Mindfulness for our daily lives

Paying attention to our present is the pending task of most of us. Disconnecting from what was in the past or what may happen in the future, and turning our senses to the here and now, is the bridge that connects with our interior and one of the objectives of mindfulness.

This ancient philosophy, so fashionable today, invites us to adopt an attitude of openness above all that happens based on the practice of acceptance. Furthermore, it offers us the possibility of conceiving our mind as a space free of judgments in order to free ourselves from the automatism in which we live immersed.

What is the mindfulness

Known in Spanish as “full attention” or “full consciousness.” It is considered the cornerstone of Buddhism theravada. Through it we try focus on the present moment, without judging and with a kind and loving attitude towards what is contemplated.

There are many authors who have provided us with a definition of this concept., like Vicente Simón (2011) who has defined it as “the universal and basic human capacity, which consists of the possibility of being aware of the contents of the mind moment by moment.”

It is useful, therefore, to silence our mental noise. That is, to silence and calm our mind and see clearly. In this way, we will learn to connect with our present and live experiences second by second.

Mindfulness involves reaching a state of consciousness that allows us to pay attention to the experience of the moment.. This state is cultivated and developed through practice, where we learn to relate to the totality of experience.

What mindfulness is not

Before forming a biased or negative opinion about this practice, it is more advisable to inform ourselves and compare different data and sources in order to have a more realistic perspective on it. Therefore, it is essential to clearly define what it is and what it is not:

It is not a religion. It is simply a method of mental training.It is not essential to be seated. It is not necessary for us to sit cross-legged on the floor or adopt the classic lotus position. While it is true that most articles and magazines “sell” us this idea, in reality, it can be practiced in almost any place, position or time.It does not require special time or space. Practicing it is not going to take up any of our time, it is not something that we should practice from 5 to 7 in the afternoon. Once we master its guidelines, we can do it at any time, without having to pay for classes. In reality, it is a habit, a strategy that seeks to improve our quality of life.Mindfulness is not complicated. It’s not about doing it right or wrong, it’s actually about training our mind day by day to focus it on the present, on the here and now.It is not a miracle or a recipe for happiness. It will not make us achieve success in a month or achieve all our desires. It is a path, a strategy, a way to develop a deeper and more compassionate awareness of what surrounds us, to reflect on ourselves and what surrounds us.

Origin of mindfulness

It has its origin in Kapilavastu, a place that today is the border between India and Nepal. There, where so many Eastern teachings about humans and consciousness have taken shape and then spread throughout the planet, it seems that this practice arose.

But the most curious thing is that was born from the palace environment of about 2500 years ago. In this place, a man, a descendant of Suddhodana, king of the Sakya, called Siddharta Gautama, constitutes the first historical reference that we have today.

As for the concept as such, it has its roots in the Buddhist concept of satiwhich implies a constant and detailed awareness of current events. Buddhism, founded by Siddhārtha Gautama, is believed to be the origin of this practice.

Later, the term mindfulness was adapted into English in 1881 by Thomas William Rhys Davids, who assumed it to be the best translation of sati in that language. Although this practice was very common in Eastern cultures, it was not until the 70s that it began to be recognized in the West.

Kabat-Zinn and mindfulness

Now, in the 1970s, Jon Kabat-Zinn, nuclear biologist, professor emeritus of medicine and founder of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts, began to promote mindfulness. He himself had been practicing Zen meditation since he was 20 years old, and since then, he had not stopped researching and scientifically demonstrating the benefits that practicing this exercise had for our health.

Since then, thousands of people around the world have carried out their MBSR program (mindfulness based stress reduction) to combat chronic pain, reduce anxiety and stress, sleep problems and depression.

Likewise, and since Professor Kabat-Zin published his first scientific article on this discipline in 1980, Each year between 200 and 800 articles are published that endorse the real benefits of this practice.

Currently, both the MBSR program and MBCT (Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy) are the interventions based on mindfulness that have the most scientific evidence.

Benefits for life

We must make one aspect clear: Developing mindfulness is not achieved in a week or two, it takes practice and will.

Our lack of concentration is continuous, the bombardment of stimuli and recurring thoughts does not stop so easily, and, therefore, some patience is required. However, once we establish the strategy, what we will notice in our day to day life is the following.

1. More awareness about our emotions

One of the benefits of mindfulness is that it improves emotional self-regulation, self-knowledge and self-control. Little by little, we are becoming masters of our interior. Also, we will develop introspection, openness, reflection and self-acceptance.

2. Improves working memory

Working memory allows us to temporarily store new information in our brain, then retrieve and process it.. This system is basic and essential in our daily lives, both to perform our work better and to perceive ourselves as more integrated in our present, in our tasks, relationships and responsibilities.

3. Prevents symptoms of depression

The development of depression almost always occurs with those cycles of negative and exhausting thoughts that trap the person in a dark abyss, in a repetitive and annihilating dimension. However, if we start training in mindfulness, many of those mild depressive symptoms can lose their strength.

We suddenly perceive other options, we regulate our emotions better, we release the knot of the pastwe stop anticipating negative things in the future and root ourselves in that present so full of opportunities.

4. You promote resilience

Resilience, that wonderful ability to recover from adversity and emerge stronger, can be enhanced through mindfulness. Through it, emotional self-regulation is encouraged and we learn from our past experiences to promote better decision-making.

5. Helps you sleep better

Another of its benefits is that is capable of improving sleep quality. Additionally, they have the potential to reduce insomnia, which has a positive effect on people’s mental and physical health.

6. Increases the density of gray matter in the brain

A study on the mindfulness and gray matter found that this practice increases the concentration of gray matter in brain regions associated with learning, memory, emotion regulation, self-referential processing, and perspective taking.

7. Control of eating behavior

According to National Center for Complementary and Integrative Healthmeditation and mindfulness programs improve control of eating behaviors, such as binge eating, emotional eating, and restriction.

8. Reduces stress

Do you know what other brain structure takes over every time we experience fear or feel the urge to escape? The amygdala. This region of our brain is key when it comes to responding to stress.

However, the good news is that your Constant practice allows us to reduce the reactivity of the amygdala. It is not something that we will notice in a month or two, it is the continued practice throughout each day when, little by little, our brain experiences powerful changes with which we respond better to stressful situations to improve our mental and physical well-being. .

Mindfulness and meditation Vipassana

Although there are other Buddhist traditions such as mahayana and vajrayana, he mindfulness It is considered the cornerstone of Buddhism theravadawhich was spread by Buddha Siddharta Gautama in South and Southeast Asia.

One of the main meditation techniques of Buddhism theravada is the vipassana, which is essential to achieve nirvana. To understand it better we can go to the translation of the same concept «Vipassana», which is intended to allude to the experience of ‘observing things as they are, not as they seem to be’.

This meditation is described in the following steps:

First step: The person agrees not to kill, not steal, not engage in inappropriate sexual behavior, not lie, not take toxic substances, not disturb the peace of others, etc. In this way, the aim is to achieve sufficient serenity to continue.Second step: You must learn to control the mind by getting it to concentrate on the same object. Breathing, mental objects, sensations can be used as objects… It is about being impartial and equanimous in events.Third step: The development of a complete vision of one’s own nature is described. This would be the culmination of Buddha’s teaching: self-purification through self-observation.

Mindfulness and Zen Meditation

This way of living and being is also nourished by Zen meditation practices., which focuses on breathing and body positions (walking, sitting and lying). In this context, the fundamental elements for full attention are the following:

Not judge: Abandon the habit of categorizing our experiences as good or bad.Have patience: Be able to respect the natural processes of events and be open to each moment, because things are discovered when they have to.Maintain Beginner’s Mind: We must remain free of expectations based on previous experiences.Trust: Have confidence, take responsibility for ourselves and learn to listen to our own being, as well as have confidence in it.Don’t try hard: You have to abandon the effort to achieve results. His…