Mindfulness is all the talk today. It seems like if you’re anyone in the spiritual world, you’re talking about mindfulness.
And there’s good reason. It’s really important. If you think about it, if mindfulness is awareness of the present moment, then really it’s everything. Because all there ever is is the present moment.
If this is your first time hearing this concept or you’d like a refresher, here’s an easy way to look at it.
The past already happened; when you think about the past, you’re thinking about it right now. The future hasn’t happened yet; when you think about the future, you’re thinking about it right now. It’s all now. It’s all only ever now. Conceptually, you can think “back” to remember or “forward” to an imaginary time; but you’re always doing it from the present moment.
The concept of mindfulness is to take quiet, deliberate steps to still the mind and return to the place where it all happens: right now. Ironically, it’s an emptying of the mind so that the full mind is available. I like this simple definition.
Mindfulness is simply being aware of what’s happening right now without wishing it were different.
James Baraz
I am always wary of anything that catches on like wildfire. Wildfires usually ignite with ferocity then burn themselves out, leaving a trail of destruction. They catch for good reason, but spread by proximity.
Is the mindfulness movement like a wildfire? Is it just a passing fad? Or is it the real deal?
Like any good fad, there are the leaders who get it (the trendsetters) and there are the followers who don’t (that’s what makes them followers, they’re still getting it). I see three main reasons why followers follow. 1, because they believe in the leaders, 2, because they believe in the leaders’ message, and/or 3, because everyone else is doing it or they feel pressured to do it.
Remember that great parental lesson regarding groupthink and peer pressure, “If so and so jumped off a bridge, would you?”
The human survival instinct is strong; to survive, our brains tell us, we must fit in. To our ancestors, fitting in could have meant not getting eaten or not starving to death. To us, it could mean jumping off a bridge and drowning to death or, less dramatically, following blindly.
If you’re reading this, you’ve probably at least heard of the concept of mindfulness, if not practiced it yourself. What do you think? Is it a fad, destined to suffer a fad’s fate, or does it have merit?
I decided to test it out for myself.
Does Mindfulness Really Work?
For this week’s post, I decided to gather my data from my own life.
I’ve practiced mindfulness on and off for a few years now, but this week I wanted to focus on it deliberately. I decided to practice mindfulness this past week whenever I thought about it, and then take note of what happened (if anything).
What “practicing mindfulness” means to me, is that I went about my business as usual but made a point to focus my attention on what I was doing, whenever I thought of it. Whether that was driving to work, sifting through emails, or having a conversation with someone. I made a point to focus my whole attention on the task at hand.
It’s particularly important to me to do it this way because I won’t teach or recommend anything that I haven’t tried myself and connected with on a personal level. So I decided to have fun with this week and test mindfulness out on my own life! Yay!
Here’s what I found out.
My Top 5 Favorite Benefits
Wouldn’t you know, it actually works.
I noticed lots of positive changes in just the short 5 days I was actively practicing. Here are my top five.
1. Connection with the Present Moment
This is my cliche section. I had to include it because it’s true. Yes, I’m going to be one of those people yammering on about how great being in the present moment is.
What’s so great about it?
One of the first things I noticed was clarity of mind. Focusing in on what is happening right now eliminates all the past and future mind chatter that runs in the background. It was like the dull hum of thoughts in the background stopped; thoughts I hadn’t been fully aware of until I shut my non-present thoughts up.
Clarity of mind led me to a greater sense of power. With a clear mind comes vision and direction and ability to focus. With the subtlest of force, I found myself able to direct my attention to anything I wanted. I could feel my own power. All of it comes from right here, right now.
With my personal power fueling a clear mind, deliberate creation becomes easy. I could feel myself as a powerful creator. I felt like a conduit for the creative forces of the universe. With the subtlest focusing of my mind and allowing my power to flow through me, I knew I could create anything. I also noticed that the timeline between thought and result got shorter. I created what I intended faster.
It’ll sound like a lot of fluff until you try it. So do something for yourself. Try it. I promise you, you will notice positive change. This shit works.
2. Connection with Other People
This one was probably my favorite.
With each conversation this week, I made a point to be fully present in the conversation. I focused on every word, intonation, facial expression, and gesture. I didn’t think about what I was going to say until the other person stopped speaking. I didn’t get distracted by the way they were saying it or how I might help finish their sentence. I just listened.
It was truly magical. I had an experience. I connected. I felt like I was truly there with them. Not off somewhere else in my mind. For me, I can tell you it doesn’t get much better than real connection with other human beings.
I love Oprah’s favorite greeting, “I see you.”
I saw them. They weren’t just another daily interaction to get through. They were a soul with a light and a purpose.
3. Improved Memory
As a child, my memory was impeccable. I still remember the parking area I was tasked with remembering from the cruise we went on when I was seven (1B South).
As I got older, I started to fill my brain with unproductive chatter that cluttered my mind and distracted me from the moment at hand.
This week, I noticed that when I made a point to deliberately focus on what I was doing and where I was (not what I did or didn’t do, or should have done, or am going to do), my brain freed up. I had an “aha moment” —
The brain remembers its experience, or what it’s focused on. If it’s distracted burning brain power on thought chatter, it’s not paying attention to what’s going on around it. So it won’t remember it! Because its experience was thoughts, not what was happening around it.
It was a relief to learn that my memory isn’t going; I just have to focus on what I want to remember.
4. A Desire to Be Me
I love this one. This one wins the award for most unexpected. I realized it as I was sitting at my desk at work, feeling myself in my body, noticing my surroundings without judgement; when it occurred to me that I only wanted to be me.
I wasn’t thinking about being a different version of me, or what a “better” version of me could or should look like. I was just being me. I wanted to be me, as I was, in that moment.
I can’t tell you how liberating and wonderful that feeling was. It felt like home. I was home in myself.
5. Greater Sense of Peace
Finally, overall my general sense from my week of deliberate mindfulness was that of peace. There is a peace in the present. The present moment is where it’s at. It’s where everything is happening. Always. Everything else is just a figment of our imaginations.
The present moment is a very peaceful place. There are no competing thoughts in your head wanting now to be different than it is. It just is. That is peace.
When you argue with reality you lose, but only 100% of the time.
Byron Katie
There was no arguing with reality, only existing in it. To sum it up, the overall seminment was, “All is well in the world.” I could feel the world’s wellness.
Lead Yourself through Mindfulness
The world is full of great leaders. The world is full of great followers. Great leaders are inspired to uplift themselves and, by example, others. Great followers become great leaders by learning from the great leaders they follow.
After all, we all lead at least one person — ourselves!
I lead myself by following great leaders, trying it out in my own life, and then making the decisions that are right for me. This week’s victim was my mindfulness practice.
How about you? Are you a leader? Are you a follower? Do you lead yourself?
From my own personal experience, I can recommend doses of mindfulness intermixed with your normal life as a good place to start cultivating the great leader inside of you – cliche, fad, or otherwise.