14 Sep Be mindful: happiness is in the moment
We can all be mindful; we can all meditate; we can all enjoy happiness…
…these simple but important points are conveyed oh so simply and oh so succinctly in this article from Positive Psychology News Daily which is a great read for any of us interested in creating more happiness and living better lives.
Enjoy…
by Scott Crabtree and Chris Wilson (PPND)
Mindfulness is the practice of focusing your attention, then noticing without judgment that your focus has drifted, then refocusing your attention. It’s simple to describe, but for many, difficult to do.
Perhaps you’ve read the growing body of scientific evidence that mindfulness improves mental and physical health, self-regulation, and quality of relationships. You are convinced you should do it.
But weaving mindfulness into a busy day at the office is easier said than done. The thought of sitting down for a 20 minute meditation session in order to be mindful sounds impossible given the demands of your day. But it is possible to incorporate mindfulness into even the busiest of work days.
I believe you, but I just can’t seem to do it.
Ever heard these statements or maybe even said them to yourself?
“I don’t really know how to meditate.”
“I just don’t have time to meditate.”
“It feels kind of weird to just sit there and do nothing when I’m supposed to be working.”
“Even when I try to remember, I usually just put it off until I’m so busy that it feels impossible.”
These are words uttered by folks who agree that practicing mindfulness is a good idea. It’s not a question of believing. It’s a question of finding ways of doing it (or consciously not doing, as Jon Kabat-Zinn might say). We suggest you don’t have to meditate regularly to experience the benefits of mindfulness.
This suggestion is based on a very small but growing body of research exemplified by Jean Kristeller and Ruth Wolever, who used “mini-meditation” in the form of brief practices as part of their work cultivating mindfulness with clients. We believe it is only a matter of time before the research in this area expands to show that this practice is effective in more than just clinical settings.
From inaction to action – rejecting dichotomy, embracing inertia
Too many of us buy into the dichotomy that if we’re not engaging in a consistent practice of meditation, we aren’t “doing mindfulness.”
However when we consider the literature on attention, it becomes clear that we don’t have to meditate regularly to move toward being regularly mindful. Does it help to meditate? Absolutely. But too many folks believe meditation is the only pathway to mindfulness. In fact, mindfulness may be cultivated a number of ways.
You can overcome such all-or-nothing thinking. More important than whether you have a regular meditation practice is whether you are practicing mindfulness right now. By connecting short moments of mindfulness, we can cultivate a sense of momentum that builds over time. Even if you forgot to practice your exercises for a week, just by noticing that you forgot, you’ve practiced a bit of mindfulness. Now you’re back on track.
Short Moments of Mindfulness
A number of techniques can be used to inject moments of mindfulness into the busiest of work days, without losing any productivity. In fact, the following techniques will boost productivity as well as mindfulness.
These simple mini-mindfulness techniques don’t require formal meditation:
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Choose any meeting that you’re attending, and make a sustained effort to focus on the meeting…
…to enjoy more happiness via the practice of mindfulness, keep reading the full and original article HERE