"Many people are alive but don't touch the miracle of being alive." -Thich Nhat Hanh
Be present! Be alive! Celebrate life!
So often in life we get a sense of time passing quickly, oftentimes without our clear awareness of so much passing of time. We can actually miss out on important events by being too preoccupied with life, career, relationships, worries, etc.
Mindfulness is about living in the moment, appreciating all the little moments in life that often get overlooked or ignored. It's about objectively observing our world -- with grace, compassion, gratitude, acceptance.
To be "mindful" takes the work a bit deeper -- to move toward a way of being (and we are Human Beings) in which our emotions, thoughts, and actions reflect a calmness and a focus on the present moment. The good news? Research suggests that obtaining a mindful brain can lead to a happier and more productive life.
While mindfulness is rooted in Buddhist and Hindu teachings, it does not have any religious aspects to it other than developing an appreciation for cherishing our time on this planet. Elements of mindfulness have been incorporated into several mental health practices, including Cognitive Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, among others.
The core elements of mindfulness are awareness and acceptance. Awareness of things happening in the present moment and acceptance of that awareness and any related thoughts. To be able to do these things, however, takes practice.
1. Being Fully Present. We tend to live in a world in which we think we can multitask, but the reality is we can only do one thing at a time, and if we are going to practice mindfulness, the first thing we have to do is take ourselves off of autopilot and into the moment.
2. Letting Go of Judgment. Our goal, which we may not be able to accomplish initially, is simply to take on the role of an observer. It's learning we do not need to label everything we observe as good/bad, happy/sad, etc. We can simply observe and take note.
3. Being Patient With the Process. The key is trusting the process. You can certainly start mindfulness with an intention -- such as being more aware of the moments in your day -- but don't make that intention a goal you judge yourself against. It takes time to create new brain habits.
4. Trusting Yourself. Take note of your feelings, emotions, observations during your mindfulness, and trust your intuition about what you are observing. Trust in your abilities to make this practice something useful in your life.
5. Acceptance. As the observer, your goal is not to act or be change-maker, it is simply to observe and accept what you see and feel.
2. Stress Reduction. We often live in an almost non-stop world, with deadlines, meetings, and more -- all clamoring for attention; mindfulness slows the world down, brings calm and peace.
3. Better Health. We live in a world filled with chemicals, toxins, and other elements that can affect our health; mindfulness has been shown to help lower blood pressure, strengthen the immune system, improve digestion.
4. Enhanced Creativity and Problem-Solving. We often are moving from one project to another, nonstop; mindfulness forces us to stop, reflect, perhaps find one or more new perspectives and solutions.
5. Sharper Focus and Better Memory. We can easily get caught up in the people and projects around us, losing focus on key issues; with mindfulness, we have the ability to focus and retain more.
6. Enriched Sleep. We seem to be a society in which sleep is sometimes elusive, as all the issues of the world seem to hit us as we hit our pillows; mindfulness is the perfect tool for calming the mind and the body and preparing for a deep sleep.
7. Improved Self-Esteem. We are constantly being bombarded with messages about how we can be better, more successful, thinner; mindfulness has been shown to boost self-esteem, self-worth, and contentment with life.
8. Happier Relationships. We are social creatures, needing love and connections, and yet we often take so many of these relationships for granted; mindfulness helps us not only appreciate all the little things people do for us, it also helps us overlook/downgrade people's flaws and annoying habits.
Finally, for those who like proof, in a review of more than 400 previous studies on the subject, mindfulness was identified as an effective mental health tool for helping most people improve their physical and psychological well-being.
Dr. Randall S. Hansen is an educator, author, and advocate, as well as founder and CEO of
EmpoweringSites.com,
a network of empowering and transformative Websites, including EmpoweringAdvice.com.
Dr. Hansen's latest book, Triumph Over Trauma, is available in paperback and ebook versions.
Dr. Hansen has been helping empower people to achieving success his entire adult life.
He is also founder of EnhanceMyVocabulary.com,
MyCollegeSuccessStory.com, and
EmpoweringRetreat.com.
He is a published author, with several books, chapters in books, and hundreds
of articles. Dr. Hansen is also an educator, teaching business
and marketing at the college level for more than 25 years. Learn more by visiting his personal Website,
RandallSHansen.com. You can also check out
Dr. Randall Hansen on LinkedIn.
