 What’s in it for me? Experience life to the fullest.

 Mindfulness means conscious living and appreciation of the present moment.

 Mindfulness is cultivated by being in the moment and concentrating on one thing at a
time.
 Patience and generosity can help you become more mindful.
 Formal meditation involves taking time to be still and focusing on your body and
breath.
 Informal meditation can be practiced when sitting, standing, walking or lying down.
 Practice mindfulness by questioning yourself during automatic routines.
 Your thinking mind and your selfing are some difficulties you’ll encounter when
practicing mindfulness.
 Final summary

What’s in it for me? Experience life to the

fullest.
How often have you found yourself in a perfect situation – on holiday, say, in a wonderful
city, enjoying the sights; or sunbathing on a beautiful beach; or walking through a
picturesque forest. Wherever it is, it’s exactly where you want to be.

But then it hits you: you’re not all there. Instead, you’re thinking about the laundry that needs
to be done or that incomplete work assignment.

Our minds do this: they wander and take us out of the moment. But what if the moment is
exactly where we want to be? How can we stay there?

The answer is mindfulness. This has become a very voguish word over the course of the last
decade, but how exactly does it work and how does one actually practice it?

Well, it isn’t really a goal to be achieved, but something that needs to be practiced, requiring
constant work and focus. In these blinks, you’ll learn the fundamentals of, as well as some
more advanced techniques for, practicing mindfulness.

In these blinks, you’ll discover

 how the Dalai Lama has used mindfulness in dealing with China;
 why trees are great partners in meditation; and
 how generosity is one way to practice mindfulness.
Mindfulness means conscious living and
appreciation of the present moment.
Mindfulness has become a bit of a buzzword in recent times. But what, exactly, is it? You
have perhaps heard that mindfulness is an ancient Buddhist practice. In fact, mindfulness is
for everyone, and you needn’t forswear your earthly possessions and become a Buddhist to
enjoy its rewards.

Mindfulness is about overriding our automatic approach to life. From a Buddhist perspective,
our ordinary state of consciousness is quite limited: we often do things unconsciously,
without being fully present in the moment.

The simple fact that we’re always doing something, while thoughts race through our heads
without cease, leaves very little room for us to just be. So, to truly embrace the present, we
need to systematically observe who we are and examine our view of the world. This,
essentially, is mindfulness.

So why be mindful? Well, mindfulness is a tool that helps us realize the richness and
possibility of our own growth and transformation. Cultivating it reunites us with aspects of
ourselves that we often overlook, opening us to new ways of existing both in our own skin
and in the world.

For example, it can lead us to richer experiences of joy, peacefulness and happiness, and also
to better understandings of difficult emotions, like grief, sadness and fear – that is, those
emotions of which we’re often unaware or only express unconsciously.

Because mindfulness is so illuminating in this way, it’s also empowering. As we become

more mindful, we become more aware of who we are, which unleashes our creativity and
intelligence and gives us clarity.

The cultivation of mindfulness and meditation are often confused with things like relaxation,
stress relief or self-development. However, mindfulness isn’t about aiming for a particular
feeling, nor is it about getting somewhere or becoming a particular kind of person. Rather,
it’s about emptying the mind, becoming still and allowing ourselves to realize who and where
we already are.

Your practice starts with the next blink.

Mindfulness is cultivated by being in the
moment and concentrating on one thing at a
time.
Developing mindfulness is as easy as incorporating some practices into your daily routine.
Let’s take a look at some of them.

First, rather than doing all the time, begin shifting yourself into being mode. Here’s how:
either sit or lie down and, once in that position, think of yourself as timeless. Observe the
present moment without trying to change anything. Engage your senses and focus on what
you see, hear, feel or on whatever is happening for you. Try to completely embrace and
accept this moment.

If you catch your mind straying during the exercise, gently coax your attention back to your
breath. Focus on the sensation of your breath moving in and out of your body without getting
your mind too involved or trying to change anything. This exercise will enrich the moments
of your normal active mode, influencing the decisions you make and providing guidance.

Along with accepting the moment, concentration and voluntary simplicity are other practices
that will be valuable allies on your path to mindfulness.

Concentration is the cornerstone of mindfulness. When you’re fully concentrated, your

energy is directed toward deeply experiencing one thing or one moment. Everything else falls
away, including other thoughts, feelings and the outer world. People often deeply appreciate
this feeling, as it allows them to experience inner stillness and an undisturbed peace.

You can also try voluntary simplicity – that is, engaging in one activity, or with one thought,
at a time. If you’re playing with your daughter, for instance, and you get a text, you could
deliberately ignore your phone, instead bringing your full attention to enjoying the game with
your child.

It’s important not to confuse non-doing with doing nothing. Consciously stopping, with the
intention of cultivating stillness and appreciation, is non-doing – but it is not doing nothing!

Patience and generosity can help you become

more mindful.
You know those times where you’re waiting for a friend who’s running late and your
annoyance starts to turn into anger? Have you ever paused and thought about how pointless
that feeling is? Moving beyond feelings like this is a cornerstone of mindfulness. Choosing to
be patient would indeed be far better for your own sanity.

Patience and mindfulness are deeply connected. Patience means that you accept things as
they are, that you realize events always unfold in their own good time.

That may be well and good, but how do you manage your impatience and the anger that
accompanies it? To build patience, compassion and wisdom, start by redirecting and working
with anger and impatience.

Remarkably, the Dalai Lama seems not to be angry with the Chinese, whose government
committed acts of genocide against the Tibetan people. He understands that even if they have
taken everything from the Tibetan people, he won’t allow the Chinese to take his mind, too.
Instead of putting his energy toward feelings of anger, he uses it to promote understanding
and patience.

The next time you start getting impatient or angry, remember that wisdom is found in
patience and that what comes next greatly depends on what you do in this moment.

Another quality that sets a strong foundation for mindfulness is generosity. This needn’t be
manifested in the giving of material goods; you can also be generous with your enthusiasm
and trust, with your presence and compassion. As you begin to share and give, you’ll
discover the abundance of strength and energy you have at your disposal.

When you give, don’t get caught up worrying about giving too much, or fretting about your
generosity going unappreciated, or thinking that you won’t get anything out of it yourself.

Practice this by granting yourself the gifts of self-acceptance and a little time every day.

Formal meditation involves taking time to be

still and focusing on your body and breath.
Mindfulness can be practiced both formally and informally. Let’s take a look at some formal
methods first. Formal meditation entails reserving specific periods of time for the
development of mindfulness and concentration. All other activities are put on hold.

When sitting down to meditate, your posture is extremely important. There is no one correct
sitting position, but you should sit in a way that displays poise. For most people this means
sitting up straight, without being too stiff, and with your shoulders and face relaxed; your
head, neck and back should be aligned.
You should also position your hands and feet appropriately to direct the flow of your energy.
Try paying attention to your varying energy levels and the hand positions that accompany
those levels. There is no universal definition of any particular position; it’s more about what
the positions represent to you. For example, sitting with your palms on your knees may mean
that you’re simply accepting what is, whereas having your palms facing up might mean being
open to a higher energy.

The length of time you commit to formal meditation is up to you. Just be sure to come out of
your meditation mindfully. As a general guideline, the author found 45 minutes per day to be
a good standard practice; that was enough time to achieve stillness, sustain attention and also
experience deep relaxation.

During your meditation, you will have an impulse to end it at some point. When this arises,
recognize first where it’s coming from. Is it fatigue, impatience, discomfort, or is it just time
to stop? When you realize where it comes from, stay with the feeling for a bit, breathe with it
and then slowly come out of meditation.

Remember: there is no right or wrong meditation practice. So use the above steps as a
guideline. The most effective approach is to focus on what feels right to you.

Informal meditation can be practiced when

sitting, standing, walking or lying down.
Formal meditation is often what comes to mind when we think of meditation. But it’s not the
only way to meditate.

If you find the idea of sitting still for an extended period of time too challenging, or if you
want to complement your formal meditation practice, you can try a walking or standing
meditation instead.

The purpose of a walking meditation isn’t to try to get anywhere. So you might choose to
walk in a circle or back and forth.

The key is to bring your attention to every movement your body makes: each footstep and
how you raise, move and place your feet. If you do a standing meditation, try doing it around
trees, as trees are great teachers of stillness and calm. You may also want to close your eyes,
stand still and imagine your feet are roots in the ground. Sway your body as trees sway in the
breeze. Listen to your surroundings and feel the presence of nature.
In addition to walking or standing meditations, lying down meditations are also good
practices in mindfulness.

As you lie on the floor, consciously release your muscles. This will help your mind to open
and release any pressing thoughts. Next, imagine that you’re sinking into the floor and bring
your focus to your body. You might choose to focus on your body as a whole, as if each skin
cell were breathing and radiating energy as one, or on each part of your body separately. The
latter is known as a body scan.

During your scan, focus on different parts of your body and then release them. Move
systematically through your entire body, in any direction you like – from head to toe or from
side to side. Use your breathing, steering it inward, into each part of your body, as if you
were breathing into your toes or knees, for example, when you inhale. As you exhale, release
the muscles, allowing that part to rest in stillness.

Practice mindfulness by questioning yourself

during automatic routines.
Being mindful isn’t something you accomplish and then (check!) you’re set for life. It
requires constant self-inquiry.

But asking yourself questions isn’t only about problem-solving. It’s about staying connected
with life itself, with yourself and with your presence. It means carrying questions with you,
contemplating them, being constantly aware of them.

Even though mulling questions over in your mind will result in many answer-like thoughts,
the main goal is to listen to the thoughts that your questions evoke. Whether your question is
“What is upsetting me right now?” or “What is my purpose in life?”, it will help to imagine
yourself as an audience, watching and listening to your own thoughts and feelings.

Thankfully, no special settings or occasions are needed to practice mindfulness. You can do it
any time. That said, many people find that early morning is ideal. The peacefulness and
solitude that is often more easily available at this time gives you the space to contemplate and
focus on being. An added bonus is that you’ll start your day in a peaceful, mindful manner
and therefore be more likely to carry this peace with you through the day.

But of course, carving out time before you start your day isn’t essential; you can even
practice mindfulness in the middle of an everyday activity like climbing the stairs. Usually,
we do this in a hurry, without a single thought about it. But if you focus on all the intricate
movements your body makes as you go up the stairs, you’ll increase your awareness of the
present and, when you get to the top, you’ll be calmer and more connected to the next activity
you engage in.

The key is to slow down, taking one step at the time, with the goal of increasing presence and
awareness. There is no place you need to be and no moment that you need to sacrifice for the
sake of being fully present in this one.

Your thinking mind and your selfing are some

difficulties you’ll encounter when practicing
mindfulness.
By now you have a good picture of what practicing mindfulness involves. Let’s now look at
some of the most common stumbling blocks – and how to get past them.

It probably comes as no surprise that, as mindfulness is all about the mind, your thoughts and
ego are the biggest obstacles you’ll face. For example, when you experience a significant
moment during meditation, you might start congratulating yourself on doing so well. Be wary
of such feelings, however, as they may be your ego wanting to take credit for being special,
or giving you a false sense of having “made it” to a higher level.

If this happens and you feel like the I or me is taking over, try asking yourself where exactly
you’re supposed to get to, or if you’re using meditation as a tool to get to a particular place.
Remember that meditation is not about arriving at a particular destination. It’s about
understanding and appreciating the present moment to the fullest.

Another hurdle you may encounter is the self or selfing. Selfing is the tendency to keep the
mind and the attention on the self, therefore making every moment my moment and every
experience my experience. This can branch out into all aspects of our lives, such as my child,
my opinion, my knowledge and so on.

However, when we realize that everything is interdependent, we discover that there is no

isolated, independent me. The only me that exists is me in relation to all other forces and
events in the world. For example: me in terms of my relationship to a child of whom I happen
to be the parent.

That being said, mindfulness isn’t about ridding ourselves of our selfing tendency. It’s about
balancing it, mitigating its impact, seeing things as they are, understanding that everything is
connected and constantly changing and, eventually, learning to take things less personally.
Final summary
The key message in this book:

By being constantly on the move and cramming a crazy amount of activities into our
daily schedules, we’re losing our ability to fully enjoy the present moment. Our minds
are constantly focused on the past or the future, and we’re forgetting that the only time
we really have is now. Fully appreciating the present is a matter of pausing and
bringing our attention to it.

Actionable advice:

Practice loving-kindness meditation.

Help others and yourself by using and extending your heart-centered presence. First, center
yourself and, from your heart or your belly, invite feelings of kindness, love and acceptance
into your body. Let these feelings grow until they fill your whole being. Once you feel them
radiating within you, you can stay in the moment and relish it, or direct these feelings
outward to wherever or whoever you please – be it your family or even people you don’t
know. Picture them, honor them and wish them love and acceptance.

Suggested further reading: The Untethered Soulby Michael A. Singer

The Untethered Soul is all about you: your feelings, thoughts and consciousness. By drawing
on different spiritual practices, this book explains how you can navigate your own mind, get
in touch with yourself and become your own master, to ultimately achieve enlightenment.