What is Mindfulness?                      

Mindfulness means directing our attention or experience as it unfolds. It is about maintaining a moment, a moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment.  When we practice mindfulness, our thoughts tune into what we’re sensing in the present moment rather than rehashing the past or imagining the future.    

Benefits of practicing mindfulness —

• trains us to respond skillfully to whatever is happening, good or bad
• improves our thought process, feelings and concerns for others
• helps us perform better
• reduces anxiety; lowers stress
• helps us feel calmer and less depressed
• slows aging
• reduces physical pain
• restores emotional balance
• increases resilience
• strengthens adolescent mental health
• uncovers our own blind spots
• improves sleep quality
• reduces fatigue
• improves concentration

There is more than one way to practice mindfulness, but the goal of any mindfulness technique is to achieve a state of alert, focused relaxation by deliberately paying attention to thoughts and sensations without judgment. … All mindfulness techniques are a form of meditation.

Mindfulness Excercises

• Walking meditation is easiest done somewhere with fewer distractions. Focus your attention, maybe first on the sensation of  your feet touching the ground, then on your breath or move the attention around your body, part by part. Work on developing a sort of relaxed attention. 
• Mini-break … Turn away from whatever you are doing, and sit for a moment noticing the sensations in your mind and body. Notice how you feel and what you hear. Try to be as present in that moment. If your mind wanders off to tasks that you have to complete or starts working over things that happened yesterday, let these go. 
• Brush mindfuly… try to focus on that brushing chore and really experience it. When brushing your teeth, notice how the brush moves over your teeth and the taste of the toothpaste. When brushing your hair, notice how the brush moves over your hair and how the tangles slowly disappear. 
• Just one breath … At any time during the day, take a moment to focus on one breath.  Breathe in and then breathe out.  Focus your attention on how that feels, where you notice the air moving, how your chest and abdomen move.
• Listen mindfuly … Listen carefully to the sounds that are around you. In the city, the police sirens, train announcements, horns honking. In the countryside the trees rustling, birds calling or a gate creaking. What can you hear right now? Or, put on some music and really listen to it for a short period. Try to hear the music without thinking about it. 
• Eating meditation …  When you take the first bite of any meal, take a moment to really pay attention to the taste. Look at the food carefully, feel the textures in your mouth, smell it and notice how your body reacts to it. You’re not looking for a revelation from this experience. Think of it more like a mental push-up for your mind. 

You can also do some of the following:

• Teach yourself to be mindful by training your mind, practicing  being mindful during your routine activities, keep your practice sessions short.
• Learn mindful habits like meditation, practice it with your partner, listen carefully, monitor your health.
• Practice being mindful by being aware of your feelings, focusing on breathing, taking a break, using visualization, and using the right language.
• Understand mindfulness by understanding what it is, learning about it, changing your habits, and acknowledging your progress. 

Mindfulness, practiced in various religious as well as secular traditions

Mindfulness has been intertwined with Hinduism for millennia. From the Bhagavad Gita’s discussions of yoga to Vedic meditation, the history of Hinduism reads in part like a history of mindfulness. The Hindu tradition is rich with varied types of meditation including mantra meditation, transcendental meditation, yoga meditation, and self-enquire and “I AM” meditation.

Mindfulness may be even more involved in Buddhism than it is in Hinduism, as mindfulness (Sati) is considered to be the first step towards enlightenment in Buddhism. In fact, some sources even consider the English word “mindfulness” to be a simple translation of the Buddhist concept of Sati. The Four Foundations of Mindfulness, as taught by the historical Buddha and ever since, are key things that  are practiced: our bodies, our feelings, our minds themselves, and phenomena / the world around us. There are three Parts to mindfulness in Buddhism: Paying Attention on Purpose, Living in the Present Moment, and Paying Attention Without Passing Judgement

The basic premise of mindfulness in Islam is that there is a pure core (THE FITRAH) within every one irrespective of caste, creed and religion. Mindfulness in Islam has six major components For details on these six components include their essence and practice click  here. 

1. TADABBUR  – Seeking the wisdom in knowledge

2. TAFFAKUR – Reflecting on what one knows and observes

3. TASABBUR  – Consistent patience with gratitude 

4. TAZKIYAH  – Purification of the heart

5. TASHAKKUR – Gratitude i

6. TAQWA – Mindful of the Divine

Judaism also speaks to mindfulness in that mindfulness and a peaceful, balanced soul is an objective in Jewish life.  The tools for attaining it are subtly woven into the tapestry of Torah knowledge. The Hebrew word “shalom” for example, implies not just peace, but also completion, perfection, wholeness. The daily prayers culminate in a request for peace.  Prayer is  an advanced form of meditation. The Hebrew word for prayer, tefillah, implies connecting to and bonding with one’s spiritual source. The prayerbook (siddur), can be seen as a highly sophisticated, structured guide to cultivating awareness of the presence and the power of G‑d.

Commentaries on the life of Abraham suggest that when he sent his offspring to the East bearing gifts, these gifts included aspects of meditative practices that eventually surfaced in Far Asian spiritual teachings. Some speculate that a Hindu caste of holy men is called “Brahmans” after the Abrahamic tradition that spawned them. Abraham’s son Isaac was a meditator. When his bride Rebecca first saw him, he was “meditating in the fields”—and the Biblical accounts of his practice of “digging wells” are understood to signify his delving into the depths of consciousness. Many of the early holy men in Jewish history were shepherds who chose the pastoral lifestyle in order to be able to meditate in the fields. 

Talmudic sages and mystical Kabbalists had a longstanding tradition to meditate before and during prayer. Specifically, the chassidic practice of hitbonenut meditation involves actively contemplating a spiritual concept until it expands one’s creative intelligence, deepens awareness, and becomes an indelible part of a person’s consciousness. 

More Resources 

• History of Mindfulness
• How to practice mindfulness (Buddhism)
• Mindfulness exercises
• Jewish Meditation videos
• On Mindfulness and Jewish Meditation
• Be Mindful
• Health Benefits
• Thirteen Ways
• Getting Started
• 10 More Ways 
• Six Ts of Mindfulness in Islam
• 3 minute body scan meditation on soundcloud
• 5 minute breathing meditation on soundcloud

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