Mindfulness is the latest craze today. It is simply, not thinking about the past, not thinking about the future, but living in the now. Easier said than done. I am not a mindfulness teacher, just a student.
Someone once told me that office buildings should have showers in every bathroom so that employees could go there to think about their problems and hopefully solve them. Showering is such an automated process to humans, that it seems like a good time to solve all problems.
However, how many times have you driven to work and when you get there, you cannot remember any part of the drive? Somehow you got there, but most likely you were thinking about some problem you needed to solve or some past issue that was bothering you. Unless something like a deer runs out in front of you, you may not remember any of the drive. I think our brains are wired that way to filter out some of the noise, but unfortunately, distraction of what you're really doing is happening.
A friend of mine who died way too young from cancer, once said in a blog to take a look outside tomorrow and try to see something that you have never seen before. I think when our life is nearly over, people often start to see the important things and no longer filter them out. Practising mindfulness helps us see that now.
The next time you are somewhere, most likely waiting for your child to finish a sport or some other hobby, instead of pulling out your phone to surf the internet, try the following practice:
Start first with something that isn't moving. Something simple like a tree. Look at it pretending that in a minute, someone is going to turn you around, hand you a piece of paper, and ask you to draw what you were staring at. You will start to notice things like how the bark looks, where branches come out of the tree, the details on the leaves, possibly some imperfections on the tree from damage, and many other things.
You will realize that in the past, you were often looking at things like a person who needed glasses. Once they get the glasses, they realize that now they can see the details like blades of grass. (Instead of a green blur). Slowly over time their eyes weakened and they did not realize that they were no longer seeing the things they use to see.
After doing that exercise, try looking at everything ahead of you. You can even test yourself by really seeing if you can draw it.
Another exercise is to stare at something that you have looked at many times before (something simple like a wall) and see if you can see some type of detail that you never noticed before.
By doing the above exercises, it forces you to concentrate on what you're doing and therefore keeps you in the present moment.
If you have something really bothering you, try going to a mall and sit down on one of the benches, leave your phone in your pocket on airplane mode, and just concentrate on staring at the people as they go by. Sometime later that day, your solution will pop in your mind.
I find that if I practice mindfulness, the answers to my problems will come to me later, usually when I'm doing something else besides thinking of my problems. By doing other things, your solutions will come to you when you least expect them.
This topic is so large that I will contribute more to this subject in future blogs.
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