Mindfulness - Starting Out

“Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally”. Jon Kabat-Zinn

This implies that what is experienced, be it for example, the breath, bodily sensation, emotion, thought or event, is acknowledged, without judgement, as it occurs in the field of one’s attention.

The practice of mindfulness at specific times and at intervals throughout the day has been proven to help with amongst others, stress, pain reduction, anxiety and depression. Conscious awareness has also enabled individuals to develop more positive habits and outlooks as they become gradually aware of detrimental, habitual patterns of thought and action.

These are all added benefits, as first and foremost, mindfulness helps you to be fully present in the moment as it is happening right now.

Mindfulness helps to bring about what Thich Nhat Hanh calls “the unity of the body and the mind”. Often the body is here, but the mind is completely somewhere else.

Being lost in thought, caught up in regrets, fears, anger, anxiety, plans or perceptions, prevents you from being fully there for yourself or others. Awareness of what is occurring as it occurs, helps you over a period of time to not identify with feelings, emotions or thoughts as they arise. You begin to realize that you are not the pain you are feeling right now. You are not your anger or your happy feeling. The perceptions you hold onto, often hold you as a victim, and awareness of them, without judgement, loosens their grip.

As the breath is a link between the body and the mind it is a good friend to have when you start your practice.

Whether you practice at a set time every day for a certain number of minutes (5, 10 or 15 mins a session is more than enough to begin with); whether you practice once or twice a day; whether you practice seated in a particular chair with your back straight and your feet on the ground; whether you practice lying down upon waking or before going to sleep or both; whether you stop at brief intervals throughout the day for a few seconds - in all of these instances become aware of each breath as it enters your body and then as it leaves. Don’t worry if the breath is shallow or deep. Simply observe it and then repeat the process. Concentration on the in-breath and the out-breath is your practice. When your mind wanders off, notice it and then return your focus to the breath.

After a while you will begin to notice the length of your in-breaths and your out-breaths and the space of time in-between them. Do so without judgment.

After you become more familiar with this practice, you can extend your awareness to bodily sensations as they are occurring in your body. “Oh, my right knee is paining”. “There is a tingling in my neck”.

As you continue your practice over time, you can then extend your awareness to your emotions and thoughts. “I am livid with so-and-so”. “I have to plan for tomorrow’s meeting”. Observe these but do not engage them. By that I mean, do not allow yourself to get caught up in the emotion or go down the lane the thought is wanting to lead you. Simply, observe, and then return to a conscious awareness of the in and out breath if necessary.

A mindfulness practice helps you to observe yourself looking out at the world and all that living entails. Gradually and as your practice overflows into all you do, you are set free to experience life as it is happening right now and in this moment.

If you are able to set aside just over an hour to watch an excellent video on mindfulness by Jon Kabat-Zinn it can be found here.

There is much being written about mindfulness at the moment. If you would like to follow a blog, Elisha Goldstein’s “Mindfulness - Your Present Moment” is a good place to start.

The #mindfulness Daily has various sections with daily articles on mindfulness.

“You are here” by Thich Nhat Hanh is an excellent little book to read.

For those of you with an academic interest in mindfulness, the website of UCLA is a good one.

Mindfulness, I believe, is one of the major keys to a healthier society. If you have already started on a practice of mindfulness and have a favorite book, blog, website, idea, etc that you would like to share, please do so in the comments section below. Shared resources are an encouragement to those starting out with a mindfulness practice.

Plum Orchards in Stellenbosch

Stellenbosch, situated about 50 kilometres east of Cape Town, is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The soil, the hilly terrain and a Mediterranean type climate make the area around Stellenbosch an ideal area for growing grapes. The region is famous for wine making.

Here this week, one of the first things we did was go for a walk in the early morning. The mountains stood tall as they were bathed by the emerging rays of sunlight, the vineyards and olive groves greeted the dawn, but shouting out in all their glory were the plum orchards in blossom.

Plum blossoms are especially loved and celebrated in mainland China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.

Stepping into one of the orchards at the end of our walk was akin to being transported into that world where the plum symbolizes endurance and hope in the winter months and is associated with not only beauty and purity, but more especially with the transitoriness of life.

Attachment to any moment causes suffering and the plum blossoms were a reminder of the impermanence we soon notice as we begin to pay attention to each moment in a non-judgmental fashion. Bodily sensations occur and then disappear, feelings arise and then subside, thoughts come and go. Old systems are replaced by new ones, whole cultures are constantly adapting to a multitude of factors, perspectives evolve. 

Never ever again will this single moment be repeated in the way it has just occurred.  Never again will all the events that occurred simultaneously in this moment, occur simultaneously again.  A wink in Japan; a drop of snow in Lapland; the slightest movement of your head; the death of a star; any event no matter how great, no matter how small, brings about the combination of an infinite number of possibilities of happenings.

 

Soon the five petals of each flower on the plum trees will fall. The bedding will be changed and the white blanket will make way for the green. 

Thich Naht Hanh, when he first settled in France and began to lead mindfulness retreats, named the newly formed community Sweet Potato, the food that poor Vietnamese people ate. Acquiring a larger site soon became necessary and the new village was first named after the persimmon. When it was discovered that plum trees fared better on the rocky soil the name changed to Plum Village.

Thich Nhat Hanh has this to say about impermanence:

“Nothing remains the same for two consecutive moments........ Impermanence is good news. Without impermanence, nothing would be possible. With impermanence, every door is open for change."