Exploring mindfulness and enhancing your well-being
Mindfulness is a way of waking up in the world. Whenever we bring awareness, without judgment and with whole-hearted intention to the present moment, we are engaging in mindfulness.
Mindfulness Meditation is a practical way to cultivate mindfulness. When practised formally, these meditation practices help us to tap into this awareness more readily. And while formal mindfulness practices are an important foundation, the whole of life is an opportunity to practise mindfulness.
Every moment is one in which we can wake up, become present, and mindful.
Mindfulness supports well-being.
The more we practise mindfulness, the more aware we are of the distinction between when we are present, and mindful, and when we are on ‘autopilot’ and ‘mindless’.
So, with practice, it becomes easier to notice what is typically ‘off the radar’ of our ordinary, everyday awareness – the activity of our minds, our patterns of thinking, and emotions, which drive so much of our behaviour.
We begin to notice our habitual behaviour and responses with deepening understanding and compassion. This tempers conditioned reactivity to challenging experiences.
It does not mean we do not feel our feelings, or live a pain-free life. Rather it invites a new way of being in relationship to our passing states of mind and body (thoughts, feelings and sensations).
While, this might not seem like a lot, experiencing this shift reveals a spaciousness embedded right here within the heart of our experience, out of which new ways of being and seeing ourselves, each other and the world begin to effortlessly emerge.
Recommended Reading
There are a number of ways to engage with mindfulness teachings, different practices and applications in daily life through mindfulness-based courses, articles and videos. We’ve put together a selection of content to get you started.
How Mindfulness Can Change Your Life
A powerful video by Jon Kabat-Zinn, where he explores mindfulness in everyday life, and how the 9 attitudes of mindfulness can bring balance and fulfillment to our lives.
The 23 Amazing Health Benefits of Mindfulness
A well thought-through collection of resources that breaks down all of the health benefits of practicing mindfulness in everyday life, with sources to back them up.
The Secret to Feeling Calm and Focused
Why do Buddhist monks appear peaceful and present all the time? Do they know some hidden secret that you don’t? These 7 Buddhist monk habits are hard to adopt but they’ll change your life forever.
10 Mindful Attitudes That Decrease Anxiety
By exerting more conscious control over our behaviors and attitudes, we learn to work with our capacity to be kind to ourselves. Mindfulness allows us to interrupt our actions that lead to anxiety.
How to Meditate: An Animated Guide
An invitation into releasing the resistance to one of the most life-expanding practices possible. Explore how to overcome your self-defeating resistance and reap the benefits of meditation.
Who is The Happiest Man in The World?
A 69-year-old monk whom scientists call the “world’s happiest man” says the secret to being happy takes just 15 minutes a day. He believes mindfulness of others can lead to happiness.