By Victor M Fontane
Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.
Mindfulness is a quality that every human being already possesses, it’s not something you have to conjure up, you just have to learn how to access it.
The Types of Mindfulness Practice
While mindfulness is innate, it can be cultivated through proven techniques. Here are some examples:
Seated, walking, and moving meditation (it’s also possible lying down, but often leads to sleep);
Short pauses we insert into everyday life;
Merging meditation practice with other activities, such as yoga or sports.
The Benefits of Mindfulness Practice:
When we meditate it doesn’t help to fixate on the benefits, but rather to just do the practice, and yet there are benefits or no one would do it.
When we’re mindful, we reduce stress, enhance performance, gain insight and awareness through observing our mind and increase our attention to other’s well-being.
Mindfulness meditation gives us a time in our lives when we can suspend judgment and unleash our natural curiosity about the workings of the mind, approaching our experience with warmth and kindness - to ourselves and others.
8 Facts About Mindfulness:
Mindfulness is not obscure or exotic. It’s familiar to us because it’s what we already do, how we already are. It takes many shapes and goes by many names.
Mindfulness is not a special added thing we do. We already have the capacity to be present, and it doesn’t require us to change who we are. But we can cultivate these innate qualities with simple practices that are scientifically demonstrated to benefit ourselves, our loved ones, our friends and neighbors, the people we work with, and the institutions and organizations we take part in
You don’t need to change. Solutions that ask us to change who we are or become something we’re not have failed us over and over again. Mindfulness recognizes and cultivates the best of who we are as human beings.
Mindfulness has the potential to become a transformative social phenomenon. Here’s why:
Anyone can do it. Mindfulness practice cultivates universal human qualities and does not require anyone to change their beliefs. Everyone can benefit and it’s easy to learn.
It’s a way of living. Mindfulness is more than just a practice. It brings awareness and caring into everything we do—and it cuts down needless stress. Even a little makes our lives better.
It’s evidence-based. We don’t have to take mindfulness on faith. Both science and experience demonstrate its positive benefits for our health, happiness, work, and relationships.
It sparks innovation. As we deal with our world’s increasing complexity and uncertainty, mindfulness can lead us to effective, resilient, low-cost responses to seemingly intransigent problems.
Asaṅga (1,700 years ago) was "one of the most important spiritual figures" of Mahayana Buddhism and the "founder of the Yogachara school". He is known as one of the seventeen Nalanda masters and taught at the monastery which is located in modern-day Bihar, India.
He developed a sequence or steps to follow in mindfulness meditation given by The Buddha 2,600years ago. However is important to mention that the real purpose of meditating is awakening, enlightenment, Moksha or God realization and becoming a Buddha. These days, specially in the western world is used for different purposes like stress management, prosperity, concentration, health improvement, etc. that by the way helps but takes you away from the real purpose and attach people more to the physical world which is the opposite of liberation and was developed by spiritual seekers to support our spiritual quest.
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