After leaving our formal meditation practice we try to continue the spirit of meditation with mindfulness practices that assist us to being in harmony with life. There is a wholeness and serenity in dwelling in the awareness of the present moment.
Mindfulness, which can be practiced anywhere at any time is the quality of being in harmony with the present moment. We practice mindfulness, in contrast to meditation with a deliberate, lucid awareness of the present moment. It is practiced without neither judging thoughts nor feelings, neither grasping nor pushing them away, but rather, by being with our thoughts just as they are.
Mindfulness is about paying attention…….
“Paying attention is something we do so selectively and haphazardly that we don’t see what is right in front of our eyes or even hear sounds that are carried through the air and are clearly entering our ears. The same can be said for our other senses as well.”
‘Coming to Our Senses’, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Hyperion NY,2005.
Some foundations of mindfulness…
- Awareness of our body’s movements. (Mindfulness of the body)
- Awareness of our physical sensations. (Mindfulness of sensation)
- Awareness of moods and emotions. (Mindfulness of our mental state)
- Awareness of our thoughts. (Mindfulness of our mind/mental objects.)
The seasoned meditator often finds that mindfulness practices happen spontaneously.
Meditation prepares the soil for a flowering of mindfulness practices in or day-to-day activities that help us to be focused fully upon the present moment without being lost in thoughts about the past and future.
Meditation
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