What is Mindfulness?
What is mindfulness?mindfulness is the ability to cultivate awareness of the present moment while putting aside our lenses of judgment. It is being in connection with the direct experience of the present moment, the here and now. Most of us can connect with the example of our minds feeling out of control at times, or our emotions feeling imbalanced. The practice of mindfulness offers us the unique strength of learning how to control our own minds, instead of our minds controlling us. Today, thanks in large part to research by Dr. John Kabat-Zinn and colleagues; mindfulness training is being used by hundreds of hospitals around the country dealing with issues such as chronic pain, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and more. In an age where our lives seem to be accelerating, stress naturally seems to be increasing, and our attention is often in multiple places at once, it is no wonder that our moods tend to gravitate toward depression and anxiety. I?ve worked with hundreds of individuals who attest to the idea that throughout the day our minds tend to venture backwards into grievances of the past or forwards to worries of the future. Now there is nothing inherently wrong with making other plans or carrying on about grievances or worries, except when we?re not consciously choosing to do it and therefore, not in control of our own minds. When we?re not choosing to think about these things they often feel like unwanted guests that we can?t seem to get away from which feeds into our symptoms and emotions of stress, sadness, frustration, irritation, shame, or guilt. The inability to concentrate creates problems for us in our relationships, our work, and in our general enjoyment of life. In practicing mindfulness we learn to become aware when the mind is ruminating about the past or future without our permission, and then to gently bring it back to what we choose to focus on, giving the control back to us, making us more effective in our day to day lives. Ultimately giving us the ability to live the life we want to live. Visit the Mindful Healing Community to go deeper into the experience of living a mindful life.
About Elisha Goldstein
Elisha is a practicing Psychologist teaching mindfulness workshops and seminars at multiple organizations across California. He is a Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher, published author, and speaker, including the Mindfulness and Psychotherapy Conference at UCLA headlining Thich Nhat Hanh, Jack Kornfield, and Daniel Siegel. You can check out his CDs on Mindful Solutions for Stress, Anxiety and Depression and Mindful Solutions for Addiction and Relapse Prevention at http://www.drsgoldstein.com .
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