“Mindful Awareness is the moment-by-moment process of actively and openly observing one’s physical, mental and emotional experiences. Mindful Awareness has scientific support as a means to reduce stress, improve attention, boost the immune system, reduce emotional reactivity, and promote a general sense of health and well-being.”

That statement is from the Mindful Awareness Research Center (MARC) at UCLA.

Director and Founding Member of the center, Susan L. Smalley, Ph.D., notes in her article Mindfulness And Meditation In The Modern World, “Perhaps mindfulness, meditation, and other mind-body practices (such as yoga and tai chi) are increasing in popularity in the West because they let us experience internal investigation, without it being so verbal in nature.

“They provide us with an awareness of the chatter within and around us, they provide us with a gift of listening, they provide us with great insight into our very nature. It is a misperception to think that meditation means silencing the mind, silencing thoughts or feelings; it is a process of learning about the mind, full of the complexity it holds.”

Others describe the emotional health and mental clarity values of silencing and slowing down.

Author and intuition consultant Nancy Rosanoff notes, “Because our culture bombards us from every side to keep busy, we really do have to make an active effort to do nothing.”

Rosanoff suggests encouraging the incubation period of the creative process by finding activities that will “take your mind off the problem: “Take a day off, get some exercise, cook a nice meal. In addition, there are some things you can do to help access your intuitive side: playing an instrument, meditating, doing yoga, and yes, even sleeping. You can’t force an illumination; don’t even try.”

Rosanoff is author of Intuition Workout : A Practical Guide to Discovering and Developing Your Inner Knowing.

Jon Kabat-Zinn, author of Coming to Our Senses, points out, “It is a commonly held view that meditation is a way to shut off the pressures of the world or of your own mind, but this is not an accurate impression. Meditation is neither shutting things out nor off. It is seeing clearly, and deliberately positioning yourself differently in relationship to them.”

Gretchen Rubin [a former Yale grad lawyer, currently working on a book: The Happiness Project] writes in her blog article Twelve tips for stopping the buzz in your brain that “We all know the feeling of being overwhelmed, of being beset by distractions. The problem is – too many things are clamoring for your attention. People are trying to reach you, by phone, email, text or IM. There are the interesting subjects you want to learn more about, on the TV or the internet or the newspaper.

“It’s enough to drive you crazy. You lose your train of thought, you forget what you’re doing, you have trouble re-engaging in a task, you feel besieged.”

She offers a list of practical ideas, including:

“If you keep the TV turned on in the background – while you’re getting dressed, say – turn it off.

“Turn off the radio, too. Even in the car. Don’t bring your iPod.

“I have a sticky note in my bedroom that reads, “Quiet mind.” Whenever I see it, I drop my shoulders, relax my jaw, and try to smooth out my thoughts. It actually works.”

The Mindful Awareness Research Center has free meditation mp3 downloads.

Also see the page Meditation, and Meditation and mindfulness articles.

The image is from the book The Power of Mindful Learning, by Ellen J. Langer.

11.25.07 |
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