Mindfulness is simply about being present in the moment, observing our thoughts and emotions without judgement and without allowing our thoughts and feelings to dictate our actions. It is an investment of time, effort and energy. Being mindful is fundamental to several faiths, including Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islamic, Jewish and Taoist teachings. Mindfulness is a mental practice unrelated to any specific religion. Mindfulness is not meditation. Meditation is just one mindfulness practice. It is a mindset, a lifestyle, an integral part of your every day.
Mindfulness enables you to cultivate awareness, tolerance, acceptance, kindness and compassion. It increases resilience by rewiring your brain to respond to experiences positively and productively, instead of reacting in a way that can increase stress.
It does not take a long time to benefit from mindfulness. You can make significant progress in just one week of daily mindfulness meditation. Mindfulness can make you feel more relaxed, sleep better, worry less and cope better with challenges after only one session.
Mindfulness is not time-consuming. If you can find 10-15 minutes/day to practice mindfulness, you can make significant progress and dramatically reduce your stress levels. Even as little as 5-10 minutes a day will yield noticeable results.
Mindfulness is not about emptying your mind. Mindfulness is about noticing, accepting and letting go of your thoughts. Mindfulness is not a shortcut to happiness. Mindfulness can help reduce and even eliminate depression, anxiety and stress but only if we are willing to work at re-training our minds so that we can cope with whatever comes our way.
Mindfulness is not the only method you can use to cope with change, but it is one of the most effective ones. Mindfulness enables you to see more clearly what is happening in your life. It will not eliminate stress, but it can help you respond in a stress-diminishing way. It helps you to recognize and avoid habitual, often unconscious and unhelpful reactions to everyday events, thus improving your quality of life
By Vincent Baby
Blissful Workplace Coach
