Author Archive | Therese Sheedy

Scientific research has now developed so much that we can see and measure the impact mindfulness has on our daily lives.  Findings have shown an increase in positive emotions, a stronger sense of purpose, higher sports performance, improved sleep, better academic performance, more energy and a greater sense of deep peace.  People have reported decreases in negative mood, lower levels of depression and anxiety, with less relapses, as well as less cravings for food thereby decreasing obesity.  Overall people who live more mindfully have a greater zest for life and decrease the ageing process by improving the plasticity of the brain.

Mindfulness invites us to be receptive to what is happening in this present moment, and is often described as ‘deliberately paying attention to this very moment without passing judgment or expectation’ (adapted from Jon Kabat Zinn).  So you may think that sounds simple – pay attention to this very moment, too easy.  Simple yes, easy no!

You see our minds aren’t used to paying attention to this very moment on a consistent basis.  Sure we can pay attention when we need to, but for most of the time we are lost in thinking. We are busy in our heads planning our next meeting or going over some conversation or argument we had yesterday, last week, maybe even five years ago! We can be thinking about the emails we need to write, or rehearsing for the next important conversation we may have with someone who is difficult or challenging.   Often we can be just plain blaming ourselves for what we didn’t do well or won’t be able to do in the future.

There is a reason for all this thinking and it is mostly due to our evolution. You see our minds have always been needed to keep us safe. As human beings, we don’t have armour to protect us or poison to strike out with. We have our brains, and we have relied on our high functioning minds to keep us safe, safe from the wolves. We needed to develop the ability to reflect on the past (where was the danger last time?), assess current events (am I in danger now?), make plans for the future (where will I be safe and for how long?).

However, there aren’t any real wolves out to get us now, we have different ‘wolves’. We think about conversations/fights we have had which we weren’t happy with. We think about how we will cope in the future – “what if it doesn’t get better? What if things don’t work out for the best?” We ruminate, remember, reminisce; we worry, we plan, we predict, and we tend to do this most of the time.   The Buddhists have a phrase referring to this constant thinking in the mind, jumping from one thought to another – they call this “Monkey Mind”.

Monkey Mind tends to happen when we are performing routine tasks, tasks that we know we can do and so we trust our bodies to do it while our mind goes off thinking about other things. This happens at times such as during our morning routine, while we are showering, brushing teeth, dressing, eating, driving, or doing household chores like folding clothes, ironing, or cleaning floors.   Have you ever driven from A to B and not remembered the trip? Have you ever forgotten if you locked the car or left the hair straightener on, or turned off the iron? When this happens, when we continue to do things without paying any real attention to it, we call this ‘autopilot’.  We can also go on to autopilot when we are in routine relationships, such as with people we see daily like as our intimate partners, children and colleagues.  This means that we are not actually ‘there’ for those interactions, because our minds are busy, busy, busy, chatting, chatting, chatting!

Mindfulness can help bring us back to the present moment so that we can be fully present while doing these things. We can be more present in the car. We can better remember conversations with partners, colleagues, and children. But it all takes practice.

So let’s start by training our minds to be present.  Pick a routine, perhaps brushing your teeth, your morning shower or when you are driving and just notice when your mind is wandering off the task at hand.  Notice when you are thinking about something else. When it does this, and trust me it will, just gently bring your focus back on the task.

You can use your senses, because they are always in the present. You can tune in to your sense of smell, hearing, seeing, tasting and especially touch.  Our sense of touch can bring us back to this moment very quickly if we tune into it.  Notice in the car when you are thinking about already being at your destination and what you need to do, or thoughts you may have about the past, and bring your focus back to the car, back to your driving. Feel your back against the seat, your hands on the steering wheel, notice the sounds of the traffic, the movement of other cars.

Practice this at different times in your day and watch what happens. Your mind will likely get bored with the present and will need to ‘unpack’ or ruminate over past.  It may be that like me you slip into planning what you will do next. Worrying about the unknown future, making predictions often predicting failure before you have even given something a go. Just notice this is happening and come back to your senses, here in this moment.

While there may not be anything noteworthy happening in this moment, the object here is to practice paying attention. This is the beginning of mindfulness. Noticing the challenge the mind has in maintaining its attention for any sustained period of time. Practice, without judgment of whether you like what’s happening, whether you are good at paying attention or not, just do it, with curiosity and interest. We will move into more mindfulness practices later, for now be gentle on yourself, be curious about your own mind and be present whatever you are doing!

Photo:Appreciation to Paul Inkles Flickr