Practical Mindfulness
Mindfulness Is a Practical Matter Useful at Work or Play
Mindfulness can be a practical matter valuable to people performing any task
There is a rumor going around that you have to be a “spiritual” type to get into the awesomeness of mindfulness.
Not true. The practical, active and enduring value of being present is that you can be simply conscious of whatever you are doing. It’s a bankable virtue, not something ethereal.
There are whole schools of meditation loosely labeled, mindfulness. I’ve been meditating in one form or other for years, so that side of things is no mystery to me. What we are discussing here is far simpler than that. This is not sitting meditation. This is an active participatory practice, in life.
I would say there are many directions you can take the term. Some people apply it as a sitting, formal meditation practice. Others (including myself), look for the pragmatic side of things, or both forms may be developed.
The question asked is, how is it useful in daily life?
First some theory:
Most of the time, I’m lost in thought or reverie about something other than what I am engaged in presently. Noticing this, I focus on whatever I am physically doing. Noticing the difference between being absorbed, unconsciousness and unavailable and being present, alert and conscious is the key.
The other component that must be mentioned is the sheer native pleasure of being bodily present, as opposed to the complication and pleasureless state of being self-absorbed (in the negative sense).
If you like the science behind it — and as always, there are different views put forward — when we are distracted by thought and emotion, internalized and unconscious that is termed the default mode network of the brain, our common state.
It is during these times that we might be daydreaming, recalling memories, envisioning the future, monitoring the environment, thinking about the intentions of others, and so on — all things that we often do when we find ourselves just “thinking” without any explicit goal of thinking in mind. Additionally, recent research has begun to detect links between activity in the default mode network and mental disorders like depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia. Furthermore, therapies like meditation have received attention for influencing activity in the default mode network, suggesting this may be part of their mechanism for improving well-being.¹
In opposition to this, someone coined the term Present Centered Default Mode Network² to describe the brain state we activate when simply present and conscious.
My meditation teacher had a more holistic, mind based, rather than brain centered explanation. He called the state of being lost in thought, the conceptual mind and when we are present and attentive, the perceptual mind.
I have noticed when I practice (and it is a practice) being in the perceptual mind or being present. I can enjoy my breathing cycle, bodily movement, the action itself, relations, surroundings, and arising states.
As a practical matter, when I put my phone, keys, wallet, and glasses down and I’m in a mindful, consciously present, state. I know exactly where they are. Another practical spin off — one of many — is when active in this state, even the most mundane and pedestrian tasks can be interesting.
The value of a mindful approach to any task is that being present when performing it will make anyone less likely to make errors of judgment because of the interest factor. Interest keeps us focused without a struggle. It’s natural to stay on a task when there is interest there. When the mind wanders we notice it and gently pull it back.
The beauty of it is, you can take mindfulness in any direction. It belongs specifically to no group or religion, though its roots may be there. That is, it’s unbranded. As a meditative practice (which I’ve not gone into) it moves in a different, but potentially an inclusive direction — both may be complimentary.
