A Mindfulness Meditation practice is about “BEING”, being present in each moment of life, being present for others, and being present within one’s own stillness and in the silence of one’s own mind.
I recently watched a biographical documentary about the musician and songwriter, Bily Joel. And one takeaway was his explanation about his creative process. He explained he had to create a vacuum of space for himself. He needed absolute alone time and to find stillness and guidance from within. We know from neuroscientific research that when we spay strict attention to the present moment, when we cultivate a state of calm and awareness, when we tap into our own silence, when we can “just be”, that the energy we tap into is a catalyst for creativity, new perspectives and ideas that can propel us towards a greater creative and problem-solving freedom. This is only one the great benefits of learning Mindfulness Meditation.
But to realize this benefit requires training and a full understanding of the concepts and techniques that we can acquire from a Mindfulness Meditation Practice. We need patience. We need determination. We need the desire to change our negative thought patterns, our negative self-talk and our unhealthy emotional reactions. And, we need to gain personal insight and to explore the innercore or essence of our trueself.
Sound daunting? I assure you it is not. Our thought patterns and thought process is acquired early on in our lives. Our thoughts have been influenced by our parent’s experiences in their life, by our teachers, by our friends and by many unhealthy defensive methods we have employed during our life, often, to protect ourselves from emotional and physical harm. We are shaped by our thoughts. We tend to believe every thought we have…without questioning them. We begin to believe that all of thoughts are factually true. So, we act upon them the same way, over and over again. And that can lead to continued stress, anxiety, and even depression. These unhealthy reactions to our thoughts, more often than not, eventually weaken our immune system and lead to detrimental physical conditions. We constantly find ourself (over)-reacting and clinging to our thoughts and emotions rather than responding to them with the wisdom we each have within us. Again, another benefit of a Mindfulness Meditation practice.
The list goes on…but the choice to explore the possibilities and benefits of a Mindfulness Practice is totally yours.
We need to create change for ourselves, in a workable way, as part of our everyday lives.”
― Sharon Salzberg,