Mindfulness is a natural capacity we all have to pay attention, without judgment to the present moment. It is rooted in ancient wisdom and practices. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy combines this ancient wisdom with cognitive behavioural methods developed in modern psychological science. When ancient wisdom and modern psychology come together they are no longer a set of ideas or practices but an illumination that guides us to be more present in our lives, with ourselves and with others, with clarity, kindness and ease.
How is mindfulness practised?
Mindfulness practice, like physical exercise, requires repetition and time to produce noticeable changes in everyday life. Over time, thanks to neuroplasticity, practising mindfulness can change the physical structure of one’s brain.
Mindfulness is practised mainly through consciously focusing one’s attention on a particular object, such as the breath, body, emotions, thoughts, or sounds, or by bringing an open and receptive attention to the coming and going of thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations.
The opposite of mindfulness is forgetfulness, wandering attention, or autopilot.
When practising mindfulness, the attention will naturally be pulled to stimuli that are greater than our capacity to stay focused on a chosen object (e.g. breath or body sensations). This will happen again and again. At some point, we notice or wake up to the fact that our attention has moved into such places as daydreaming, our to-do list or a recent argument with a friend. This is the crucial moment when one crosses over from automatic pilot to mindful awareness. Only then can we bring our attention back to our intended object of focus. This act of returning our attention, over and over again, is the central practice, the thing that builds our mindfulness
