Mindfulness is a practice of learning to be grounded and present in the present moment. By paying attention and really listening without judgment, a real sense of self-awareness develops. We live in a very fast paced world where we are increasingly becoming disconnected from ourselves and our humanity. We are constantly bombarded with emails, texts, the internet and cell phones. These things seem to require our immediate attention constantly. As a result of this technology, We have become heads walking on sticks, we don’t feel our bodies and are out of touch with them from the neck down. All of this lack of presence can cause tremendous stress and anxiety. It can also cause us to not be present to what we are actually feeling.
Coming Back to Your Body
Practicing mindfulness is a way of bringing yourself back to your body and what you are actually feeling. When you are driving a car you are driving a car, washing dishes only washing dishes. Eating a sandwich, just doing that. We learn to disengage the autopilot in our heads. We learn to experience the world directly without the constant commentary. We actually learn to witness our thoughts as mental events that go by in the sky like clouds and we stop taking them literally or personally. And when we learn to do this, our anxiety and depression are alieveated. There is no anxiety or fear in the present moment.
