Skip to main content

Introduction to mindfulness

By Dr Sophie Jayamaha



Mindfulness can be defined many ways but most simple and practical approach is to bring your awareness in to the present moment experience and noticing it without judging only through your own interpretation, because our own interpretations are based on limited information and limited awareness.

We can improve our awareness through mindfulness.
Everything we see, hear, smell, touch, taste and feel are subjected to how we perceive and interpret with our own limited knowledge about them.

Therefore they do not give us the true and whole picture of what we perceive. It is like a blind man touching one part of an elephant and interpreting what an elephant is.
When we begin to notice things, places and people as they are without bringing our own interpretation so firmly, we tend to open and allow different perspectives and different views.  Then we begin to notice them differently to how we perceived before. When you change the way you see, what you look at change.

When we begin to see things with openness our mental reactions and physical activity change. Then our expectations change. We will not get so tensed, upset and angry, when things do not go according to the plan. We learn to accept things that we can’t change and we learn to change us if things are not acceptable to us. We will learn not to depend on others to please us.

Mindfulness practice trains the brain to be in a state of heightened awareness of our thoughts, emotions and reactions in the body to our emotions.   It is not easy to discipline the mind to remember to be aware without being distracted. That requires repetitive practice.

Every time when you notice that you mind has distracted and you are not aware that you are aware, bring the mind back to the present moment awareness. Every time you notice distraction, you become mindful. The more times you notice your distraction, the more you become mindful.

There are many ways to maintain your conscious awareness in the present moment.
Simply,
Be aware of your breath,
Be aware of what you are thinking and
Be aware of your body posture and sensations
Be aware of your surroundings.
When you are fully aware of all of the above, you begin to feel grounded, relaxed, calm, confident and contented.

© Copyrights reserved by Dr. S. Jayamaha 2016-10-05

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to deal with difficult people at work

By Dr Sophie Jayamaha
I am sure you have come across difficult people at work or any where else in your life. There was a time I was in tears when I got hurt by difficult people. Those days I thought "why everyone can't be as nice as I am, I don't speak or act like that towards them and it is not fair" I was hurt and angry and feeling miserable. I needed fairness and justice done to heal my wounds. This was many years ago. When I look back, I could see why I suffered the way I did. I still see "difficult" people now but I see them very differently now and I see suffering is optional and not inevitable. If you like the option of not suffering you have come to the right place and read on. I labelled them as difficult, because they made me uncomfortable. Others may not have seen as difficult. But there are people who will be seen as difficult by most people and they too are seen as difficult only because most people are affected by them. So, being difficult is about them or us who b...
Post a Comment
Read more

To Be Or Not To Be A Vegetarian Is The Question

By Dr Sophie Jayamaha
Meat consumption and vegetarianism are both two ends of the same stick.  They are both created by people for the same reasons, thinking that both are right. Being right is only one of the reasons and you will find the other as you read. But this billion dollar question has no such simple answer or one right answer.  Let's look at the big picture. All vegetarians are not vegetarians because they love animals. Most vegetarians do so because of health reasons. Many animal lovers are also meat eating people. They eat meat because they too believe it provides nutrition and also they love the taste. Humans kill animals for various reasons and most people who kill animals are not the ones who eat them. They kill to sell and killing  animals is a legal and acceptable trade which is a significant source of economy of certain countries such as USA, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand. If people don't eat animals then there is no trade. But animals would be in pe...
Post a Comment
Read more

Daily Mindfulness Practice of Gratitude

By Dr Sophie Jayamaha
We go about our daily life without appreciating little things that can give us immense satisfaction and innocent pleasures in life. We dont have to do much, but only by noticing and appreciating them we can bring peace and happiness to our lives. How about making a habit of waking up to our senses feeling happy and contented everyday. To experience true and lasting happiness and contentment we need to be in touch with pure consciouness.  When we just notice the things that our senses capture without our own interpreatation or judgment we are in touch with pure conciouness. All we need to do is to pay attention to what we see, hear, smell, taste, touch and feel without naming or shaming, blaming or praising. Just noticing them and acknowledging them as they are, we become aware of the most magical and precious gift that we all have received as a human being, that is the ability to be aware of pure consciousness that we truly are. As I wake up or any time in the...
Post a Comment
Read more