Right Mindfulness May Make My Mind Finally Right
When one considers the Buddha's Right Mindfulness, what comes to mind is the idea of thinking nothing. To have a blank emotional state of mind, however, being emotional human beings, makes us always having something in our minds. Thus, Right Mindfulness seems like a daunting task of thinking nothing. This is not what the Buddha had in mind when he spoke of Right Mindfulness. Notable, Huston Smith, author of The World's Religions, expressed it best when he wrote, "If we maintain a steady attention to our thoughts and feelings, we perceive that they swim in and out of our awareness, and are in no way permanent parts of us. We should witness all things non-reactively, especially our moods and emotions, neither condemning some nor holding on to others (110). In other words, Right Mindfulness is not to keep a blank emotional mind, however, to have our thoughts brought forward and learn to process them in an independent and nonjudgmental way. When considering this for my journal, I choose Right Mindfulness because I always seem to have my mind full of negative and judgmental thoughts about myself which affects me, such as taking a test.
To start with, I am aware that I have negative thoughts of mistakes I have made. Such as,
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However, in trying this exercise of right mindfulness with my last exam, I was a more aware of my subtle changes of thoughts and mood. With this in mind, when a new exam recently came up, I would be aware of the moment and my feelings and stop these thoughts from overwhelming me with negativity and affect my performance on my test. Thus, this time around, I notice that when taking the exam, I was less emotional and stressed and did better overall on my exam as opposed to previously when I would have
This is noted because the words for “mindfulness” themselves are varied and textured and come in many different definitions, as well as narratives. Having noted that, it is interesting to see that the same thing can be found in the Western tradition of understanding mindfulness in the third-wave psychotherapies.
Throughout this book, Thich Nhat Hanh talks about one being mindful. Anyone would define this term, being mindful means to acknowledge what you are doing, why you are doing it and so forth. Alternatively, mindfulness is also an agent of healing, just like The Holy Spirit, also being an agent of healing. It means to be understanding at a new level for yourself, to see from a new perspective and listen more deeply than you had previously. Mindfulness is not just knowing what you are doing and not being ignorant of something that is going on in the world, or not helping others when they are in need. As Thich Nhat Hanh wrote, the concept of being happy to be alive, and being thankful for the world we live on, and being thankful to God by taking care of ourselves is a way of being “mindful.” Being mindful is something that I can relate with my religion and co-relate to. As a Catholic, I already can perceive the Holy Spirit as a healing agent. I can apply being mindful in my life by, praying for the help of the Holy Spirit to help me, when I am in need of help or wisdom. Among other things, like taking care of others and myself both physically and spiritually. I can also take this concept in my faith by praising God, and thanking him for all that I have in my life.
Mindfulness helps us achieve a balance between the two. For example, many of us develop stress because of things that may have gone wrong in the past OR we may develop stress because we are unsure about the future or if there is something expected to happen in our future that we are not looking forward to or are not comfortable thinking about. What mindfulness does is that it allows us to reduce our stress and anxiety related to issues in our past or anticipated issues in our future. It helps us recognize that it is the present - the now - that is actually more important. If we fail to pay attention to our now, our life can spin out of control making our future even more complicated and our past efforts completely
Over twenty-five hundred years ago, Buddha Guatama practiced meditation and came to what is known as “The Four Noble Truth,” an important principle in Buddhism (Elder, 2010). This principle informs the reader of what suffering is and how affect is. This is a great example of how valuable meditation is- on the very first session ever recorded, the awareness that came from it would later be the foundation of a new religion. This proves how powerful meditation can be. Furthermore, some form of meditation can be found in various religions. Although the styles, techniques, and ideology behind the meditation can vary per religion, personal transformation is the key goal (Modi, Singh, 2012). Today, in Western society, mindful meditation (a form of meditation) has grown in popularity, used for relaxation and to help treat those who suffer from mental illness’ and mood disorders. Viewed as alternative medicine for the mind and soul, it is beneficial for our emotional and mental
For thousands of years people have practiced mediation for spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being. Albeit there are many mediation types, in this paper I will be discussing and focusing on mindfulness mediation. Before further exploring mindfulness mediation, it is crucial to define mediation as a whole. Tang, Holzel, & Posner, 2016 state “Meditation can be defined as a form of mental training that aims to improve an individual’s core psychological capacities, such as attentional and emotional capacities” (p.213). Having that in mind, we can dive into mindfulness mediation. Mindfulness meditation is defined as “nonjudgmental attention to present-moment experiences (Tang, Holzel, & Posner, 2016).” A useful analogy to consider is going to the gym, going to the gym allows one to enhance the body, well similarly, practicing mindfulness is akin to taking the mind to the psychic gym, it enhances it. Mindfulness meditation involves focusing on your breathing and then bringing your mind’s attention to the present all while dismissing discursive thoughts and maintaining a special focus on breathing.
Mindfulness is an ideal that has been present for thousands of years (positivepsychologyprogram.com). It has roots in almost every major religion: Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and most renown, Buddhism and Hinduism (positivepsychologyprogram.com). Psychology Today defines mindfulness as “a state of active, open attention on the present.” Dr. Shauna Shapiro during a TEDx Talk defines mindfulness as “intentionally paying attention with kindness” (Shapiro, S., 2017). Mindfulness has many principles involved with it, but the short version is to be aware. It is to be aware of the present moment deliberately. Jon Kabat-Zinn, considered the father of the western movement for mindfulness by some, defines mindfulness as, “Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way; On purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally” (Bodhipaksa, 2007). We, as humans, get caught up in the business of life; so, we need to stay oriented to the present. Another way to describe this is “acting with awareness rather than on ‘automatic autopilot’” (Caldwell, et al, 2010). Mindfulness is non-judgmental about life. Mindfulness is to not be over-reactive by what’s going on around us (mindful.org). Mindfulness is being non-reactive to your environment. There are many things that stem from this thinking,
Mindfulness is a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, as a therapeutic technique. The M square, as I call it, which stands for Mindfulness and Meditation is making an impact on today’s society, as it has been used by more people with each passing day. They are starting to acknowledge the benefits, some of which are the improvement in both mental and physical health, acceptance of one’s self, lower stress and depression, and maybe more, but to mention a few. Not excluding these two great men: Dr. Martinez, a Biocognitive Psychologist, and Keith Mitchell, an ex-American football linebacker in the National Football League. Both Dr. Martinez and Keith are strong supporters and practitioners of meditation and mindfulness.
The “empty mind” for example is an extremely common misunderstanding concept of the meditation. Just to be clear right now. You can not empty your mind. Never. Ever. There will always appear ideas and other contents to your mind, including straight thoughts, intentions, opinions, plans and will arrive more subtle phenomenons like feelings. Moreover, don’t forget that when you meditate, you are using your mind. Probably you don’t let yourself to think about the tasks what are waiting for you, but you are paying attention to your senses, to your breath, or in some meditations to your thoughts as well!
From personal experience, mindfulness meditation gives me a feeling of obtaining a healthy mind and body from the attention and peace I obtained. Such feelings resulting from proper practice of mindfulness meditation is not limited to my own testimony though. According to the Satipatthana Sutra, those who practice such in-and-out breathing become “ardent, aware, and mindful” (“Satipatthana Sutra,” Accessed on 2010). However, it is unclear whether such reported experience is genuine or has effect, or if such mindfulness meditation is similar to a placebo effect.
To begin with, mindfulness is when someone can pay attention to the present moment “without being devoted to different points of view” (Martin, 1997). Along with staying focused on the present moment, mindfulness is when the particular person does not judge the current experience as the person tries to comprehend the present situation. Mindfulness makes a person reflect on one’s self by not only figuring out one’s thoughts, but also the feelings that go along with it. The complex nature of mindfulness demonstrates that it has multiple purposes that cultivates a person into realizing the potential of the brain (Davis & Hayes,
Mindfulness involves accepting our thoughts and emotions without judgment, and without believing that there is a right or wrong way to feel in a given situation. Our thoughts and emotions are not labeled as good or bad. They are observed as simply happening until they pass. While practicing mindfulness one does not rehash the past or imagine the future. Attention is focused on what is being sensed in the present moment. There is a sense of self apart from things. Mindfulness is moment to moment awareness and purposefully placing attention on things that we wouldn’t normally give a second thought to. Mindfulness can be thought of as a way of being, rather than an activity. It is the awareness of wondering thoughts and purposefully directing them back, rather than letting them
It provides the necessary tools for you to be successful in listening to your inner self and in becoming more aware of the moment you are in without passing judgement on yourself or others. It is not a “one size fits all” book. It offers a variety of tips and techniques that even the worst skeptic of mindfulness may find beneficial. Authors: S.J. Scott & Barrie Davenport have produced this book in an instructive format. Each mindfulness step begins with the reasons why it is important and the benefits one may receive from practicing it.
In the past two decades, many philosophers, spiritual leaders, and psychological transitions have accentuated the importance of the quality of consciousness for the maintenance and enhancement of well-being. One of the characteristics of consciousness that has been discussed in relation to well-being is mindfulness. In concentration with the psychology discipline, mindfulness meditation practices have been increasingly used to treat a majority of pain, stress and anxiety-related conditions and also, increasing well-being. The ideology of mindfulness meditation has core roots in Buddhist philosophy and other pensive traditions where awareness and conscious attention are actively cultured (Brown, Kirk Warren,2003).
What are your thoughts, views, musings and experiences etc. regarding meditation? As we all can learn from each other when it comes to sharing ways of creating a healthy, happy and vibrant life work balance.
It is never easy to admit you’ve made a mistake, but it is a crucial step in learning, growing, and improving yourself. You can only learn from a mistake after you admit you’ve made it. As soon as you start blaming other people, you distance yourself from any possible lesson or reason. In the article “How to identify and learn from your mistakes” Berkun explains why it is hard to admit that you’ve made a mistake. “It’s never easy to admit you’ve made a mistake, but it’s a crucial step in learning, growing, and improving yourself. If you be honest and tell the truth that you make a mistake, the possibilities for learning will move towards you. (Berkun). In the article “Berkun” Berkun explains why telling the truth on making a mistake will help you learn more from