Eastern Philosophy Origins of "Mindfulness" and How to Practice it in Your Daily Life

There has been a lot of talk lately about "mindfulness." There's nothing new about mindfulness; ancient Vedic texts described it centuries ago. What does it have to do with you? Mindfulness is awareness of your "true Self," your physical sensations, your environment, your state of mind and your emotions. It is a sense of grounding, centeredness and mind/body connection; it is being in-the-zone and present for the moment and situation you're in. Below is a discussion of meditation, Self, False self (ego), and connecting with the spiritual and each other.

Meditating Hindu sages found "atman," the Brahman, the Life Force, the Eternal Soul, to be the same life force within every human. We tend to look for god "out there" but they said, "No, what you're looking for out there--That thou art"--Atman is within you.

Buddha later introduced the notion of "anatman" "no atman"--he said look for your Self and what do you find? Nothing. Emptiness. Anything that seems to have substance is dependent on something else--all is transitory including your feeling of having a self. We do have a "Buddha nature" we were born with, which is the connection to the universal source of life, and is intrinsically compassionate and loving. Buddhists teach that we have an ego we experience as a "self" but in reality this too is just an illusion and as transitory as our body, and will end. We spend a lot of time protecting that "self," but if you will sit and meditate and do a search for it, you won't be able to locate it. This can be disconcerting at first, but is actually quite a relief to realize that most of our thoughts, feelings and behaviors are directed towards protecting this self-created identity or ego, and once we are mindful of those efforts, we can stop being so attached to them.  This attachment to the ego is what Ego psychology calls the "False Self." The True Self? Adyashanti describes humans as simply Consciousness--awareness itself. Aware of our sensory input, our environment, and our own awareness. We're aware of being aware.... (See a video clip of Adya's teachings by following the link to his site on this page.) Phenomenologically this is a "place inside" us that doesn't change over time and is not negatively influenced by external events. It's not the ego--it is unconcerned, and is aware of the ego.

The word "Buddha" means "The Awakened One" and refers to his state of mind:  He was conscious of the present moment and the true state of affairs of his own mind and Self in the world. He was enlightened to the fact that suffering is caused by craving--attachment to the notion that we can hold on to pleasant sensations forever, and that pain can be avoided. The truth is all things are transient: thoughts, material items, feelings, and our own egos. What "woke him up" was the realization that we are in a world where old age, disease, and death await everyone, and he wanted to know how to escape that fate. Being a good Ksatriya (warrior caste member) he believed that we're in a cycle of birth, aging, death and rebirth--a cycle of suffering. What he discovered was that to end that karmic cycle, we have to realize that "emptiness" (the inherent insubstantial-ness and temporary condition of all things) underlies our existence, and  live accordingly. He didn't mean that nothing matters--far from it. We must live with right speech, right thoughts, right work, right intentions, right mindfulness, right actions. And what do we do about the suffering we see around us? We meet it with compassion.

"Emptiness and compassion" are the two mainstays of early Buddhism. Why compassion? The truth is we are intimately connected to every other living being on earth, so why would we not care about their happiness as much as our own? We are all manifestations of Consciousness. Meditating on emptiness and on compassion are common Buddhist practices.

Modern therapists usually also advise a type of meditation that brings our awareness to the here and now:

Practicing Meditation and mindfulness can help you relieve anxiety and create a balanced and centered state of mind--equanimity-- that can be carried with you throughout your day and your life. To practice mindfulness meditation just find a comfortable spot and sit. Sitting cross-legged is the old Zen way and seems to connect mind with body and left and right sides of the body. You can hold your hands resting on your thighs or knees with thumb and middle finger touching, or resting just below your navel, right hand on top of left, palms up. I learned (from a Tibetan lama)  to let my eyes rest on a spot on the floor in front of you. Or you can close them.

Focus on your breathing. Your breath and heart beat are about all you're guaranteed in this life--when they're gone, so are you. So focus on the instant when your breath is completely out, exhaled to its farthest point. This brings you to right "now," and again, the only moment you have is the one right now. As you focus on your breath, thoughts will come into your mind. "I could do this better if I got up and ate first." "I could concentrate better if I vacuumed first." "Why did he say that to me yesterday...." "Where will I go tomorrow..." As these thoughts arise, just note them for what they are, don't try to stop them. Thoughts consist of--what? They're not solid objects. You can't find one to examine its properties. They are like mist or clouds or smoke--just let them pass through your mind like birds flying in one attic window and out the other. Be aware of them but don't catch them and get involved with them, let them go and re-focus on your breath. It may not feel comfortable at first to rest from anxieties--as though we "should" be anxious!

At some point when you've had some practice at meditation, you can begin to label the thoughts that arise. Thinking about what to have for dinner? Notice that, and label that thought "planning" and let it go, by re-focusing on your breath. A thought about a conversation you had yesterday could be labeled "memory." If there's a feeling associated with a thought, label it whatever comes to mind: anxiety, fear, happy, worry, discouragement....and continue to focus on breath. Acknowledging a feeling is the first step in managing emotions instead of letting them manage you.

The benefits of mindfulness and meditation are many. You learn at a deep level that thoughts are really empty. They come and go, arise and pass. They only mean what you decide they mean. Fear is based on thoughts of the future--your attention to your breath is right now. Shame and regret are based on past memories--breath is right now. A fast efficient way to turn your attention to the present moment is to focus on your breathing, wherever you are and whatever you're doing . After a little practice with the sitting method, you can easily do meditation in the car, walking, at meetings.... You might want to keep your eyes open--but just focus on your breath.

Another therapeutic technique to add to meditation is to name any feeling that seems to be possessing you at the moment (worry, depression, anger, etc.) and sit and invite it to reveal more of itself to you. Be curious about it. Meditate on it by naming it, inviting it, and then noticing where in your body you feel it. Don't try to change it--just experience it. You may then try to discover it's origin in your past history. Did you feel like this often as a small child? Is it a very familiar feeling? Where did it come from? If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed by the memories and self-exploration, redirect your attention to your present breathing.

Eckhart Tolle wasn't the first to talk about the power of now although he does it in a very articulate way. The Upanishads and texts more ancient than those tell us that although we look for god or whatever guides the universe "out there," it is to be found "in here." How do we connect with "it,"  experience it? We don't need to get ready, or change, or search for the eternal, beyond learning to accept the present moment for what it is. Looking within, accepting your life and self as it is with all the suffering that's bound to be there at times (and the joy, too), not in five minutes from now but right now, is the way to connect with the spiritual. However stressed or worried or anxious or depressed you might be, sitting in meditation and consciously saying, "I accept this moment just the way it is--this is my life in this universe right now" can really open doors to peace and contentment. We don't have to become a certain kind of person to gain access to the spiritual, we don't have to be in any particular mental state or moral condition. We do have to look for god in the here and now of this moment, realizing that this moment is all we know we have. The Zen Buddhist tea ceremony is an attempt to slow down an ordinary act of everyday life, by drinking and noticing the tea as though it were the first and only taste of it you will ever have. Any moment of time has something to offer us if we will stop and pay attention to what we are and what we're doing.

Katie Terrel, MS    terrelkatie@gmail.com          http://professionalcounselingservices.blogspot.com/