Mindfulness is a word that is showing up more and more frequently within our modern culture.  This concept, however, is far from new.  It has been around for thousands of years, though it is only within the past 30 years or so, that this concept has made its way into western culture and medicine.  There are now more than 400 research articles published each year on mindfulness.  Mindfulness has been shown to decrease the risk of depression relapse, reduce anxiety and stress, improve sleep, improve ADHD symptoms, change gene expression, improve immune function, and even grow and change the brain.

So what is mindfulness exactly?

Mindfulness is about bringing a particular kind of awareness to our present moment experience.  It means paying attention in a gentle, nonjudgmental way, to whatever thoughts, feelings, and sensations are happening in this moment.

http://mindfulnessinschools.org/courses/b-for-teens/

Have you ever noticed how often you are lost in thought?

Have you ever driven somewhere, only to find out you ended up in the completely wrong location because your mind was elsewhere?  Have you ever eaten an entire meal and realized you didn’t really taste anything?  This is referred to as “autopilot”:  when we go about our daily activities without actually being consciously aware of our moment to moment experience.

Often we become lost in thoughts or worries about the future, or in thoughts or ruminations about the past.  Mindfulness is about noticing this mind wandering, and bringing the focus of our attention back to the present moment.  This can be practiced through a body scan practice, sitting meditation, walking meditation, and every single daily activity.  It teaches us to notice what is happening in our present moment experience without trying to make it different than it is.  Mindfulness practice is about learning to relate differently to the difficulties in our lives.  Instead of bringing the common instinct of resistance to difficult emotions, thoughts and sensations, mindfulness teaches us to instead approach these with curiosity and compassion.

This is a radically different way of approaching difficulties!

Most of us want to run the other way (literally or figuratively) when we feel, think, or sense something that doesn’t feel good.  Problematic stress occurs when we want something to be different than it is, so when we practice bringing mindful awareness to these experiences, we end up reducing our stress significantly.  Mindfulness does not mean passivity.  It means pausing and bringing awareness, which allows for a conscious choice of how to respond to any given situation.

Check out this short video about BBC Culture Correspondent David Sillito’s experience of a mindfulness program.

Or consider reading the book “Mindfulness:  Finding Peace in a Frantic World”.  If you’re interested in participating in a Mindfulness Program, click here.