Why cultivate mindfulness?
Below is a short video by John Kabat Zinn who describes what mindfulness is, what it is not, and the importance of practicing mindfulness.
Key take-away’s from this video include:
The definition of Mindfulness: paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally (as if your life depended on it).
Paying attention to what doesn’t matter, attending (holding our attention) is what matters.
The present moment is where we see, hear, taste, touch, communicate and love. The present moment is NOW.
Paying attention to NOW is a way of reclaiming your life.
Mindfulness is not a technique, but a way of being.
In our society, we are trained to think, but we are not trained in awareness. Both thinking and awareness are equally powerful.
Thoughts create our suffering. Believing our thoughts as truth perpetuates our suffering. Mindfulness gives us freedom by embracing the mind, heart, body and our relationality with the outer world.