Recently, while I was perusing a newsagency, I saw reference to mindfulness and presence on the cover of a popular health magazine. I began reflecting on how this concept is moving more and more out of spiritual and religious circles, and more and more into mainstream health. Even science is jumping on the bandwagon – and in my experience, for good reason.
Why is mindfulness and presence so important for good health and well-being?
Firstly, lets look at what these two words actually mean.
Mindfulness is a concept whereby we pay attention with awareness to what is occurring in our current experience. Our current experience is also in the present moment, so mindfulness and presence are often used interchangeably.
Why is this kind of awareness important?
Have you ever had the experience of driving somewhere and not noticing anything on the way? If you closed your eyes right now, could you describe accurately what is around you? So often we are caught in a world where our experience is dictated by our thoughts, and our thoughts alone. We become so identified with them that we believe we are our thoughts. The problem is, we have thoughts, but we are not our thoughts. If we exist in a world of thoughts alone, we are missing out on everything else that life has to offer!
If we are not present to, or mindful of, our experience (eg. our surroundings, the feelings in our bodies, the smells, the temperature), we can start believing that our thoughts are the truth of our world. This might be well and good if our thoughts were a reliable source of truth and happiness, but of course they are not always, and can be based on well worn patterns that have no truth to them at all and only serve to make us miserable!
Mindfulness and presence do not require you to get rid of or reject your thoughts, only to consider them in the right context, not to take them at face value without curiosity. Ask yourself, how true is what I am thinking right now likely to be? If you don't know, remind yourself that it is just a thought, and that it is only one of the experiences of being a human being. Mindfulness is an excellent technique to reduce stress, aid relaxation, and feel more connected to the world we live in. It is little wonder that it is considered to be an important key to happiness!