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Mindfulness is necessary
“Mindfulness is necessary, but it’s not sufficient.” Rick Hanson
Mindfulness is necessary, no wonder the meditation practice which aims at directing awareness to the present moment has been growing in popularity.
More and more people are adopting the regimen, mindfulness-based therapies and courses are flourishing.
The promise of lowered stress and anxiety, well-being, and better emotional regulation is appealing.
Indeed, MBSR and MBCT research has shown that practicing routinely brings benefits to practitioners.
That’s a Start
These programs rest on contemporary interpretations of the Buddhist mindfulness practice, Sati, they offer easy exercises fit for modern living.
The practice helps build resilience to the craziness of today’s lifestyle, as well as raising our awareness to the changing environment.
It allows us to experience the moments of our life more fully and less judgmentally, to go through the hoops in wakefulness.
All the while, being attentive draws our attention to the feelings and emotions that move through us at any given moment.
Mindful and then what?
“Even advanced meditators are not insulated from the internal disturbances that arise from the habitual workings of the mind.” Traleg Kyabgon
The more mindful we become the more sensitive we are to the web of feelings and sensations that make up our day.
Now you come face to face with your anger, your sadness, your despair, the stronger the emotion the more difficult the meet.
Mindfulness is an eye opener so you may be appalled by what you find, and maybe a little thrown by the negativity.
At the same time the practice helps not get overwhelmed by our emotional state, we learn to be with it.
No judgement No fight
It takes mental effort not to hold an opinion especially when feelings are involved, try you’ll see you can’t.
Knowing how you feel won’t make you feel better, embracing the emotion helps but momentarily.
What can we do about it? You can opt to practice your breathing until it passes, but that won’t prevent it from coming back.
Or you can take mind training a step further, use meditation techniques that help break free of the mental patterns.
Stop & reflect
“Once we glimpse our mind as a set of processes, rather than getting swept away by the seductions of our thoughts, we enter the path of insight.” Daniel Goleman, Richard J. Davidson
Mindfulness is all about remembering to pay attention, to notice how the world affects you as it happens.
Without training we are walking in a state of forgetfulness, things occur and we react without giving it a second thought.
By being present, we have the opportunity to turn things around, to change our mind about the situation.
Instead of falling victim to our emotions, we deal with it on the spot, so we don’t regret it later.
Know what you are dealing with
Understanding the emotions that are coming up is extremely important, but we have to be willing to explore.
Anger and Sadness are not the same, every emotion is different, we should be able to tell the difference.
That’s where wisdom is of major help, the greater your appreciation of the mechanisms at play, the better you are.
Only once you’re clear about what you are experiencing can you apply the antidote that works best.
Work on the root cause
“External factors are merely conditions – changing the mind is the first answer.” Lama Zoppa
Coping with feelings and emotions can be challenging, you need a support system, a method.
Leaning on mindfulness and the power of concentration alone isn’t enough to pierce through our emotional bubbles.
We need insight, a way to shed light on the source of our emotions, for they are not without origin.
What we feel isn’t the product of our experience, it is the end result of a decision made by our mind.
Like it or not…
Whatever appears through our senses is filtered by our mind, which in turn labels every occurrence.
If the label is positive, it calls for positive thoughts and emotions, if it’s not we’re left with negativity.
Mental processing happens at remarkable speed, no wonder we’re often taken aback by our feelings.
Since decisions made by our mind are based on past events committed to memory, we have to dig deep.
Explore to correct
“Whether we are happy or miserable, we need to train our mind right now.” Lama Yeshe
In the backstage of our mind, in our subconscious, all decisions fall without us being the least involved, it’s a problem.
Our mind’s take isn’t full proof, in fact it’s filled with distortions that come from comparing the old with the new.
If we want to see things as they are and free ourselves from the grasp of negative emotions, we’ll need clarity.
Vipassana, insight meditation facilitates the investigation and makes easier unpacking emotional burdens.
Look behind every trigger
Every emotion that comes up conceals information, it has something to do with needs not being met.
These revolve around the eight worldly concerns that drive our actions and motivate our reactions.
Our need for praise, reputation, comfort and possessions, and our fear of shame, invisibility, discomfort and lack are always at play.
Once we’ve identified the culprit, things are made clearer, the emotion will often dissolve on its own. ?
Mindfulness is necessary but not without Wisdom
“Our best intentions can’t force insight or wisdom, but we can intend to pay attention, to inquire, and to care.” Guy Armstrong, Joseph Goldstein
To part ways with mental habits that are harmful to ourselves and others, we should base our work on reliable foundations.
But first things first, let us make up our mind and decide here and now, we’re done with unnecessary suffering.
We can’t stop things from happening, but when it comes to managing our discomfort, we can definitely do better.
To change our mind, we must put our concepts aside and internalize notions that bring about transformation.
Open your mind to the truth
We remind ourselves the Buddha’s four Noble truths as often as we can, until they sink in completely.
Suffering is a fact of life! As for the cause, it boils down to our collective ignorance, nobody’s immune.
Our actions carry unforeseen results, especially when we’re not careful, we ought to know what brings about good and bad.
What we think, say and do creates happiness or pain, so we must be watchful, like hawks, intent is all.
Change your mental attitudes
“We can discover our faults by examining our physical, verbal and mental behaviour and weed them out through constant mindfulness, mental alertness and the application of appropriate antidotes.” Geshe Sonam Rinchen, Ruth Sonam
Mental training is about regaining control over our decision-making processes by reeducating our mind.
We rely on our ability to learn new skills, just like we would a foreign language, through repetition and systematic application.
Our objective is to root out the ‘poisons’ in our mind and adopt mental habits that bring about happiness and peace.
In this way, we trade anger with compassion, jealousy with equanimity, craving with discernment, ignorance with good judgment.
Mindfulness is necessary | use it or lose it
The ability to remain focused and present is a faculty that requires commitment, it’s a long-term affair.
Like any other skill you’ve pick-up along the way, if you want it to stay then you have to stick with it.
It entails keeping with our daily practice and staying faithful to our growth no matter what.
Maintaining awareness at all time is a gift, it will change the quality of all our experiences happy and sad.
What’s the fuss?
“Mindfulness supports the possibility of investigation, and of our asking, in a way, “What is actually so terrible here?”” . Rob Burbea
You have been taught to compete, to fight, to do what it takes, and that is the source of your distress.
The world is driven by that same energy, the more the higher, the faster the better, we breed tension.
We have a hard time with delayed gratification because we expect immediate satisfaction, like children.
We’re so fixated on securing comfort, we forget everything depends on everything else, no exception.
Not that big of a deal
Our reactions are often blown out of proportion for no valid reason, time and again we panic over trivial things.
No doubt holding a ‘can’t wait’ attitude not only takes away our freedom; it disturbs our peace of mind.
The magnitude of our suffering rests on our perception, here mindfulness is necessary, don’t let it slack.
Staying upset doesn’t serve our interest, be realistic, act fast, come back, use meditation to reassess and realignॐ
Nathalie Bizawi, founder of Wisdom & Mindfulness meditation center. Senior Meditation, Mindfulness and philosophy instructor, From Wingate Academic College. M.A in Education from TAU University, Tel Aviv.
Wisdom & Mindfulness your meditation center in Tel Aviv