Mindfulness is paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, without judgment, with a quality of kindness and compassion to self as well as others. It is living out your values, right here, right now. These are skills that we all can learn and as I said, many studies show that people who learn them report more vitality, less illness, better quality of life, and greater freedom too.
In a recent mindfulness study from Canada, it showed that mindfulness-based therapy using meditation provides as much protection against a relapse of depression as antidepressant drug. In fact, scientists, doctors, and researchers all of the world are finding the mindfulness helps people with depression, anxiety, insomnia, OCD, and most mental health disorders, and it doesn’t stop there, it helps people recover quicker from cancer, lowers blood pressure, can prevent heart disease, the list is endless as to what mindfulness can do.
So the question is how can we become mindful? At Ruth Stricker the Mind/Body Study, researchers did a study on mindfulness and walking. The researchers found that the group practicing mindfulness while walking had a significant reduction in anxiety. So how do you go for a mindful walk? It’s easy, just let all your thoughts of the future and past go. Send it away while noticing what the ground feels like under your feet and how you're breathing. Observe your surroundings. Look at the sky, the trees, feel the wind on your cheeks.
If you live in the Tucson area, it is easy to find nice places to practicve mindfulness. Look no further than the Tucson Botanical Gardens, There are many quiet places to sit and be mindful. They even have a Zen Garden. Another wonderful place to walk and be mindful is the De Grazia Gallery In the Sun. This is a showcase of exhibits by deceased artist Ted DeGrazia. There are places to walk and be at real peace. People who want to get away, stay cool and do some real mindful walking just need to go to Mt Lemmon to get fresh air and peace and quiet.
Keep in mind there are some basics of mindfulness. First is to be Non-Judging: taking the role of an impartial observer to whatever your current experience is. This means not making a positive or negative evaluation of what is happening, just simply observing it. Next would be Patience: cultivating the understanding that things must develop in their own time---not your time. Be willing…having the willingness to observe the world as if it was your first time doing so creates an openness that is essential to being mindful. You also require trust. having trust in yourself, your intuition, and your abilities can help you gain mindfulness.
Now here is where it can get hard it is called non-Striving or as I call it, put it down and stop it … and that is the state of not doing anything, just simply accepting that things are happing in the moment just as they are supposed to and this tends to be one of the more difficult components. So therefore is important to have acceptance: completely accepting the thoughts, feelings, sensations, and beliefs that you have, and understanding that they are simply those things only. Finally don’t get attached to a thought… just let a thought or feeling come in and pass without connecting it to anything…just observe it without attachments.
So enjoy Tucson and the fine ways you can have mindfulness and become happy and healthy.
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