14 Aug How to live mindfully OUTSIDE of a meditation practice
Let me begin by saying that mindfulness meditation, in fact all forms of meditation, are extremely useful.
I can say this with confidence because I’ve reviewed the research literature, and I’ve also experienced the benefits myself (as have MANY with whom I’ve worked over the years).
At the same time, however, mindfulness is often misunderstood. Yes, a mindfulness practice can and should involve meditating but LIVING MINDFULLY is something that goes way beyond a habit in which you might engage of 10 or 15 or 30 minutes each day.
Let’s take a step back and look at the definition of mindfulness, or at least A definition of mindfulness.
My preferred definition of mindfulness is … non-judgemental observation, with curiosity.
During a meditation practice the focus of this non-judgemental observation might be thoughts or feelings, possibly even bodily sensations.
But during life, this can be applied literally anywhere and everywhere; which is what this post is about because that’s really how mindfulness should be thought of if one wants to experience real and meaningful happiness and contentment as often as possible.
Living mindfully is about seeing and living in the world without judgement, it’s about seeing and living in the world as it really is, not as you’d like it to be. And it’s about accepting this world for all it is, good and bad, and hopefully, finding some form of calm and equanimity within all of that.
I’d go so far as to say that living mindfully is about really living, about really experiencing ALL emotions, not just the pleasant ones like happiness and joy, but also the unpleasant ones like anger and anxiety. With mindfulness, however, one can notice the feeling of stress or sadness, but not judge it, and importantly not judge oneself for experiencing it.
It goes without saying that this is MUCH easier said than done; but it is possible. At least it is possible to get better at it with practice. And the incredible benefits that can come from living mindfully make the hard work of practice well worth it.