Mindfulness

"Mindfulness is paying attention, in a particular way , on purpose, in the present moment, without judgement" - says Jon Kabat Zinn who introduced the concept of mindfulness to the western world.

It is quite normal if it leaps to your mind  "It does not make any sense! How am I doing all my day to day activities without paying attention?" 

With the current busy life style and the bustle of activities we do, we tend to think and plan a lot. It's a good thing to plan and organise our lives. But when this thinking and planning goes beyond certain level, it takes us over. We end up planning our day while having breakfast, trying to solve an issue when we are supposed to have nice relaxed walk! 

 Lets try to recall what we did this morning right after we woke up? How did  you feel after a nice  shower? Did you notice any difference in the bedroom plant you kept a week before? These little things may not look necessary one, but these pretty little things make our life content and teach us to appreciate things around us. 

Here comes the mindfulness which helps to take us from the autopilot mode and be in the present moment. Mindfulness helps us to be aware and embrace the changes thats happening in our life. It helps to be in the present experience the beauty of what the current moment offers us. As master Oogway says in Kungfu Panda, "Yesterday is a history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. Thats why it is called present".We cannot change the event that is already past , but we can change the view we relate to that event. 

Mindfulness meditation can be practiced while doing our daily chores without any specialised tools. 

History and Origin of Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a practice followed several thousands of years ago in the eastern countries. In the east it was mostly practiced as a religious and spiritual act. This was brought to the west side of the world by Jon Kabat Zinn(1979).

He learnt about mindfulness through different Buddhist teachers including Thich Nhat Hanh. He combined the concept of mindfulness practice from east with science so that non religious people can receive the benefit as well. 

Benefits of mindfulness:-

There are several benefits reported by people from different fields from decreased depression, better memory to better physical health. But I would advise to practice mindfulness and discover the benefits by yourself. There are legion of benefits and the  perceivance vary from each individual.

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