subject: What Is Mindfulness? [print this page] You may have heard the term "Mindfulness" and have a rough idea of what it's about but in this article, you'll get a very clear understanding of what it is and why it's important to you.
Mindfulness is that gap where you, the awareness, are aware of whats happening within your mind. You become clear and alert to what you think, say and do. Often people meditate as a way of being clearer without all the distractions the flood through the senses. However, becoming aware of your breath and focusing on the air flowing in and out of the lungs can also do it.
This may not sound like any big deal, but its a monumental leap of what any other creature can do. Humans are the only species on this planet that can do this. This is because every other species doesnt identify with the mind to create an ego, they simply accept things as they are and are one with it.
For example, a cat doesnt sit there and think, what does that human think of me, should I make my coat shinier so that hell pat me and give me food? No, they simply accept this moment and do what they do through instinct and being in alignment with the present moment.
In this way animals have an advantage over humans, but what we have is the next phase of evolution, where we have an amazing capacity to not only survive but also thrive like no other species.
The issue is though, our quest to survive and thrive has become out of balance with our essential nature of oneness with all. This imbalance causes us to experience pain, which ultimately leads us to not only search for but also to find what the Truth is for us. Its lifes way of restoring balance and when you consider that we are not separate to life, its our way of restoring balance within ourselves.
So can you see why this is important now?
In a nutshell, the illusion of living day to day through entirely mind based activity (usually in hope or in fear that tomorrow will be different than today) causes pain, NOW. The way to begin to find your way through the pain is to bring awareness to your breath and from there, seeing what you think, say and do. The awareness creates a gap between you and what is perceived and through that a choice can be made for what is real, you the awareness or what your mind is telling you through a perception!
I often see it in the financial markets, where the market will be moving in a direction (lets say down) and what everyone perceives through the mind is fear and possible loss. When this gets to an extreme, people are so entangled with the mind that they dont see any other choice but to sell at a loss in order to stop the pain. The professional on the other hand, understands how fear and greed grip people, so they sit back and wait and then capitalise on bargain prices. They have the choice to do this because they see the gap between reality and what is perceived. Its fun to watch!
