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This week, instead of multiple quotes, we focus on just one: "Mindfulness is like the rope that keeps the wild elephant from destroying everything in sight. The rope of mindfulness brings us back to our immediate experience: to our breath, to our walking, to the book in our hands." - Pema Chodron We tend to complicate mindfulness. More accurately, our minds tend to complicate mindfulness. It's actually simple, though. Our mental noise (thoughts, emotions, urges, stories, that ongoing narrative) is constant and pervasive. In any given moment, we are in one of two states - caught up in it or not caught up in it. "The rope of mindfulness" moves us from the former state to the latter. What does it mean to be mindful?When you are mindful, you aren't following your thoughts away from the present moment. You become aware of them, and this awareness keeps you from getting caught up in them. Instead, you return your attention to what you are doing right here and now. Mindfulness is both an action and a state. It's something you do - become aware and return. And, it's a state you cultivate through consistent practice. Mindfulness keeps you from dwelling on the past or stressing about the future. It allows you to engage fully with whatever is happening now: when you work, work. When you play, play. When you eat, eat. When you walk the dog, walk the dog. You will find that the quality of life improves when you don't divide your attention between what you're doing here and now and the mental noise playing in your head. What are you trying to "cope" with?
Coping doesn't work - addressing the root cause does. We'll show you how. Comments are closed.
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