What Is Mindfulness?

What would it be like to spend a few minutes simply being present, without judging what you notice? Jim describes mindfulness as being aware of the present moment and accepting it with curiosity and compassion rather than judgment. He talks about how often we distract ourselves, and how worry about the future and rumination about the past pull us away from now. He suggests a short breathing meditation or a body scan as places to start, and says practices like yoga and meditation help us stay connected to our bodies. This content is educational and is not a substitute for one to one professional care.

Transcript

Of a challenge for you. What would you spend a few minutes just being present in the moment? Being as aware as possible. But not judging, Not judging whether it's good, Not judging whether it's bad, Just observing and accepting. What would that be like? Have you ever done that? What I'm talking about is basically a foundational practice in mindfulness. It's something you may not have heard of. You may be more familiar with something like meditation. Meditation is a practice that's part of mindfulness. But the goal of mindfulness is to become aware, Presently aware in the moment of what's happening. But what's also key, As I said, Is to not judge it. And I know especially in Western society, We are very good at judging. We are very good at being labeled things good or bad. But what would it be like if you just accepted things for what they were? And I know this is not something that is going to be easy initially but do it for five minutes do it for a half an hour go for a walk and just Experience what's happening on the walk without judging it. What would that be like? What would you notice? What would you be aware of? The reality is most people are aware is that. Especially these days with devices, Is a lot of us love to be distracted. We use certain tools, We use certain things to distract ourselves from ourselves. And that's probably because we don't like, There's something going on we're not comfortable with, We don't like what we see, We don't like how we feel, We don't like some aspect of our life, So we try to just distract ourselves. And I think now more than any other time that I've been aware of, It's become a real issue where people are just in this perpetual state of distracting themselves. So it's all the more important why now. Especially with the rates of anxiety and depression so high, That we would stop and not do that. Stop and try and be present. Try to be aware and not judge. Just accept and accept with compassion, Which there again may not be something you're used to doing. Being open, Being curious, Being accepting. Are very healthy places to be. In fact, The way I look at communication and exploring things is if we approach people, If we approach situations, We approach ourselves with judgment, We won't find out very much. But if we approach it with compassion, Approach someone with compassion and a curiosity and an openness, There's no limit to what we can find out. And most people don't realize that they're coming with that predisposition, Especially to themselves, Trying to figure out what's going on with themselves and doing it in a judgmental way. Critical sort of way. Why not just observe how you feel, Observe what is, And try to get a sense of it without judging, Without criticizing. One of the problems with anxiety and depression is depression has a lot to do with rumination about the past and anxiety, Of course, Is about future events. And I understand, Of course, That when it comes to things like anxiety and, You know, Being aware of future events, That our brain is conditioned to protect us from harm and wants to be anticipating things happening that may harm us, May hurt us, Etc. So it does take some effort to try to be in the present moment, To try to just experience. But there is a lot of mental health benefits associated with mindfulness and also just being present. Because if I'm present, I'm not thinking with regret about the past and I'm not worried and anxious and uncomfortable about tomorrow or next week or next year. And if you try it, Even for 15 minutes a day, I think you'll see what I mean. It's very refreshing to just be able to experience things in the moment, Not just them. I suggest if you're interested in getting to understand this better. Why not try a three minute breathing space meditation, Which will guide you through sort of being aware, Being conscious of yourself. It's a great place to start when someone is guiding you through this process. Finding a body scan is also another way of kind of being aware of each part of your body, Any sensations. It helps to increase our bodily awareness. Typically people are very disconnected from their body. They're just in their mind, In their head. And so practices like yoga, Practices like meditation help us stay connected to our bodies, Help us stay grounded, Which is a much more beneficial state than being ruminating or being anxious about, You know, Upcoming events.