Hello,
And welcome to this short lesson covering what,
Exactly,
Mindfulness is,
At least from what I have learned and my view of it.
As with anything,
One can find a diverse divergence of opinions on the topic,
Especially when said topic is more than several hundred years old and entwined with arguably medieval terminology.
So don't take what I say as absolute,
Merely adding to the already impressive canon of mindfulness teachings.
Mindfulness in its most basic form is quite simple,
Yet as a practice can be quite hard to maintain.
Mindfulness is the idea that with applied effort and a degree of discipline,
We may train ourselves to become more aware,
Aware of things that we do,
And aware of the things that go on within the body and the space around it.
Whether it be our most subtle and unconscious of actions,
Such as the arising of a feeling or sensations somewhere in the body,
Such as the beating of the heart,
To our most applied moments of movement,
Like exercise,
And everything in between,
Whether it's talking,
Walking,
Looking,
Reading,
Writing,
Or listening.
Mindfulness is also the development of our inner awareness,
Training us to more closely touch,
Feel,
And sense our emotions,
Sensations,
Thoughts,
States of consciousness,
And our whole variety of mental states and activities,
As well as to see more clearly the aspects of the world that they might bring about and the effect that they will have on them.
Mindfulness then is a training of our awareness to know as fully as we can the world of our senses,
The world of the body,
The mind,
And consciousness as they are right here and right now,
As they arise,
To watch them hang around,
And to watch them go away.
Now,
If you are someone who has engaged in meditation or are somewhat familiar with yoga,
Tai chi,
Or even intense exercise,
I think you will already know the importance of mindfulness.
But for those who are new to this idea,
You may be asking,
Well,
What is the importance of such a fullness of awareness,
Which is a perfectly reasonable question to ask.
Well,
What mindfulness and meditation provide are that the more we are aware of our actions,
Thoughts,
Sensations,
Moods,
Mind states,
And emotions,
The more we are able to understand why they come out the way they do,
What gives rise to them,
And it helps us to find insights into why we are the way we are and why we are doing what we are doing,
Which to me is a pretty useful thing.
The more we are able to understand not only ourselves,
But the way in which we integrate with the world around us,
The greater chance we have of living an observed and full existence,
Not yanked around by our stuff,
Mental,
Physical,
Or otherwise.
Mindful awareness lets us know if what we are doing comes from a place that helps or hurts us.
Some examples of motivations that help us are generosity,
Compassion,
Wisdom,
Shared joy and understanding.
And some motivations which may hurt us are those which spring from greed,
Hatred,
Delusion,
Dissatisfaction,
And addiction.
With the tools we gain from mindfulness and meditation,
Our awareness is able to cut the roots of our thoughts,
Actions,
Deeds,
Words,
And sensation,
And gives us the opportunity to cultivate those things which are helpful and beneficial,
Not only to us,
But the world in which we inhabit.
Mindfulness gives us the clearest views into the water of our motivations and temptations.
Some people don't like this and are turned away,
While others enjoy it quite a bit,
For it is a brave and noble thing,
In my opinion,
To sit and honestly see one's conditioned existence exactly as it is.
The practice of mindfulness,
Whether in meditation or in some other form,
Helps us to know the beneficial actions,
Considerations,
And things which can help bring peace of mind and a sense of happiness to our everyday,
Ordinary lives on this strange wet rock twirling around a ball of fire suspended in infinite space.
Our understanding of these helpful and advantageous actions also helps us to progress on the path to understanding,
Freedom,
And as the Buddha would put it,
Nirvana,
Which is liberation and freedom from suffering,
Which is a topic that is such a bag of worms and interesting translation choices that it deserves a talk in and of itself for another time.
Similarly,
Though,
Awareness and mindfulness teaches us that sometimes we have moods,
Mind states,
And desires to do things that do not come from a good place.
And it's not because we're not good people,
Merely because we are human and don't have a full understanding of this conditioned existence we find ourselves in.
It helps to show that sometimes our actions are motivated by greed,
Hatred,
And delusion,
And that these things can lead to a life of anxiety,
Worry,
Loneliness,
And misery.
They imprison us,
In one sense,
Through those feelings which they make arise,
And in a more Buddhist sense they do so by binding us to samsara,
Or the wheel of life after life,
And a cycle of suffering and dissatisfaction.
Some classical and rather straightforward and effective ways of practicing mindfulness are before you speak,
Or really before you do anything,
Step back and try and get out of your own way by asking yourself,
Is what I'm saying truthful and helpful to me and others?
Will it bring about peace or problems?
For thoughts we might have,
We could ask,
Do these thoughts help me in a way to become calm and happy,
Or do they generate more discomfort and dissatisfaction down the road?
And you would take these same considerations and thought processes with physical actions,
The understanding of moods as they arise,
Such as frustration and anger,
Happiness and joy.
Now,
This doesn't mean you have to be absolutely perfect,
And that there aren't moments where certain actions absolutely must be taken.
Life is not black and white,
But all shades of grey.
But awareness and mindfulness gives us the strength to act the best we can when those tricky situations arise,
To help us bring about a world that moves towards joy and contentment and away from misery and worry.
Mindfulness also trains us to pay attention to the constant and ever-changing world within and around us.
Whether it be changes in our body and mind,
Our relationship,
Our community,
Our work,
Or the world,
It helps us to pay less attention to the superficial aspects of existence that can so easily carry us away and distract us,
And teaches us to pay closer attention to those things which can help us grow,
Learn,
And be the best version of ourselves that we can be.
So often in life,
Our minds try to go a thousand ways at once,
But through mindfulness training we are able to focus and see things as we experience them,
One at a time.
The Buddha taught that the aim of his teaching was to help us recognize the end of suffering.
He is well taught that that which is impermanent is suffering.
The more one practices,
The more one sees these things in their own right to be true.
A mind well trained in awareness gets exhausted moving from one impermanent thing to the next.
You may have even wandered away from these ever-changing and impermanent words I am saying.
Mind loses interest because it recognizes the futility,
And by losing interest the mind comes to find rest,
And in that rest it finds joy,
Peace,
Calmness,
And a deeper connection.
Mindfulness itself comes from the Pali word sati,
Which directly translates as to remember.
Mindfulness then could be in a certain way known as the act of remembering by paying direct and complete non-verbal thought-based attention to this very moment-by-moment experience of now.
So often we blame the world for our discomfort,
Our pain,
Our suffering,
And our general dissatisfaction with existence.
I get it.
It is easy to throw that on the world.
It is so easy to throw everything on the world and not reflect interiorly.
Yet by finding that rest through awareness and relaxing into the direct observation of things as they really are,
We are able to understand that the only place that we will find peace,
Freedom,
And joy is this very here and now,
Within our own body and mind,
And that we are the creators and destroyers of our own feelings of misery,
Dissatisfaction,
And lack of discipline.
That we must be a pillar unto ourselves and know that most of the time our problems can be solved by getting out of our own way.
The best part of mindfulness is that it can be trained to be unconscious,
Just as the breath continues even when we don't pay attention to it,
And just as the heart beats on its own.
As we practice and gain more skill in mindfulness,
Things will arise in our day-to-day interaction with existence,
Whether they be physical,
Mental,
Emotional,
Or whatever,
And our awareness will give us the ability to choose.
Will we merely bear the suffering of an unexamined life and most likely end up dissatisfied on a deep level even if it doesn't show up on the surface,
Or will we bravely,
And with as much honesty as we can muster,
Examine the pain and joy and understand why it arises,
Marking from a place of growth,
Rather than stagnation?
This is mindfulness.
With practice and effort,
I think anyone can master it.
I hope this has helped your understanding whether you are trying to attain awakening or are simply looking to lead a more peaceful life.
I am Silas Day.
I hope this has helped you.
Have a wonderful day.
