Exploring Mindfulness

From the second my eyes open to the moment I finally detach from the last thought of the night, my mind seeks. Without most of those thoughts having any deliberate direction, thousands of them enter — uninvited.

Sometimes a thought is provoked by something in my view: "Right, I need to fix that lamp." Others appear connected to past experiences and can set emotions ablaze without warning. No matter how they're formed, thoughts are all a manifestation of the mind.

Try to sit and stop thinking — it's nearly impossible. That alone is a convincing argument that you are not in control of the thought process. Anxiety lives here. It plays here. It works its way into any available space and causes suffering. It loves problem-solving, and if there's no real problem to solve, the mind will create one to hold onto — and often obsess over.

Watching Your Thoughts

Meditation is an art, but before embarking on that practice there are simpler ways to bring yourself into mindfulness each day. Start by watching your thinking. When you can observe your thoughts, you are subtly detaching from them. That small gap — that moment of awareness — allows you to notice how a thought is attaching to an emotion before it takes hold. Take any moment and notice how your mind is gaining speed, and where that speed is creating suffering.

Redirecting Attention

When a thought is random — and so many of them are — slow down and gently redirect your full attention back to where you are and what you're doing. If you're driving, drive. If you're playing the piano, play the piano. Presence is the practice.

Releasing Judgment

Allowing thoughts to come and go — good or bad — means recognizing them as just thoughts. If you simply identify a thought and remain aware, it passes. But if you judge yourself for having it, it slips in through the back door and takes hold of your emotions all over again. Mindfulness is not sitting in silence thinking of nothing. It is being aware that thoughts never fully stop, and that they arise from patterns built over years and years.

Returning to Now

Knowing yourself — your true self — gives you the ability to witness the mind's constant seeking without being pulled under by it. The mind never stops searching, but you can calm it through focus and by accepting that you are not in control of every random thought that arises. One of the most effective methods is simply to focus on your breath. It works because it brings your attention into the present — not a past memory or a future worry, but right here, right now.