Meditation and mindfulness help us to know ourselves better and to connect with ourselves. With the help of these articles you can discover mindfulness, get started in the practice of meditation and see the great benefits of practicing mindfulness. In order to facilitate the understanding of such a complex subject, remember that we use the term ‘soul’ in a simplified way to refer to spirituality and we consider mindfulness as one of the possible interfaces of the spirit with our soul, as so are meditation, prayer, or contemplation.
Words like ‘meditation’ or ‘mindfulness’ can make you think of Buddhism or esoteric practices performed on the mountain tops of Tibet. But mindfulness can be as simple as taking a few deep breaths before an important gathering or bringing our full awareness to a moment we spend with our children. Cultivating this compassionate awareness at that time allows us to be present with the important people in our lives, as our kind care is the best gift we can offer them.
Although mindfulness, inspired by traditional meditation, has its origins in contemplative practices dating back thousands of years, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, and Stoicism, some of these are religious traditions and others are not. But the departure of mindfulness from spiritual settings, first towards clinical and therapeutic settings and its subsequent entry into classrooms, factories, barracks and boardrooms, is causing many people to question whether or not it is a religion.
Mindfulness is, therefore, a way of being in the world. It is being present, here and now. It is an inherent capacity of the human being. Chances are you’ve experienced it before, not knowing you were in mindfulness mode. Think back to a time when you were so focused on an activity: working, reading, or playing sports. Think about how your whole being focused on that activity. That state of maximum attention is similar to mindfulness.
Mindfulness is also a different way of responding skillfully to life’s challenges, rather than reacting based on intense emotions. Mindfulness shows us the way to better understand the habits of our mind and allows us to understand that a good part of our suffering comes from the stories we tell ourselves about the events of our life. This humane practice of compassionate and intentional awareness does not require dogmatic or spiritual beliefs. Many people around the world have started practicing mindfulness around the world, as a way to live life, with less stress, learning to regulate their emotions.
