Sometimes we get so much caught up in our activities of should’s and have to’s that we miss the valuable present moment. We very often also get easily too much caught up in rumination about our past or in worry about our future. Rumination creates depression and worry creates anxiety and fear. Being in the past or in the future also creates a general lack of wellbeing as we miss being in the present moment, the valuable here and now.
Mindfulness can help us become more present in the here and now. It is the ability to be fully aware and present where we are and what we’re doing. It’s a mental state of awareness, focus and openness in regards to our thoughts, breath, feelings, bodies and surroundings. Mindfulness allows us to engage fully in what we are doing at any moment. Difficult thoughts and feelings get less impact and influence over us and we get less reactive and overwhelmed by what’s going on in and around us.
Mindfulness is about learning to be present with what happens to our thoughts, feelings and bodies by using our breath as an anchor to always get ourselves back to the present moment.
Mindfulness have different steps. First, we have to stop doing what we’re doing. We create a pause in our daily life. Secondly, we observe what is happening in and outside ourselves without judgement or putting labels on what we experience. Labelling and judging feelings, thoughts, situations or people into like and don’t like creates corresponding feelings and a constant strive toward wanting aspects we like and moving away from aspects we don’t like. Leaving thoughts, feelings and bodily sensations just as they are, gives us freedom and a lack of striving.
Thirdly, we learn to accept our state of thoughts, feelings and bodily reactions. We let them be what they are, and even though we don’t nescessarily like them, we don’t strive in fighting to get rid of them.
When getting to the fourth step, Mindfulness has made us get in stronger contact with ourselves. The fourth step is about having a choice. We can continue going on autopilot as we have been doing, or we can with our stronger connection to ourselves, choose to change an aspect of our life or let go of something in our life or inourselves, like habits, thoughts or feelings which doesn’t suit us anymore.
karina mckenzie 