Mindfulness

Articles, papers, studies, even entire books, perhaps enough to fill a library, have been written about mindfulness. In essence, mindfulness is a state of active, open attention on the present. It is being more conscious and aware of this very moment. Some take it a step further, and promote stepping into a role of becoming an observer, experiencing thoughts and feelings without judging them as good or bad and merely making note of them.

Jon Kabat-Zinn, a biologist, first used the term “mindfulness” in the ’70s and brought it into common parlance, defining mindfulness as the act of “paying attention on purpose” to the present moment, with a “non-judgmental” attitude. However, Jon Kabat-Zinn did not actually “discover” mindfulness; rather, he simply brought it into mainstream Western consciousness and the medical setting.

The body of scientific research illustrating the positive effects of mindfulness training on mental health and well-being—at the level of the brain as well as at the level of behavior— becomes more well-established by the day. Mindfulness training seems to improve attention, reduce stress, and result in better emotional regulation and an improved capacity for compassion and empathy. Brain-imaging studies at Harvard and Mass General Hospital have shown that long-term mindfulness training can help thicken the cortical regions related to attention and sensory processing, and may offset thinning of those areas that typically comes with aging.

While a bit nebulous in concept back in the ’70s, one can't open a magazine these days without seeing something about "mindfulness." The concept has become so ubiquitous as to be the panacea for all manner of issues, and beyond that, as a way for businesses to harness more work out of already over-worked, overstressed, underpaid employees. Even the Harvard business Review notes that “Mindfulness has also been harnessed in increasingly diverse contexts beyond health care—some uses more legitimate than others. Last year, the Congressman Tim Ryan introduced mindfulness into weekly staff meetings on the Hill, Time published a cover story on the topic, and CNN’s Anderson Cooper dedicated a primetime segment to showcasing his own transformative experience at a mindfulness retreat center. Google, General Mills, the Seattle Seahawks, and the U.S. military have all embraced mindfulness as a means of boosting performance and productivity, while its potential as an antidote to the distractions and stress of everyday life is increasingly promoted within the general population and has spurred a cottage industry of books, magazines, and smartphone apps.”

So we find ourselves asking, is mindfulness a good thing, or has it perhaps been manipulated once again by greed-driven consumerism into purposes for which it was never intended? First, I note that there are two aspects of mindfulness that are easily confused with one another. There is mindfulness meditation practice, and there is, simply, more conscious awareness of the moment.
Mindfulness as a meditation practice is a long-standing part of Buddhist spirituality, grounded in the rich Eastern traditions of meditation techniques. Buddhists, not just monks, dedicate much of their lives to honing their meditation skills of mindfulness. Many long-time Buddhists see the “packaged, quick fix” consumerist version of mindfulness as being poorly presented without a proper understanding of and grounding in the principles behind them, and the long-term commitment they require. Mindfulness could become so watered down or misrepresented that we fail to fully appreciate its ability to better one’s life. In essence, we become mindless about mindfulness.

Meditation, really, is only a tool. Certainly it is one that can lead to increasing post-meditative mindfulness, but it is only a tool nonetheless, the means to the end, not the end. In the words of Buddha, it is a finger pointing. There are also other ways to work toward mindfulness.

Ellen Langer, professor of psychology at Harvard University and the author of several books on mindfulness, has dedicated her life to its study for over four decades. She has found that mindfulness can improve competence, relationships, happiness, even health and longevity. She has conducted many experiments over the years, and one of her first involved nursing home residents and plant care. One group of residents was given a choice of plants and encouraged to decide where to put their plants, as well as when and how much to water them. Another group was given plants and told that the nursing staff would take care of them. A year and a half later, twice as many residents in the first group were alive than in the second. It seemed that being allowed and encouraged to make choices about things like the care of plants resulted in mindfulness, and that mindfulness had powerful consequences. I note that Langer’s mindfulness study was not in teaching the residents to do mindfulness meditation. They were simply charged with the care and nurturance of a plant.

Eckhart Tolle, author of the book, A New Earth, speaks of mindfulness frequently. He explains his notion, that “Even a stone, and more easily a flower or a bird, could show you the way back to G!d, to the Source, to yourself. When you look at it or hold it and let it be without imposing a word of mental label on it, a sense of awe, of wonder, arises within you. Its essence silently communicates itself to you and reflects your own essence back to you.” I do note that Tolle seems to focus so intensely on the present moment and only the present moment, to the exclusion of any past or future thinking. I believe there is a middle ground, a balance to this notion.

While I am uncertain if the nursing home residents were consciously aware of the spiritual connection Tolle mentions, just the act of nurturing their plants encouraged the residents to become more aware of the present moment, more aware of something beyond themselves. This, for me, is what I consider to be the critical component of mindfulness. This kind of mindfulness leads one to become more aware of thoughts and feelings, more responsive in the moment rather than reactive, better at regulating emotions, and less critical of oneself and others.

Once again, I must point out that A.A. teaches this kind of mindfulness, even though they never use that specific word. By keeping the focus on one day at a time, present moments can save the day by remembering, “I don’t have to do this forever; just for these 24 hours and no more.” “Pause, pray, and proceed” is another common aphorism. This kind of reflection is pure mindfulness, and certainly connecting one to one’s Higher Power, back to that Source mentioned by Tolle. Steps Ten and Eleven speak to mindfulness directly: “10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. 11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with G!d as we understood G!d, praying only for knowledge of G!d’s will for us and the power to carry that out.” This is present moment awareness, mindfulness, the kind that reconnects one to the Source of Life, at its most practical level.

I have experienced moments to which I have been so present, that all sense of time was temporarily suspended. My soul has felt expanded so as to include the whole world, an experience that can only be described as feeling the essence of metta (loving kindness) for all sentient beings in those moments. Yet, perhaps the most important part of mindfulness isn’t in these transcendent, mystical moments.

For me, the mere act of noticing a leaf dancing at the end of a branch on a breezy November day; the act of cradling a warm ceramic mug with both hands, slowly sipping coffee, as if that singular minute could be extended beyond its normal constraint of 60 seconds; pausing for one row to knit in slow motion, watching the yarn slip through each stitch, feeling the soft wool slide across the needle and my fingers, reveling in the purple, meditating on one stitch at a time, noting slowed breathing and heartbeats, immersing myself into the rhythmic movements; eating very slowly, enjoying each bite, the different tastes and textures and mouth feels such as the warm and satisfying soup contrasting with the crisp, juicy crunch of the sweet-tart honey crisp apple; these are my slices of mindfulness moments, elevating the ordinary to the extraordinary, of simply being present to the Numinous.

This, to me, is mindfulness at its most sublime.

This to me, is soul-to-Soul prayer.