The idea of mindfulness is fully focusing your attention on the present moment.
You see, most of us time-travel with our thoughts. We go to the past or we anticipate the future. We think about things and places and people that are nowhere near us in space and time.
But something powerful happens when we reign in our thoughts and focus them on the here and now. We are more fully present. We are aware—especially when we are interacting with people.
I love a story Rod Stryker tells about how when people come to a yoga studio for the very first time they take a survey of the room and select a spot; then every class after that, they put their mat in the same spot—even if the variables have changed. They only make the decision once. (Note that we could all tell this same story substituting "yoga studio" for "classroom" or "church." )
When we are living mindfullly, we stop allowing our decisions to be on auto-pilot. We actually choose.
Mindfulness takes practice; and it takes years to be able to stay fully present all of the time. But as a discipline, I think it is worth pursuing. When I am mindful, I am able to bring more of me to any task or conversation. And that depth of focus makes everything more fulfilling.
I love a story Rod Stryker tells about how when people come to a yoga studio for the very first time they take a survey of the room and select a spot; then every class after that, they put their mat in the same spot—even if the variables have changed. They only make the decision once. (Note that we could all tell this same story substituting "yoga studio" for "classroom" or "church." )
When we are living mindfullly, we stop allowing our decisions to be on auto-pilot. We actually choose.
Mindfulness takes practice; and it takes years to be able to stay fully present all of the time. But as a discipline, I think it is worth pursuing. When I am mindful, I am able to bring more of me to any task or conversation. And that depth of focus makes everything more fulfilling.
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