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Mindfulness In Everyday Life...What Are The Benefits ?
Shoshin
No one in particularNowhere Special Veteran
in Mindfulness
No doubt there are many benefits , however one that comes to mind (pun intended) is ....
The practice of mindfulness in everyday life help one to develop an alertness of mind which acts like a buffer zone between thought and action ....So one's emotional state remains somewhat tranquil, which in turn helps one to deal with issues as or should they arise in a calm and effective manner... in other words one is not dragged onto the emotional roller coaster....Of which this in itself is also very beneficial for one's overall health and well-being....
If you practice mindfulness...what have you found ?
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Comments
If I practice mindfulness, I no longer have to be a Nervous Nelly over stuff that bugs.
I found that as I made more of an effort to be mindful, I would notice more things. It became easier to gain insight into things like the source of a particular emotion.
This kind of gels with what Thich Nhat Hanh says, which is that mindfulness facilitates insight, and insight facilitates concentration. That as you nurture mindfulness within you, your facilities for insight and concentration are also strengthened.
I've found mindfulness certainly helps you to respond rather than react - it allows you to observe the moment, to see your reaction but to respond from skilful means rather than the instant gut-response. It's still possible to be overwhelmed and carried away by an emotion, if you lack sufficient calm, but it's much less likely.
Before it became fashionable, my practice was mindful. Being mindful, I was able to recognise my teacher, who was [spoiler alert] being mindful ...
In essence when mindful we are meditating, therefore formal sitting is no different to being mindful.
What @Shoshin describes as a 'buffer zone' is not always a duality. In other words, being mindful is not something done, rather it is allowed. Awareness as object, rather than awareness of awareness.
Fingerless mooning
The finger is the moon, that is the point ...
Aware,alert and awake. Qualities many talk about but have yet to experience. Prof Huizenga hit it just about on the head when he said man rather than be called homo sapien should be called homo ludens.
True @lobster
Thus have "I" heard ....Awareness 'is' after all non-conceptual until thinking splits experience into subject and object .... "I" see "I" know "I" feel "I" am...
Mindfulness is in a sense The Ultimate awareness of conventional m"I"nd games ( ...and the god of intervention)
After all.... there is no "I" in pure awareness
True @grackle...
"I" will never know until "I [am]" let go ... To know is to let go @grackle...but who or what is it that knows when the "I" free flows ???
Perhaps it is just Awareness ....who knows ???
I personally respond or understand best through visual representation, so even though disturbing, Shoshin's mask image is mindful.
Mindful is not empty/nothingness or such suchness or neti-neti or an oar dipping lightly. What then?
Mindfulness is a fascinating hobby, it makes life so much more interesting.
Eh? Surely mindfulness is a practice, an activity?
I'd suggest it is more than a hobby, it is a powerful gate into deeper teachings. Eventually you can do everything with attention, always observing your own mind and being, your reactions. You get to know yourself very well, you get to see the dharma in action. Much of the workings of the klesha's, that rob us of peace and get us to inspire negative emotions in others, become revealed.
I've heard it said in non-Buddhist circles that eventually anything can be turned into a meditation, from washing rice to cleaning dishes. Mindfulness feels a bit like this... awareness that leads to insight and then concentration is applied first to sitting, then to walking, then to making tea. The more you do it, the more different circumstances you see your reactions in, the clearer your understanding becomes.
Initially yes. There is a person doing the mindfulness. It has a dual nature, person doing activity.
Ultimately it is not an activity but a Being already present. In other words mindfulness or Rigpa
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rigpa
Mindfulness is our original nature. Activity, practice, meditation, walking for Jesus Buddha are all approximations ... We allow our Real Being by removing clutter, impediments, Buddhas on the road, delusions of awakening etc ...
I think you are confusing the practice of mindfulness with the clarity that results.
shoshin,being mindful,forces me to be present...as i would like say,deal with the real...and less accident prone,esp.job related.mind you,i still have bodily accidents.but that's life...we get better...and laugh at self,after the fact,help soften the bruise ego..
I love to watch the tricks my mind plays on me. Before, I catered to them, and worried what they meant. Now I know what's going on (most of the time, certainly not always) and can laugh at the games the mind plays.
I have found that life is a lot easier when being mindful, you can tackle problems in a more relaxed and skilful manner. Also, you can make yourself and others smile inside and out
Indeed. Meditation is mindfulness and being mindful is meditation. Being aware of the mind as @karasti and others mention is a dualistic, though helpful clearing. Again it is part of right or wholesome practice. The more areas we enter into with clearing/emptying/observing, the more karmic benefits. In essence 'just being' is emerging ...
Ultimately we are blown away ...
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirvana_(Buddhism)
In Dzogchen Rigpa is the practise and result- unless I am misunderstanding it (and I'm happy to admit so if that's the case)
Basically Rigpa is wisdom mind. It's ( hopefully! ) the result of practice.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rigpa
PS When I was actually practising in a Dzogchen school I don't recall much emphasis on mindfulness practice...but it was a long time ago.
A podcast on changing flat tyres, zen style ... (includes homework)
https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-szs4e-745430
My fiance and I have been talking about this for a few weeks. No matter what the problem, the solution keeps coming back to being more mindful.
One thing it helps with is keeping in the present moment at work. Quite important as for my one job it helps ensure I don't give the wrong meds to anybody and at the other it helps ensure I don't lose any fingers.
Well said @David
Be interested in any tips.
Mine are:
Thanks @Lobster.
My tips will likely sound cliche though. Keep returning to the task at hand like it's a breath during sitting meditation. If there's a lot of body movement with fairly routine action then it's fun to make a sort of Tai Chi form out of it.
The caregiving role is easier done than said because mindfulness is in the job description.
I think it's a myth that mindfulness is just about being more fully in the present, it also includes good organisation and planning.
Some would say mindfulness is just a placebo in that it makes you feel better without actually changing anything. Not saying it's a correct view. Just food for thought.
Change is inevitable (everything is Teflon coated) ...Suffering is optional ( at times one wishes for the Teflon coating to wear off)
@techie in a sense it's right,,,Mindfulness doesn't change things....
We suffer because we cling, but more often than not we are 'unaware' of our clinging nature, so much so that it has become the norm...one 'desires' for things to be different from what they are (especially when things/situations are not to one's liking....these desires tend to hang around and cloud the mind
Mindfulness in a sense is the awareness that 'Teflon coats' the six sense doors so nothing sticks ( the wheel's allowed to turn uninterrupted so to speak)
Mindfulness does help to keep us grounded in the present moment but that's just a part of being ever more aware.
Benefits also include a greater sense of compassion, a calmer mind and more skillful activity all around.
Skillful awareness.
I don't mean to keep counter-pointing your posts but being more mindful makes a big difference and that is change.
It may not change the fact that cars race down the street but it could make the difference between getting hit or not.
It can break the chain of abuse and fuel the strength to battle addiction. It can lead to a deeper understanding of our causal relationship and water the seeds of patience.
Mindfulness could change the world.
I think if you are practising mindfulness effectively then change is inevitable.
Depends on what sort of change.
Let's say workers are overburdened at a certain place. They learn mindfulness and become efficient at their jobs, slowly ignoring the fact that they're overburdened. So while mindfulness has helped them deal with the stress that overburdening creates, it has not addressed the issue of why workers are being overburdened to begin with.
So-called inner change could make us ignore the outer changes that are necessary, in this case, addressing the grievances of workers. Just an example of how the illusion of inner progress could impede progress in the outside world.
I feel the same way about it. It seems as though mindfulness is a thin line between immersing yourself in perception or just perceiving without the immersion. Sometimes it feels like a part of discernment and knowing, or a kind of intuition.
It is possible that your calm-knowing reaction to sudden change is a quality of mindfulness.
Change "is" inevitable ...Suffering "is" optional
So the workers practice mindfulness to help relieve their stress ...However if they start to stress about why they became stressed in the first place then they are not really practising mindfulness (they are practising a form of mind foolness)...
If the workers are overburdened, then it is up to the workers to do something about it, speak with their boss explain that the quality of work is suffering due to them being overworked...For the overburdened workers It could be a matter of having to make the best (calm the mind) of the worst situation...
Which reminds me of Shantideva's mindful approach....
" Where would I possibly find enough leather to cover the surface of the earth?
But (wearing) leather just on the soles of my shoes is equivalent to covering the earth with it !"
@techie it would seem that you're beginning to stress your self out over this...by over thinking....
The mind operates better when it's calm & stress free, one gets a clearer picture of the overall situation ...
Illusion is illusion @techie if there's inner illusion then whatever is perceived is also illusion, which includes what's going on in the so-called outside world....
Mindfulness practice helps dissolve the illusion......Mind fool(ish)ness tends to feed it....
@techie
The Buddha did say something along the lines of "See for yourself" ( Ehipassiko) ...So when it comes to the benefits of the practice one must do just that...See for themselves
yes,mindfulness brings about elements of knowing and instinctual awareness.similar experiences too.the buddha address these intuitive - knowing element.his words has some weight to it.
Attention
http://www.freemindfulness.org