How Meditation and Mindfulness Changed My Life
We've all heard of mindfulness and meditation, but it doesn't mean we all bring those to our lives or work.
Right now, the questions are, are these a fad? Will they last? What will this do for me other than taking time away from all the things I have to do? And so on.
So, let me address some of these from my perspective, with some information from the industry.
Firstly, what are mindfulness and meditation, and are they the same thing?
mind·ful·ness /ˈmīn(d)f(ə)lnəs/ noun
the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something.
a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.
med·i·tate /ˈmedəˌtāt/ verb
think deeply or focus one's mind for a period of time, in silence or with the aid of chanting, for religious or spiritual purposes, or as a method of relaxation.
I won't bore you with too much of my linguistic love, but above, you can see mindfulness is a noun, so a thing. When describing something as an adjective, it's mindful, so being conscious or aware of something.
On the other hand, to meditate is a verb, so action is taken. I know this might seem counterintuitive, as the action meditation is taking can be nothing, but there is action in doing nothing, trust me!
Back to mindfulness and meditation, essentially mindful is a state of being, something that can be brought to every moment of your life. For example, I am drinking some NOBL coffee right now; I took a sip of it, stopped typing, and tasted the coffee. I noticed the smell, the cold touch of the glass, and then the flavor changes as my sip progressed. I brought mindfulness into that exact moment, not typing, not thinking about what I would write next, but just being aware of what I was doing, taking a sip of my coffee.
As for meditation, it's something that you do; you meditate. While there are many forms of meditation, they do all have some things in common, and just so you know, it has nothing to do with sitting cross-legged on the floor.
So, what is the key to meditating? The common factor is that you are focusing your mind. Maybe you are focusing on your breath, or meditating on something specific, or perhaps you are trying to focus your mind on quiet - these are all forms of meditation.
One might ask, so aren't you mindful when meditating? The answer is yes, most of the time. Here is how I think of it. I meditate to focus my mind and quiet it (personally). By practicing mindfulness when I'm not meditating, I bring some of that into my every moment and action.
Now that we've covered that, how about some of the other questions, are mindfulness and meditation a fad? Well, I find it hard to believe something is a fad that has been around since between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE. That, in general, is the estimate for the origin of Buddhism, which is now the 4th largest religion in the world.
But, I don't want to say here that to be mindful or meditate is only something Buddhists can do, both of these have become integrated into the Western world.
But, could it be a fad in the Western world? Sure, anything could be. But, the truth is that not only are people sticking with these ways of being, but the Western science world is also getting involved, digging into the benefits of both mindfulness and meditation. Typically, in my opinion, fads aren't something that science digs into unless it's quickly proven not to be effective.
"According to neuroscience research, mindfulness practices dampen activity in our amygdala and increase the connections between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex. Both of these parts of the brain help us to be less reactive to stressors and to recover better from stress when we experience it." (https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/the_state_of_mindfulness_science)
While I'm no scientist, as a once Biology Major in college (well, for two years), I find this fascinating and recommend reading into the science more, if this sounds interesting to you.
We've talked about what mindfulness and meditation are, why I believe they are here to stay, so the next question is, what will it do for me other than take time away from my day? In the above, you can look at the science, but I'm going to take a moment to explain how I feel mindfulness and meditation help me.
I started meditating, using Headspace, when I was a bit lost. I was living the life I thought I wanted to be living but was deeply unhappy. I didn't feel physically, mentally, or emotionally well but was at a loss of what I could do differently; I had a perfect life from the outside. While I have struggled with depression since I was 16, I knew that's not what was going on.
My mind seemed to be my worst enemy. Everything was dramatic internally, I was constantly ruminating, and if I didn't have anything to ruminate on, I was worrying about what was to come.
I dreamed of being able to sleep through the night and feel rested. I wanted to find a way to have a little quiet and be nicer to myself.
And, that is when I picked up my phone, put it on DND, and started a beginner's meditation series. I would wake up, go to the bathroom, brush my teeth, and sit down.
Eventually, this meant I got myself meditation pillows and made a little space for myself (and Bowie) to welcome in the morning before getting going.
In the beginning, settling my mind, even after just waking up, was hard. I was wired to get going; my list of what I had to do would be scrolling through my head. And, every few moments, I'd get a reminder to let the thoughts float by, or my favorite technique I still use is that I "put my thoughts in a box" for later.
Slowly, I started looking forward to the high I'd get, and I wouldn't want my meditation sessions to end. I'd sit there quietly and keep going.
What did I feel? As I said, I felt high in my mind and physically, but more so, I felt a calmness. It was clear that this calmness was following me into my day. Something that would have quickly triggered my emotions before was simply a thing. There was no trigger, or if there was, I started to "catch" it.
This was when I started to understand that my meditation had started to flow into the rest of my life, often in the form of mindfulness. For me, this mindfulness started with feeling my emotions and reactions before they ruined my day (or someone else's).
But, it wasn't just my emotions; I noticed myself more present in relationships, when I was walking Bowie or when I was eating. My brain was no longer taking me elsewhere, stressing about what happened or what was to come.
So, what you ask now, what can meditating or mindfulness do for me, other than spent my time elsewhere? Well, just that.
Finding the time to spend 15 minutes a day meditating instead of scrolling pays back in dividends. Doing this will naturally lead to a mindfulness practice - which takes no time at all; it's simply a way of being.
What I do recommend is doing some introduction to meditation. Trying to sit for 20 minutes on your own without guidance will most likely leave you in the craziness that is your mind, with the opposite effect. There are so many tools out there; while I use Headspace, there is Calm, Insight Timer, YouTube, and many more places to get meditations. Or, as the world reopens up, you could physically go somewhere, like my favorite, Kripalu.
And, remember when I said there were many types of meditation? Well, if you don't like something, try something else. There are specific meditations I actively dislike and guess what? I don't do them.
Imagine feeling like you are showing up as yourself all the time; this is the gift that meditation and mindfulness have given me, personally.