MADE SIMPLE: MINDFULNESS

MINDFULNESS MOTIVATIONAL STRESS-BUSTER 

The NEW HOT TOPIC that's blazing through psychology and general wellbeing is MINDFULNESS. 

For those who are oblivious to this term,  it's not your normal meditation. It has been argued to help sleeping, change lifestyles and perceptions of the world.... even to INCREASE BRAIN MATTER, and, therefore, BRAIN POWER, MEMORY - OR A SUPER BRAIN... 

 I will outline the BASICS of MINDFULNESS; however, please bear in mind I am not a professional, just giving my own researched opinion to have a taste of what it is about. 

More SPECIFICALLY definition-wise you can say that MINDFULNESS is as follows: 

The MINDSET above should be followed by people who want to think more MINDFULLY.  This mindset is ESSENTIAL for doing MINDFULNESS correctly. 

It is an ACTIVE MENTAL EFFORT to think, feel and act mentally like never before (for most people). It's like EXERCISING the mind rather than JUST the BODY. 

But WHY BOTHER to exercise the mind if you are feeling perfectly good? 

People exercise even if their body works well, because some just want to reach or experience their peak mental physique, so to speak. 

PUT SIMPLY: 

You may NOT be able to SEE THE DIFFERENCE, but internally you CAN EXPERIENCE a DIFFERENCE. 

e.g. if you take drugs no-one else can see your hallucinations externally, but you can feel it internally.

All these methods COST...... but what about a gentle introduction about what to expect before forking out all the £££££

I will OUTLINE how to go about being MINDFUL. Usually you would have complementary AUDIO recordings to help.... This will be posted at a later date; first let's just get the gist. 

MENTAL SPACE = MAT/RUG ANALOGY is just a visual idea to help you understand the MINDFULNESS concept better. 

MINDFULNESS re-trains your brain cells, which are NEURONAL connections that normally blast off without thinking. 

MINDFUL PEOPLE WANT to get out of this AUTO PILOT mode and into FULL CONTROL. 

PERCEPTION and MENTAL EFFORT encompasses what MINDFULNESS is about: it's all about how you change your attentional resources to SOMETHING NEW, by moving your MIND to THINK & FEEL DIFFERENTLY than BEFORE. 

MINDFULNESS is not a REAL PILL but a MENTAL PILL that takes TIME TO WORK! People will most likely FALL into AUTO PILOT MODE; the point is to RE-TRY. 

Put simply, changing your brain connections is like walking for the first time. If you have never learnt it, you need to do it again, and again and again, until you walk = mindfully without thinking. 

The great thing about this is that by being AWARE or MINDFUL that your mind is wired this way, means you CAN CHANGE your perception just by a single thought! Powerful stuff. 

So what are the PIT FALLS that people commonly face when changing their perception? This includes being able to mindfully eat, think, do or be - it's very rewarding, but we cannot always do it!.. WHY??? (7 Mind Traps)  

How to hover over the MAT = MENTAL SPACE? You do this by forming new connections in the mind. 

Therefore the BEGINNER'S MIND reflects a person's effort to change their perception. 

Do this by: Letting whatever come enter your mind, let it be for what it is, then let it go as the next thoughts, feeling or actions floods in to replace them. 

If you let them that is.... 

RULES MUST BE FOLLOWED for SUCCESS! To be MINDFUL reflects these rules as per the below mnemonic . 

BREATHING exercises IN & OUT are the main focus in set stages as per the below. People have various breathing tasks from a BODY SCAN to MINDFUL MOVEMENT etc.

A BODY SCAN is just a specific breathing task that focuses on the body in different parts and in different stages. It's NOT EASY as your mind drifts, which can last 15min>1hr. 

The EXERCISE above is the next STAGE to address after the BODY SCAN. 

There's NO UNIVERSALLY agreed time limit on any MINDFUL exercise... Is there for running? yoga? eating? Nope, so why mentally when exercising the mind? 

JUST BREATHE IN & OUT - this is KEY in mindfulness in order to SET A POINT a person can easily return to. Then you can tackle the mind's thoughts, feelings and internal actions e.g. BE MORE AWARE of the PRESENT MOMENT. 

Audio recordings are posted (HELPFUL LINKS TAB) to help those who are interested for free.

PUT SIMPLY: mindfully eating, moving, and general appreciation for things was a blast, not only did the experience  last ages... it tasted 100% times better.

STOP being on AUTO PILOT and start BEING MINDFUL... why? Well, personally you ENJOY the good moments a lot more and appreciate the simple things a lot more. Plus, it's FREE and drugs aren't (you can do as much as you want, as long as you want and in general there are few, if any, bad effects)!!

??????BE MINDFUL??????? 

The SCIENTIFIC PRO'S & CON'S of mindfulness will be critically blogged about shortly. Remember be CRITICAL too : )