I happily came across a great site this week. It is thought provoking and something not to open at midnight if you’d like to sleep, I did and got way too engulfed. I’d like to thank Jack and his blog for that!
One of his themes was “Mindfulness”.
Mindfulness has certainly become a universal term, interestingly enough, without universal terminology.
I thought I knew what it meant to me, until once again was posed with the question when my thoughts and mind had quieted from the day.
What is “Mindfulness” to you? Is it living in the moment? Being as one with the nature around you? Finding peace or understanding? Knowing your next breath and move….
As writers, I think we DO target ourselves in to the moment while we write, a part of mindfulness perhaps?
I’m not sure, but would loved to hear your take on it.
Have a beautiful, mindfull weekend, my Friends
Jacks original post can be found here
The Starting End 
It’s interesting how words can take on more or different meaning when we really think about them 🙂
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Exactly, Mishka. The more I thought of it, the deeper I found myself coming to an absolute answer. Still not sure if I even arrived at my answer 🙂
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I once heard a lecture a speaker was giving about Zen, in which the speaker began by admitting to the audience that if we were to really give a talk on Zen, he would stand there in silence for a few minutes, hit the mic with his fan and leave. But, he continued, the audience had come to hear someone talk so he would continue to subject to the hoax of attempting to provide explanations because, let’s face it, we human beings like to talk so we talk.
I think Mindfulness, perhaps in a deeper sense, is like that. If I say what being mindful or practicing mindfulness is, and you think that in my explanation you have now gained some insight about it from my words, you haven’t. Because truly being in that state is beyond conceptualization which the human mind seems hell-bent on creating.
Yet perhaps as we consider and contemplate Mindfulness, some of us will break through the conceptual and into the unspeakable truth that may be found there.
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Yes, that is just so, Jack. You posed the question rather intriguingly. As being formerly devoted to hatha yoga and medititaion, I could say that for me, meditation brought balance and clarity, however, for me, not mindfullness. For me, mindfulness would be diving as deep as I can into the river of my mind till I reach bottom, brings about mindfulness, not the shutting out of all around as in meditation.
That is why your question and its format inspired me. No answer is correct….I don’t think it is one to print in Wikipedia 😉 It is as individual an answer as is each person asked.
There is no correct answer and again, I thank you for such a chance to offer me the chance to think and rethink this fascination.
Looking forward to crossing paths once again….Best wishes and success for your wonderful blog, Heather
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Thanks Heather, and your comment has inspired another thought for me. I love how conversations with one another can do that 🙂
It was sparked by your “No answer is correct…” and this may be a bit off topic, but like I said, it was a thought that was sparked.
No answer is correct. What one says, is meant to point toward something deeper, something which we might say “has no definitive point” but is fluid, moving, happening. I’ve been thinking about, and hearing other people say things like, “I like what that teacher says, but he’s off about….” or “that person has some good points, but is a bit too (fill in the blank).” And it is fascinating to me that because we identify one another so much with personality and the words they say, we think that is what there is to a person. Instead of inquiring with others, going deeper into what they are saying to get to that “Mindful” place, we reach conclusions about what they had said or what they did.
Mindfulness and meditation, I think, are often viewed as individual practices. We think, “I am being mindful” or “I am meditating.” We think, “this is good for ME.” What happens when mindfulness is not individualistic (which I do not believe true mindfulness is at all), and we truly see our connection with others?
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Hmmmm….does that become a purest form of empathy or understanding then? Acceptance?
I think we are “taught” meditation and to seek the heights it brings us. What the result is supposed to be, with my experience as stated, is inner peace and balance, mindfulness can not be taught because it can’t be defined. I believe it is far more spiritual, hence, making it personal.
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Is the spiritual personal? What is spiritual? What is personal? “Person”, coming from the Greek word which means “mask” that actors would wear and thus; the mask we wear that somehow we believe is who we really are, which is the only way to truly be a great actor 🙂
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Touchè. And THAT would be the challange and the dare to dive in to mindfulness…per se. To be honest and willing enough to see yourself as you are, accept yourself and love yourself so the mask is not needed.
I know we all have a mask, there are times, for instance, in social or business gatherings that we feel we need to hide behind it, that our own face wouldn’t hold par. That, is sad. Sad when we don’t feel adequet.
It is far more attractive to see a maskless peson, connections are otherwise, are never truely made.
Is it the technological fast paced world that is eating up the spiritual one? The transformation from human to robot where we lose a sense of self and attatchment to our inner needs?
Who really takes the time to nuture their inner feelings and callings anymore? I think it is very spiritual when we shed the mask. Question is, who is willing to do so. Who even remembers “how” to do so. Could we shed this common term of “burnout” if we did, depression, could that be eleveated or would depression grow when we see that we have not been spiritual enough to follow and listen to our inner voice?
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I’d go with being conscious of what you see, live, and feel, but at the same time knowing that the reality you are experiencing is only your reality if you accept it. However, if you don’t want to accept it you have to be prepared to change it.
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