Mindfulness is often thought of as living in the present: being aware of the various stimuli around us and experiencing life fully. And being present in the present is definitely better than being lost in the past or the future, lamenting what might have been or dreading what might be. Still might there be more to mindfulness than simple awareness of the present?
Consider a situation where the present presents us with way too many stimuli, most of which are distracting, disorienting or even degrading — say, we are in a garish marketplace with sensually titillating objects. To process what we are experiencing in the present, we will need a filter that prioritizes the most relevant stimuli. Put another way, to be mindful, we need to be aware of the present not passively, but purposefully.
How can we be purposefully aware of the present? It implies that we can’t come into the present merely as a blank slate wherein anything and everything around us starts crowding into our mind. Instead, we come into the present with a tangible purpose centered on the things that are meaningful for us. To make our mind full of the things that are meaningful, we need to take time out to evaluate and concentrate on those things. For such a focus, we sometimes need to retreat from our external surroundings, including our present external environment and its associated stimuli. Being rejuvenated and animated by this focus, we can be purposefully mindful in the present, responding to it in ways that help us rise upward through whatever situations life sends our way.
Prompting us toward such purposeful engagement, the Bhagavad-gita exhorts (06.05) us to elevate ourselves with ourselves; don’t degrade ourselves with ourselves.
Summary:
Mindfulness is not just passive awareness; it is purposeful awareness — to be mindful, make your mind full of the things that bring meaning into our life.
Think it over:
- If we equate being mindful with being in the present, what’s positive about it and what isn’t?
- How can we best approach the present?
- To be mindful, why do we need to sometimes retreat from the present?
Audio explanation of the article is here: https://gitadaily.substack.com/p/might-mindfulness-be-more-than-just
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06.05: One must deliver himself with the help of his mind, and not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well.
To know more about this verse, please click on the image
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