MINDFULNESS
Why we must create a daily Mindful Practice
Sonal Plush, Transformational Consultant, Sydney, Australia
18 July 2016
We live in a V.U.C.A (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world where feeling overwhelmed unfortunately has become the norm. You and I are confronted with a demanding lifestyle unseen by past generations. Sensory overload and conflicting priorities has created a reduction in our ability to be in the present moment and create focus and flow in our lives. We must shut out internal and external noise in order to create a focused mindset for success, happiness and well-being.
Mindfulness has received notoriety in recent years and has become a colloquial catchphrase of the corporate world. Organisations have aligned their corporate wellness programs with the practice of mindfulness in the hope of increasing productivity and employee engagement. How many of us have attended those programs where we are taught the importance of mindfulness and steps in cultivating it? We have all enthusiastically vowed to ourselves the commitment to follow through with the program, yet somehow life gets in the way! Has the commercialisation of mindfulness diluted its true worth?
My thoughts on Mindfulness
I describe mindfulness as the intentional application of attention and I recommend the practice of mindfulness to create a disciplined focus. Mindfulness is not a trendy fad nor is it a buzzword to be thrown in conversations in corporate meetings but rather it is a lifestyle change. In my experience; there is a greater emphasis on the theoretical aspects of mindfulness and not enough emphasis is placed on actual practice of it. We talk about such things as mindful leadership, mindful communication skills and speak of mindful activities to reduce stress but how many of us actually create a concrete habit of daily practicing intentional application of attention?
Mindfulness practice such as a mindful meditation is not complex process. The most important thing to remember in creating a mindfulness habit is CONSISTENCY.
Misconceptions of mindfulness
Two of the biggest misconceptions I have heard from people is that they do not have time for this and secondly it feels too hard and they cannot stop their thoughts. I can assure you that it takes as little as 15 minutes a day and it isn’t as hard as it seems.
What I practice and what I teach my clients:
Create a habit of 15 minutes of silence and focus each morning. I know we are all so busy with work, kids, partners, pets etc. However; it is essential for taking 15 minutes for ourselves each morning where we can sit in silence with our eyes closed focusing on our breaths. It must be part of our self-care practice. I tell my clients that each time their mind wonders with thoughts then with kindness and gentleness bring their attention back to their breath.
The benefits
There are countless benefits of mindful meditation practice such as reduction in anxiety and depression, better cognitive skills and better decision making skills just to name a few. However I would like to talk about two very benefits of consistent mindfulness:
- Focus
- Rewiring of the brain
Focus
Consistent practice of intentional application of attention (mindfulness) and being aware of the mind when it drifts off has a lasting effect and improves our ability to focus throughout the day. Philippa Perry, Psychotherapist and author of Couch Fiction; a graphic tale of psychotherapy said “Meditation is focused attention and the more we practice focusing our brain the more connections we build up.”
Rewire our brain
The more discipline we become about mindful meditation practice we undo the connection of specific neural pathways in the medial prefrontal cortex. This is the most evolved part of our brain and it is where cognitive, planning emotions and self-awareness takes place. Based on our childhood experiences and other life experiences we create strong pathways of fear, anxiety and body sensations leading to this part of the brain. Studies have shown that meditation weakens these neural pathways. What does this all mean? This means that we do not react as strongly to such things as fear and anxiety. It also means that we create new pathways that enhances the ability to focus and the ability to deal with situations in a more efficient way.
We go to the gym to be physically strong, we must invest time in our mental fitness as well. All it requires is the desire and the consistency to follow through long after the mindful training program has ended. It takes as little as 15 minutes a day and the fantastic thing is that it is done from the comfort of your home and it doesn’t depend on the status of the weather, unlike the excuse we make about going to the gym.
When Zonal makes the analogy between the need to take care of our minds as we care of our bodies at the gym, she says it all about being able to achieve some degree of mindfulness when needed.
Perhaps the over emphasis on mindfulness theory versus actual practice that Sonal has accurately observed is because writers on mindfulness have well established meditation practices they don’t talk about.
Instead, they lead you to believe anyone can be mindful by applying “a few simple techniques.” Easy for them to say! Many have practiced meditation for years under the guidance of a teacher. As a result, they’ve been able to achieve a degree of mindfulness during what Theravada Buddhists refer to as “post meditation.” For many, meditation needs to be the base for mindfulness at work.
The relationship between practicing meditation and daytime mindfulness reminds me of the song titled Love And Marriage—“you can’t have one without the other.”
Perhaps some can. But for most, mindfulness is a way of life…not a technique.
Hi Randy, I love the song “you can’t have one without the other” and in this case, you really can’t. I agree with you wholeheartedly, mindfulness isn’t a set of techniques but a way of life. Meditation ( even if it is as little as a few minutes a day as we start on this journey ) must be at the base of mindfulness at work and in life.
Yes, it is a conundrum, ‘selling’ mindfulness (i.e. encouraging people to give it a serious go) when what in fact we are selling is a completely new way of life! Explaining the how, what, where, and giving people an experience has to start somewhere but oversimplifying, as in making out that if you dip your toe in you will reap all the rewards is not the answer. The reality is, it is ALL in the practice. Love the article. Thanks Sonal!
Hi Susie,
You are absolutely correct. The reality is that it is ALL in the practice. There, of course, needs to be a starting point (selling point) for practitioners to explain the how, what, where and the experience. It really is a new way of life that can only be fully experienced through practice. Thank you.