What is Mindfulness

The practice of mindfulness is universal, and has been used for thousands of years. Mindfulness is an invitation to live in the present moment, and open up to the fullness of our lives. We become aware that this moment is the only moment we have, and taking care of this moment can have an amazing impact on the next moment, and indeed our future.

We can be a witness to the mind’s activity and explore what is going on beneath the surface. We come into a deep dimension of awareness that is already within us, but so unfamiliar to us that we don’t know how to usezi it at the most difficult times of our lives.

Mindfulness cultivates the tools we can use in times of struggle, and in ordinary times, making the ordinary, extraordinary

It is about caring for ourselves, a willingness to come up close to our discomfort, pain and joy without judgement , striving or struggle. It invites us to taste the true extent of what it means to be human, to get to know the mind intimately and become aware of a depth of wisdom that we didn’t know we had. It also invites us to let go of our attachment to limited ideas about who we are, and wake up to some of our deeper truths.

We spend our time ruminating about the past, or worrying about the future. We are seldom in the present moment. We live a lot of our lives on auto pilot We miss most of our lives by always being somewhere else. In mindfulness we are concerned with noticing what’s going on right now, with what’s arising in the present moment. When thoughts about the past or future take our attention away from our present moment experience , we try to become aware of this and gently escort our minds back to what is emerging in the present. Mindfulness is about “falling awake”

By purposefully directing our awareness away from thoughts and towards the “home base” or our present moment experience, we lessen the effect our thoughts can have on our lives and we create instead a space of awareness where peace and ease can grow. Underpinning all of this is a sense of compassion for ourselves.