“HARDLY ANYTHING HAPPENS WITHOUT THE MIND SPINNING IT UP INTO AN ELABORATE PRODUCTION. IT’S THE ELABORATION THAT MAKES LIFE MORE DIFFICULT THAN IT NEEDS TO BE.”
~ SYLVIA BOORSTEIN
The modern world is switched on 24/7. External distraction, busyness and noise are the norm these days. Internally it can also be the same way. When things are quiet externally we may notice that the mind is actually very noisy too. The continuous thought-loop can be overwhelming and exhausting emotionally and physically. Dashing from one task to another a lot of us are ‘running on empty’. The body screams out for R & R but we’re caught up in this continuous loop of ‘doing’ and thinking, stopping in not an option, or maybe it is?
Meditation is a powerful way to move beyond the continuous loop and dip into the peace of present moment awareness. Meditation is not about changing who you are or becoming a better person. It’s actually training in awareness and developing an understanding about how your mind operates, it also changes your perspective, which changes everything.
Huge advancements in neuroscience and particularly the discovery of neuroplasticity ( i.e. that the structure on the brain can change with training) have changed our perception of mediation. We know now that just as training the body builds and strengthens muscle, so training the mind with meditation and thicken the pre-frontal cortex of the brain which is associated with awareness, well-being and decision-making, and actually shrink the Amygdala, the ‘flight or fight’ centre in the brain associated with stress.
You wouldn’t exercise your abs once a month and expect to see or feel a difference. Mediation is the same, practice is the key. Training the muscle of the mind takes a little time and patience daily but the benefits that result ensure that it is one of the best investments you will ever make.
There are many types of meditation but mindfulness meditation is receiving a lot of attention in the psychology and medical fields at the moment. Research indicates that there are numerous health benefits associated with this practice – enhanced immune system functioning, reduced stress and anxiety, increased feelings of self-awareness and well-being, reduced experiences of pain, increases in empathy and kindness, and more.
Simply stated, mindfulness is about being aware and living in the present moment, in a non- judgemental manner. Mindfulness encourages us to intentionally disengage from automatic pilot mode and that continuous loop of nonsense, it invites us to bring our full attention back to here and now. By living in our heads in the past or the future we miss the present moment, our lives are made up of moments so we may miss out on our lives.
Modern life is complicated already so keep it simple. We encourage people to make mindfulness part of daily life. It is not another thing on your ever increasing ‘to do’ list, it’s more like practising a ‘way of being’. We refer to it as ‘stopping’ in order to keep going in a more effective and efficient manner.
You may be interested to hear the wisdom of Master Oogway….no he is not some Guru in India….he is a turtle in the children’s animation ‘Kung Fu Panda’! Master Oogway, the wise old turtle says;
‘The past is history, the future a mystery, right now is a gift…..that’s why we call it the present!’