‘Living
in the moment, and seeing everything afresh without judgment and worry lets us
experience life, rather than simply get through it.’ – Dr. Patrizia Collard
Our brains are always multi-tasking i.e. constantly thinking about our future actions or
dwelling with the past actions along with working in the present. However because of this we are not able to sometimes
live in the present, enjoy it and make the most out of it. The practice
of being present in the moment is known as mindfulness. It is one of the most difficult
things to achieve as it is quite common for us to constantly slip from the
present moment into thinking about the future.
Mindfulness can increase our ability to be in sync
with our thoughts, emotions, and body sensations which allows us to manage them
and communicate about our feelings to others as well as understand theirs. The people
who live in the moment are happier, calmer, relaxed, and appreciative. Its okay
for us to slip back to into not being present in the moment, but to overcome that we just need
to accept that we are not present and we can instantly feel more relaxed and it
also makes it easier for us to slip back into the moment.
BENEFITS OF MINDFULNESS
Mindfulness meditation is a time where we can let go of all the
judgments and focus on the natural curiosity about the working of our mind, and
approaching our experience with warmth and kindness to others as well as
ourselves. When we are present in the moment, it reduces stress, enhances our
performance, gain insight and awareness through observing our mind and increase
our attention to our surroundings as well as to other’s well-being. Mindfulness
also helps us to emotionally connect with others as well as changes our mindset
and perspective towards things.
HOW TO TUNE INTO
MINDFULNESS?
The following simple tips can help us to tune into mindfulness –
- Spare some time
from your schedule to meditate. There is no need for any special equipment;
just some time and space. - Observe the
present moment as it is and give attention to it without any judgment. - Whenever we
notice that judgments are rising during the meditation, just note them in your
mind and let them go. - Whenever our
mind gets carried away to other things other than the present, the
practice of mindfulness comes into help as it brings our mind back to the
present again and again. - We should never
be harsh on ourselves for the wandering of our minds or for others thoughts
coming into our mind, as it is a natural phenomenon. Instead of judging
ourselves, we should recognize the action of slipping away of our mind and try
and calmly bring it back.
ADVANTAGES OF MINDFULNESS
- It helps to
improve the social skills as it allows us to let go of the worry of being
judged by others and just allows us to communicate with others more freely. - Whenever we are
present in the moment, we definitely find it easier to work on our creativity as
it allows our brain to process things calmly and ideas just flow through our
brain. - Another advantage
is that we become more appreciative of our surroundings as we analyze and label
the people or the things around us quite less. The beauty that our world is, seems to be more enhanced as we take the moment of our life to appreciate it
more. - When we live in
the present, we let go of the worry of the future and the past which stops us
from functioning in the present moment and enjoy it. It also reduces the extra worry and stress that we create because of constant thinking of the future.
