"...sitting meditation helps us to cultivate new mental habits of concentration, new methods for relating to our thoughts, new opportunities for attending to the rush of our emotions."
Henepola Gunaratana
Mindfulness is a natural human ability to pay attention.
Mindfulness is becoming aware, or more specifically, becoming aware that we are aware.
We already have this natural state of wakefulness as well as natural mental qualities such as clarity, strength, stability, and flexibility.
We’re not trying to get something from somewhere else; we’re creating a new relationship with what is already present within us.
Essentially we are beginning to build trust in our resiliency and virtue, rather than in our storylines, assumptions, or anxiety.
Remembering that these qualities are already part of our experience, we can begin exploring our situations. We start to recognize where and when we most easily show these qualities, and we naturally get curious about how these might show up elsewhere in our lives.
This process begins to cultivate a certain degree of trust and confidence in the practice and in ourselves as well.
“The attitude or spirit with which we do our meditation helps us perhaps more than any other aspect. What is called for is a sense of perseverance and dedication combined with a basic friendliness. We need a willingness to directly relate again and again to what is actually here, with a lightness of heart and sense of humor.”
Jack Kornfield A Path with Heart
What are the aspects of mindfulness practice that directly impact our bodies nervous system and support our tendency toward balance?
Just a moment of:
- withdrawing attention from stressful matters
- relaxing our bodies through mindful breathing
- bringing awareness into the body
can do wonders for our well-being
As human beings we have an inherent ability for mindfulness.
This nonjudgmental, inward attention of mindfulness naturally activates our parasympathetic nervous system, our bodies natural calming system, and supports several aspects of wellbeing.
Mindfulness strengthens our:
Insula-Which supports emotional regulation, perception and self awareness
Hippocampus-Which supports a stronger memory and strengthens our ability to reevaluate a potential threat
Prefrontal cortex-Which strengthens our ability for discernment, evaluation of consequences, and working toward a goal
Left frontal regions-Which produces a more uplifted mood
Meditation also:
Decreases cortisol, our bodies natural stress hormone
Strengthens the immune system
The Support of Mindfulness & How it Relates to Regulation
Strengthens our tendency toward friendliness and curiosity, for ourselves and others
Helps us gain greater clarity about our needs, beliefs, emotions, and behaviors
Supports more conscious and compassionate choices
Naturally supports and calms our nervous system, which supports a stronger immune system
Supports clearer decision making and more flexibility
Helps us cultivate resilience, patience, and confidence for managing strong emotions and overwhelming situations
Strengthens an observer mind, which provides for perspective
There are many forms of meditation and mindfulness.
The form of mindfulness I practice and have been certified in is shamatha-vipashyana, which translates as “calm abiding” and “insight.”
This form of meditation is about connecting with and strengthening the natural qualities of our minds, such as stability, clarity and strength as well as strengthening our ability to notice what is arising right now without judgment, which helps us to stay open to our experience with gentleness and curiosity.
I have been studying mindfulness and meditation since the early 2000s and attended my first meditation retreat in 2005. Since then mindfulness has become an integral part of my life both personally and professionally. At this point I study with Mindrolling Jetsun Khandro Rinpoche and take part in dharma retreats under her teaching and guidance as well as engage in solitary retreat practice during the year.
Naropa University incorporates meditation into each semester as part of a student’s journey of self-reflection, presence and self-care. I became certified as a Mindfulness Instructor through Naropa in 2014.
The Synergetic Play Therapy Institute, where I trained in Synergetic Play Therapy, also teaches mindfulness as a key component for client healing and a necessary support for therapists.
Please consider: Because of the subtleties of the instruction, it is often helpful to have the support and guidance of a mindfulness instructor (as opposed to just reading about it).