Let’s do a quick experiment right now. Pause and pick a thought, any of the many meandering the mind. Would you disagree that it can be classified as either a regret of the past or a concern for the future? In our fast-moving lives, we often forget to take a step back and pause. We find ourselves sulking in the past, or worrying over what’s yet to come, or both. Often omitted is the now but now is the moment. The now is powerful for it’s all we have.
Practicing presence is mindfulness, it is the conscious and gentle steering of attention to observe the moment. It can translate to seeing the beauty of nothing and loving the ordinary. Gaze at a leaf as if you were to draw it, seeing through it. Feel as if you were to sculpt it with closed eyes. It’s all in the details. Mindfulness can also be a background to literally anything you’re doing i.e being intentional, recognizing the mind-wandering, and bringing your focus back to the now.
Basic Tool-Kit
Grounding mindfulness starts with engaging our basic senses and asking the questions like:-
What do I see? What form or shape is this? What colors do I notice? What do I smell? What do I hear? What do I taste? What’s the temperature like? What do I feel? How do I feel? Is my emotional state shading and biasing how I am perceiving this situation?
The essence is to let go of judgment and simply observe instead of immediately categorizing it into pleasant/unpleasant, good/bad, like/dislike, safe/threat.
A lot of what we experience is formless. This is no other-worldly occurrence, routine examples are thinking, emoting, learning, breathing, etc. Seamless is the sliding from form to formlessness and vice versa. For example, feeling sad is formless, crying may be one of its forms. Transition is of the essence, a reflection of flow, the presence of nature.
An anchor of connection can be anything that wheels you to the now. An excellent example is breathing, the pilot of awareness. Romanticized versions of a few personal favorite anchors include taking in the aroma of coffee at a cozy cafe, the song of the birds, the sound of the rain, raindrops on my skin, wind brushing through, standing barefoot on the cold wet earth and the feel of paper while reading a novel.
Single-Tasking
It is easy and has sadly become normal to feel overwhelmed with the myriad of issues we face in the form of deadlines, submissions, plans, failures, and expectations. This, if not managed, can manifest as pain, stress, anxiety, and a general feeling of dismay, a spiral of negativity. This is where mindfulness says,” Take baby steps.” Monotasking is the new multitasking, putting this out there is pivotal. It is scientifically backed that we, as humans, yield better results in the quality of performance and the quantity of (lesser) time taken when focusing on one task at hand as compared to juggling with multitasking. Nobody’s saying ‘keep it small’ or ‘don’t be ambitious’, rather it is the act of focusing on the step in front of you and not the whole staircase. It is knowing what you want while falling in love with the process. One day at a time, baby.
Debunking Myths
Not time-consuming
Why do we always blame it on time? I mean, seriously, get out of your head. No, mindfulness does not take up a lot of your time. It is simple and easy to incorporate. Start with just a few minutes and experience its profundity for yourself. For me, my initial chapters felt long, really long, I felt like I had perceived so much but it turns out only five minutes had passed since. Our sense of time is distorted, especially, in unfamiliar territory.
Not an escape
Mindfulness is not blinding positivity that cures all. In fact, it calls for one to sit with whatever be the situation. It is a practice of staying with the situation, knowing that it’ll eventually pass. It is recognizing that although we can’t control all that’s happening to us, yet we hold sway on our reaction and responses. This pacifies our auto-pilot mode of impulsivity and rush to any perceived danger.
For everyone
Well again, this is a practice. You’ve got to give it time and be consistent.
The virtue of Being
This seemingly small practice enhances both, your mental and physical well-being. With an improved sense of savoring, you’re more appreciative and satisfied with life. Being present, you build meaningful conversations and interact better. Mindfulness-based stress-reduction has shown to lower anxiety among individuals. It is a key element in treating depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, etc.
Yesterday is today’s memory, and tomorrow is today’s dream.
~Kahlil Gibran
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