What is Mindfulness?

"Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally. This kind of attention...wakes us up to the fact that our lives only unfold in moments. If we are not fully present for many of those moments, we may not only miss what is most valuable in our lives but also fail to realize the richness and depth of our possibilities for growth and transformation."
- Jon Kabat Zinn (wherever you go, there you are)

"Mindfulness is the energy of being aware and awake to the present moment. It is the continuous practice of touching life deeply in every moment of daily life. To be mindful is to be truly alive, present and at one with those around you and with what you are doing. We bring our body and mind into harmony while we wash the dishes, drive the car or take our morning shower." - Thich Nhat Hanh

Mindfulness is an intelligent, responsive awareness to ever-changing conditions.
- Sangharakshita

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Mindfulness is the faculty of being more deeply present with our body, our thoughts, our emotions, and our actions. It is about inhabiting our lives more fully, and waking up to our life, moment by moment.

Practicing mindfulness can lead to very deep levels of relaxation, calmness, and inner balance, as well as to more effective coping with stressful situations. Mindfulness also helps us to respond creatively to pressures and demands, rather than blindly reacting out of habit.

Although many people automatically assume they cannot practice meditation or mindfulness, this is a skill that we all already have - we are all aware sometimes! - and we can develop, the same way one can develop a skill playing music, building muscle, or learning a language. Mindfulness is a way of learning to directly relate to whatever is happening in life, a way of doing something for yourself that no one else can do for you — consciously and systematically working with your own stress, pain, illness, and the challenges and demands of everyday life.

When we are mindful, we are moving...

• From acting blindly out of habit (that can cause more stress), to acting skillfully with awareness.
• From isolation to empathy.
• From being frustrated and trying to control, to trying to be aware, to be open to experience.
• From knee-jerk reactions to conscious choice.

Lifestyle--Stress Reduction Tips

The focus of this class is reducing stress through mindfulness and meditation. Of course, there are lots of other things we can do to help reduce stress.

Based on past experience, I suggest thinking in terms of small adjustments rather than dramatic lifestyle shifts. It is also more helpful to be very specific rather than general (see the example in #1 below.)

How about choosing one day per week to focus on one of the following? This will keep you going for many weeks!

1. Less input. (Example: On Tuesday evenings this month I'm going to 'unplug'!)
2. More doing one thing at a time. Eating, talking on the phone, listening to music, driving, watching a movie at home - we often feel these things do not warrant our full attention. How about choosing one and simply be aware of it for a day or a week without doing something else at the same time? (Example: At work, choose a time of day - or during a specific task - that you will try to do only one thing.)
3. More fresh food. (Example: On Sundays I will eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, no fast or processed food.)(And look up 'slow food' on Wikipedia!)
4. Look into my habits/reactions related to 'things to do'. These may include procrastination, overwhelm, avoidance tactics. Look into/really experience and reflect on these habits. (Not necessarily trying to stop them!)
5. Look at one or two of the things I tend to do during 'downtime'. Are they relaxing, nourishing?
6. Cultivate friendships/connections. Or solitude/reflection. Whichever will balance your particular tendency!
7. If you don't get regular exercise, bring in a little more movement into your routine. Sometimes stress is just 'extra energy' in the body which needs to move more than our American lifestyle allows. (Example: if you drive somewhere regularly that is in walking distance, put it in your schedule to walk once a week or ride a bike. And/or walk for 15 minutes during lunch hour.)
8. Don't do anything for a certain period of time. Five minutes or two hours, whatever you can manage.
9. Reduce caffeine intake? Try having a little less than usual throughout your day and see what the affect is.
10. Sign up for a weekend meditation retreat, daylong retreat in the city, or a family class. It takes a lot less effort to incorporate new habits into our routine. Another idea is to plug into a routine that's already set up - all we have to do is show up!
11. Read a book about meditation, slowing down, or mindfulness. (And check out slowdownnow.org).
12. Make a list of activities you find relaxing. Schedule them into your week or month.
13. Check in once a week with a 'mindfulness/relaxation buddy' to keep you both on track. Again, having a break on individual exertion!
14. Try to be more 'other regarding' in your life. Or more self regarding. Whichever will balance your particular tendency!

Recommended Reading

Books

Any of these books or websites will support your journey in this course, and beyond. (The first one is 'required reading' for the eight-week course.)

Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and IllnessJon Kabat-Zinn

Change Your Mind: A Practice Guide to Buddhist Meditation

Paramananda

A Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Workbook

Bob Stahl and Elisha Goldstein

Breath by Breath --The Liberating Practice of Insight Meditation

Larry Rosenberg

Living Well With Pain and Illness

Vidyamala Burch

One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps

Kevin Griffin

The Mindful Way through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness

Mark Williams, John Teasdale, Zindel Segal, Jon Kabat-Zinn

On The Web

Research and News about Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction