According to Wikipedia, “Mindfulness is the psychological process of bringing one’s attention to experiences occurring in the present moment.” I’m sure most of you have heard about this and you practice it from time to time.
I myself do also practice it from time to time and it is a constant battle between present and future. I try to enjoy the present moments whilst thinking about my goals too (I know I’m probably not doing it right). While doing this I’ve noticed a something interesting: I am directing my attention based by the filter I have on. If I’m a little sad, I am more aware about the sad things around me. If I’m angry, I find things around me that have the potential of keeping me in that state. If I’m happy, I can find more things that keep me in that state. Yeah, I’m probably not doing this mindfulness thing right.
From time to time I try to let my mind free and sit back and watch whatever it goes through my head just like I would be at the cinema. It’s an interesting and scary experience, at least in the beginning. It is awesome because it brings some liberating feelings.
Being aware of our own thoughts can be scary and it can require some effort at first, but once we get used to it, it will get easier. The most common question psychologists use for trying to identify the thoughts is “What goes through your mind in this moment?” which can help us realize all the sh*t that go through our heads. The thing we have to realize is that those things are just stories so they are not necessarily real.
The state of mindfulness helps us being aware of the feelings we experience in the present time and also of the thoughts that trigger those feelings and because of this we can achieve a better understanding of ourselves.
How often do you practice this and how helpful do you find it?
I try to practice being mindful every moment. Somehow I’m programmed this way. I think it’s my grandmothers memories. She was always gracious and insightful about people, places and things. I believe the core principle is balance. How you feel is one thing but what you do to balance the feeling is another.
I totally agree with you!
.. always gracious and insightful about people, places and things, ..
~ and balance the fellings .. cool. thx for the tips.
‘ From time to time I try to let my mind free and sit back and watch whatever it goes through my head just like I would be at the cinema.’
~ how could you do this? …
The first time I experienced this was two years ago (I think) when I was drunk. I remember trying so hard to fight the nasty feeling and all the thoughts coming that I got too tired and I said f*ck it! Let’s see what happens. Whenever I try to let my mind free, I try to stop directing it in a certain direction. If something comes up in my mind, I try not to pick it up with my inner voice, you know, the one we actually control. I just try not to interact in any way with those thoughts.
yes.. you just watched yourself like seeing a movie. without any objection or norm of this or that.
yet i still confuse in how to get that visualization of seeing ourselves in our thought,
because im still learning that thing.
it is cool act, i think.,
The best way to get there is to keep practicing. I struggle with it too, but I see some improvements compared with two years ago. Having some piece of paper next to you and writing or drawing the random thoughts might help.
keep practicing … i will.
thx for sharing this. sir
My pleasure! Please do share when you see some improvements!
Actually I made it a routine to review my thoughts by writing them into a journal. Its not like that typical dairy thing some people do since their childhood. For me as an extroverted High Sensitive Person (HSP) I am often overwhelmed by my own thoughts, feelings and that of people I meet or speak too. Then it is really a hard job to be mindful: Is that thought or feeling my own one or does it belong to somebody else but I feel emphatic?). Being mindful for me means to protect myself to not get overwhelmed by other persons thoughts and feelings. By writing things out of my head and out of my heart, my inner voice gets stronger day by day. Its sefprotection I think. I am sure that we all fight with our thoughts sometimes. But its up to you, if you take care of them or try to ignore them. I think you are doing a great job by sitting down and giving your thoughts a space. But you should take care of tyour emotions too, because these are more powerful then your thoughts could ever be. The emotions are the most underrated points in our life. They decide about your mood, if you feel happy, sad, depressed, neglected, disappointed and so on. Its up to your mindset and how you can handle every situation in your life. Our emotions are leading us to good paths as well as to deep holes. Go forward, great content as usual!
writing a journal .. it works.
Yes, better than we might expect!
Thank you for your insights! I agree that emotions are very powerful, but the thoughts are the ones that trigger those emotions so whilst I give space to my thoughts, all sorts of emotions go through my body.
Yes if you are sure about your emotions you can get over control of all these painful thoughts who can trigger even more emotions. We think because we feel and we feel because of inner thoughts. But I personally believe that your emotions are more powerful then your thoughts. Don’t you agree?
Yes, I agree. I like to see this as a car. The engine has the power that moves us forward (the engine being the emotions), but the key, the wheel and the pedals are the ones controlling it (our thoughts).
Great comparison! You cannot drive without the engine. It’s you personal power unit. The others are necessary too helping to drive! The thoughts need to be in harmony with your emotions to bring the best out of you. You can let the thoughts control yourself…you might listen to them and tell them that they are totally accepted but not helping you in a certain case. There are situations if your thoughts will protect you at another time they can hinder you to get better and optimize yourself.
I think of this sort of thing like being self aware. Understanding your own emotional limits and habits and using that to help mold and improve yourself. When you realize your mental limits, you can truly go beyond them.
very realistic
Well, it’s part of my reality 🙂
I have been making it a habit in my daily routine even if it is just for 5 minuets. I am also working on a future blog post where I have been conducting my own research scanning brain waves pre and post meditation to get some visual data. So far the results have been very astonishing. I can’t wait to finish and share.
Wow, that seems very interesting! Please do share the results! 😀
Sure will. Just want to have a bit more data to help support my hypothesis. Thanks. Love your site 🙌
I love that you love it! <3
I’ve been wanting to try more mindfulness techniques myself, lately! I know I way too easily focus on either the past or the future. Also, it’s interesting that you mention about having more sad thoughts when you’re sad, happy thoughts when you’re happy, etc. I was actually recently reading a textbook on memory and that’s a very real psychological phenomenon! So you’re not alone there. 🙂
Thank you for your insights about this! I find very interesting when the books match the reality. 🙂
I’m new to following your blog, but I sure get your blog title after reading this post;) My thoughts: I’m reminded how lucky I am to be athletic and that I grew up playing sports. Physical activity is the perfect setting for peaceful, successful mindfulness. Your body will direct your mind to be in the moment and keep future planning to the near-future. Walks in the woods, swimming laps, bike-riding, even vigourous housework : these are where I practice the relaxing mindfulness that can lead to deeper understanding of the world. Thanks for the post!
Welcome! 😀 And thank you for taking your time to read this post and to share your thoughts. Physical activity is a great way to release some tension, therefore our minds can be more relaxed as well.
We all need to be reminded about our mindfulness. I want to thank you for sharing this post! I love to write so journals help me a lot in this area!
It was my pleasure writing it! I agree with you that writing helps with this!
Practice watching from a neutral place. If you are viewing from sadness, there is a place that views that it is viewed through sadness. Be in that place: the one who is before sadness is the witness for whom you are looking.
I totally agree with you, but unfortunately, it’s easier to be said than done.
Have you heard of Mooji?
No, but I did a quick search and I can see he is a devotee to Ramana Maharshi whom I’ve heard of.
He’s got some valuable information on this. Definitely worth your time.
Yes, thank you for sharing! 😀
For sure. Let me know what you think.
I have just started looking at mindfulness with my CPN for being distressed I haven’t started practising it yet but I don’t think there are rules i think it’s just what works for you. I suffer really bad with my mental health problems as i have mentioned in my blog so I’m supposed to try this for distress instead of using more harmful escape methods x
Escape methods are somehow useful on short term, but in the long run it’s very destructive not only the escape methods themselves, but also because we don’t face the real issues. Please let me know how do you feel after you start practicing.
I practice to some extent every day. I treat it like going to the gym for my mind.
How do you feel after you’ve started this?
hi,
nice article…read my latest post on mindfulness…how it can change your life
https://www.invajy.com/how-mindfulness-can-change-your-life/
Hello there! Thank you for reading and for sharing your post here! 😀
Amazing post ! 🙂
Thank you!
I don’t practice very routinely, it’s more sporadic, but usually when I’m starting to feel anxious.
If you use it when you feel the need, it’s great! How do you feel after a “session”?
When I focus my mind, and give myself time to process my feelings, I feel much better. It was something I struggled with for years, letting things get on top of me and forgetting that I was allowed to pause for a moment, and process.
Its like you read my mind! You appear to know so much about this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you could do with a few pics to drive the message home a bit, but other than that, this is great blog. A fantastic read. I’ll definitely be back.
Thank you for your kind words and for your advice! I hope you’ll be back and that you’ll find more useful information! 🙂
I have been practicing mindful meditation for a few months now and have noticed it seeping more and more into my daily life. I have had to tell myself over and over that there is no wrong way to practice mindfulness. At least that’s what all the books say :p great to hear another persons take on it!
Well, in the end, mindfulness is about letting our thoughts go free through our mind. There probably is no wrong way to do it (maybe if we go mindful in negativity and we can’t get out).
I use mindfulness to pay attention to what my thoughts are so that if they go toward negativity I can manage that negativity so that it no longer plagues my mind. Going mindful in negativity seems passive if I understand your meaning correctly. But to each their own
I’ve started a short course to learn about the techniques of mindfulness meditation. Loving it!
Awesome! What changes this made for yourself?
So far I reached only the second session. I find myself more relaxed already.
Very insightful!
Thank you! 😀