Mindfulness in practice
To live mindfully means to live in a way that embodies the pillars of mindfulness mentioned in the introduction page:
1. Non-judging - simply noticing things as they are
2. Being patient with yourself
3. A beginner’s mind - approaching everything as if for the first time, open to possibility
4. Developing a trust with yourself
5. Non-Striving - not trying to change anything
6. Acceptance of things as they are
7. Letting go of any attachments to thoughts or emotions
In our modern lives we are not routinely in the practice of being 'mindful'. Instead we are often planning in our heads, thinking about our to-do list, worrying about all sorts of things, or dreaming about the future - none of these mean we are in the present moment!
So adopting mindfulness in your life is not as simple as me telling you to "be more mindful", because you would find it difficult. Instead, we need ways to help practice mindfulness that allow us to develop the skill, so that gradually we will find it more natural to be mindful in our everyday life.
You could imagine it like this: in the same way that lifting weights in specific ways in the gym will allow those specific muscle groups to get stronger, so that with time in your day to day life, anything that requires those muscles will seem easier - so practising mindfulness in dedicated practices that you choose to do, say, once a day, will increase your ability to be more naturally mindful.
Being 'mindful' is a skill which must be practised
To be 'mindful' is to notice
Try to start noticing more
Take some time today to notice things as they are around you. Whether you are at home, travelling somewhere, out shopping, at work and so on, you can decide for the next 5 minutes, to notice everything around you, using all your senses:
- What can you see? Is there anything you spot that you don't usually notice? Perhaps something changed from the last time you looked.
- What can you hear? It's very rare for us to experience true silence. Try and notice how many different sounds you hear.
- What can you touch right now? This doesn't have to mean going around touching everything around you, although you can do that if you like! But notice if your hands are already touching anything, perhaps in your pockets, holding something, or resting on your lap. Can you feel your body making contact with the surface you're sitting or standing on?
- Can you smell anything here? Often it's only strong smells we notice, particularly unpleasant ones. But perhaps there's something more subtle you notice when you make an effort?
- Can you taste anything? Perhaps you just ate lunch, and there's a lingering taste of your sandwich or a drink.
You will find more detailed explanations about mindfulness in the context of meditation in general in my 'Basics of Meditation' course, including more ways to incorporate mindfulness into your daily life.
Find out more about the course and sign up on my dedicated course platform here.
Learn more about mindfulness
We need your consent to load the translations
We use a third-party service to translate the website content that may collect data about your activity. Please review the details in the privacy policy and accept the service to view the translations.