Mindfulness – A Journey to A More Meaningful Life

“With mindfulness, you can establish yourself in the present in order to
touch the wonders of life that are available in that moment.”
Thich Nhat Hanh

Mindfulness is a term we hear a lot nowadays, not only in spiritual societies but even at the office or a local movie club – to be mindful of our thoughts, words and actions!

Practicing mindfulness has many advantages in life, from maintaining good health to having more meaningful relationships and spiritual experiences. In this article, we aim at studying mindfulness and its benefits.

– What is Mindfulness?

Being mindful means to be aware… to be present! As we may know, our body has consciousness. Our cells have consciousness. Our Chakras have consciousness. This consciousness sometimes acts as a pilot and tends to follow the same routine that it always does. For example, if you always take the same route to your office, this route gets stored in your body’s memory.

If one day you aim at going to another place like a friend’s house, and you lose your awareness at the present moment, by getting diverted by a piece of news on the radio, for example, there are higher chances that your body falls into pilot mode and take you to the same route that you take every day – your office. But if you are mindful and present, you consciously decide to go to your new destination being your friend’s house, not your office.

In this way, mindfulness refers to being actively present at every moment of life and take conscious and more meaningful decisions.

“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.”
Buddha

Awareness is often considered the opposite of concentration. To be mindful, we need to expand our consciousness, while to be concentrated, we need to focus.

– What are the Benefits of Being Mindful?

Mindfulness has many levels and benefits… one needs to be mindful of the environment and their body, emotions and thoughts!

Awareness towards the Outer Environment:

To be mindful of the environment means to be aware of what is going on beside us. To be attentive of others’ presence, of animals and activities happening around us.

The benefit is to be able to help others and also protect ourselves.

If we are aware of others, we can notice if they need help. We can know their needs, wants, thoughts and emotions. In a relationship, being sensitive enough to understand what our partner feels or needs is crucial. Many relationships fall apart not because they don’t love each other, but because they don’t know how to show it. They don’t know the needs, likes and dislikes of one another, just because they don’t pay attention!

Being aware also helps us to protect ourselves from being a victim of possible stealing or deceiving. Mindfulness allows us to go beyond the words and extract the real meaning behind words and actions.

Awareness towards the Body:

To be mindful regarding our bodies is very important to help us prevent any serious ailment from happening. The body is a vehicle of the soul – it helps us live in this physical world and evolve. Sometimes the body, similar to any other machine or vehicle, gets affected and needs repair.

Our body’s way of crying for help is pain and sickness. If we are mindful of our bodies, before the body reaches a point to get sick, we can feel it and take proper actions. Before the body gets so damaged and full of pain, we will notice the organs that need attention and help. Therefore, we can prevent many ailments from happening.

Awareness towards Thoughts and Emotions:

Many of us feel various emotions every day. All of us create many thoughts, But sometimes we also pick-up other people’s thoughts and feelings. Sometimes we get affected by our environment. If we are mindful of our thoughts and emotions, we know what activities create what sorts of opinions and ideas are in our minds and what places make us feel good, or bad.

Therefore, we can choose more wisely what activities to participate in or not, which places to visit or not, and even if our house or office needs cleansing.

This will help us to have more control over our lives!

Furthermore, on a spiritual level, practising mindfulness during meditation helps us be aware of the soul and hear its whispers. Therefore, mindfulness is a practice to become present, take an active part in life, and help us make the most out of what life has to offer!

“Be happy in the moment, that’s enough. Each moment is all we need, not more.”
Mother Teresa