Fieldnotes - 1

WHAT IS MINDFULNESS?

When we are busy dealing with daily tasks something like driving in the traffic, walking on the street, talking with a friend, waiting at a subway station or vacuuming at home, etc., our minds are often far away thinking about something else. Our minds are actively chattering. We may be fantasizing about sailing on a boat, or worrying about a future event or thinking about other things in the past.

Between past and future, we find ourselves not focusing on our the current event and we are not really in touch with the “here and now”. This way of operating is referred to as the “auto- pilot” mode. 

This is where Mindfulness plays an important role to bring us to the present moment awareness acting as an anchor. Because Mindfulness is just the opposite of “auto-pilot mode”. It offers a way of freeing ourselves from an automatic way of thinking.

So what is Mindfulness, what’s the benefit of practicing it and how we can start cultivating it?

From our understanding, one of the best definitions of mindfulness is the one which Jon Kabat Zinn, a renowned Mindfulness teacher, puts eloquently:

“It is the awareness that arises when we pay attention, in the present moment, on purpose, without judgment.”

Now, imagine that you're engaged in one of the activities we described above such as walking on the street and so forth. When we give yourself a tiny little pause in the (present) moment, intentionally stop on purpose, to gently observe your body-mind-state by paying attention to what’s going on in our mind and body, you then start to notice your thoughts, emotions and body sensations.

This is the beginning of self-reflection and self-awareness. But, here comes the trick: we need to passively observe these thoughts and emotions without labelling them by our pre-conditioned habitual self and past experiences, without judgment. In other words, without judging the situation, the other person or yourself by being caught up with such thoughts as “this is such and such event, he/she is such and such person, or I am this and that.”. This is observing the “as is”ness of any experience, like knowing that you’re walking when you’re walking, knowing that you’re sitting when you’re sitting or knowing that you’re breathing when you’re breathing…

This way, we gain the skill of separating ourselves from our thoughts by creating a space in-between. In that sense, Mindfulness teaches us that thoughts are just thoughts. We watch them pass by in front of us just like watching the cars passing on the street or clouds in the sky passing by. We just observe them as they are and let them go...

Also, being conscious of our thoughts and feelings without any naming or labeling gives us the freedom to choose between two subsequent interactions that would follow: Either reacting in our auto-pilot mode or wisely self-reflect and skillfully respond.

As Robert Thurman points out, the Sanskrit word for Mindfulness is “Sati”, which can also be translated as “remembering”. That is, each moment we have the ability to purposefully remember where we are, what we’re doing with our senses without any prejudices, and remember to make that space between ourselves and our thoughts.

We can all practice mindfulness during our daily activities, either formally like meditation or informally like when we’re in the shower or eating. The more we practice it, the more it can be readily available.

This whole practice may, in turn, train our mind and as recent scientific research shows, rewires our brain. And as a result, you may find yourself feeling kinder, calmer, more patient, and more importantly living in the moment in full and finding joy in it.

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“Your beliefs become your thoughts, Your thoughts become your words, Your words become your actions, Your actions become your habits, Your habits become your values, Your values become your destiny.” ― Gandhi