Where to turn on mindfulness?

Mindfulness is a popular word now. You hear it so often, that it may be embarrassing to admit that you do not quite understand what it means.

Mindfulness is your ability or a skill to be present in your life and to live it as if it really matters during the only moment that you truly have – Here and Now.

Who isn’t familiar with a “life on autopilot”? Life when you don’t notice the taste of your food, snowflakes on your mitten, a fleeting scent of freshly bakes pastries from a bakery. When you are too busy to understand your desires, to feel the softness of your cashmere sweater, the joy of having a conversation with a close friend. Run, run, run… No pauses, no breaks.

Usually, we spend most of our lives rushing – either absorbed in the past, in our memories, regrets, and ruminations on the topic “I should have responded like that” or in the future, in our plans, hopes, and fantasies. But neither past nor future exists – already or not yet. We only have the present moment, this very moment when you are, for example, sitting and reading this article in the Mindspa app. 

When we find the switch for mindfulness inside of us, we “catch” the state when we can notice our current feelings, focusing on the present moment and not being distracted by the thoughts about the past or the future. And this is what allows us to live and not “run” through our lives.

Mindfulness does not guarantee that going forward we will only experience pleasant moments. No, we will feel everything more intensely, but this makes us richer and allows us to recognize the strategies and beliefs that we are using, identify unconscious psychological reactions, and plan our actions more efficiently. 

There are whole treatises about how to develop mindfulness. But you should begin with these simple steps:

• Learn to focus attention on your body and the information you receive through your sensory organs (hearing, vision, touch, taste).
• Do breathing exercises, trying to stay in the moment, and not run away mentally to the process of making dinner for tonight or yesterday’s conversation with your boss.
• Focus your attention on your feelings and emotions: what am I feeling now? Where did this emotion come from? How is it changing?
• Try to notice your thoughts because they trigger emotions. Where did this thought come from? How is it evolving? How is it transforming?

When you remove the autopilot from your life and allow mindfulness to come in, you will fill your life with meaning. The less automatism – the more thoughtful actions, joy, and experiences you will have. It is so important – to recognize yourself as the main character of your life, not as a spectator.