Ok, but, what’s really mindfulness?

Cristina Cárdenas
Sep 3, 2018 · 2 min read

“Mindfulness is awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgementally. It’s about knowing what is on your mind.” — Jon Kabat-Zinn

You are not your thoughts and feelings

We live most of our life without realising how we actually feel, the nature of our thoughts and the meaning of our experiences. Although this self-awareness might sound exhausting, we don’t perceive that our brain has an average of 60–70 thousand thoughts a day! Some studies suggest that 95 percent of them are the same thoughts repeated every day and 80 percent of those are negative.

The human brain is biased towards negativity.

Our mind tends to focus and interpret our experience in negative terms, which brings recurrent emotional reactions and impulses. As real as they might seem, you are not merely your thoughts and your feelings. The vast majority of your thoughts are a construction that evolves into beliefs about ourselves, others and the world.

“The important thing to realize is that no matter what these beliefs are, they became true because we act and think in accordance with them. Thus, our beliefs truly do shape our world in a very real sense.” — Vishen Lakhiani

Who are you?

According to Jon Kabat-Zinn, one of the most relevant mindfulness experts, the question about who you are is much more important than the answers you give about yourself.

Awareness & mental space

Mindfulness allows us to bring awareness to what’s going on in our mind at the present moment. A way to practice mindfulness is meditation: this simple act of stillness opens a space for observation. We start noticing the nature of the thoughts that arise in our mind. Is it planning, worry, criticism, going back to the past? With no judgment and being kind to ourselves we take some distance from our usual emotional impulses and breathe. Cultivating stillness gives us the option to choose positive and healthy thoughts, memories, and images of the future. Our mind becomes more spacious and less clogged.

We’re so busy seeking the complicated, that we miss the simple.

When we miss the simple, we miss the fundamental.

The foundation of life itself.

This is stillness. — Kashyapi


To know more:

Be Still — Kashyapi

Code of the extraordinary Mind — Vishen Lakhiani, NY, Ed. Rodale

Cultivating mindfulness — Jim Hopper Ph.D.

minful.org

Cristina Cárdenas

Written by

Psychologist. Creating transformation & impact through personal and organizational leadership, psychology & creativity. New leaders, new rules.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade