Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a way of paying attention, of being deeply attuned to yourself, your environment and those around you. It is a natural state of mind, focused and aware. Rooted in the ancient Buddhist art of meditation, mindfulness can be learned and practised by anyone, no matter what their religious or cultural background.

"Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way; On purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally."
(Jon Kabat-Zinn)

How can mindfulness make a difference?

The average person has approximatley 60,000 thoughts each day, 95 % of which are the same as the thoughts you had yesterday. This a rather unnerving statistic but one which underlines the fact that we are creatures of habit. Because we're only dimly aware of our thoughts, they wander in an unrestricted way. For example, when we are driving a car, we often drive for miles on end without really being aware of what we are doing. It is as if we are functioning on 'autopilot'.

This also applies to our lives in general - we are not really 'there' during big chunks of our lives. We can be miles away without being aware of it. When we do things on autopilot we are inclined to get caught up in old thinking and behavioural patterns related to the past which propel us into fretting about the future. These patterns can easily lead to a negative spiral of thoughts and feelings. This inevitabley results in more stress.

By becoming more aware of our thoughts and feelings, both physically and emotionally, from moment to moment, we can de-stress, re-balance and reconnect. Mindfulness invites us to do this with compassion and love.