What is mindfulness?
Most of the people think mindfulness is exclusively relative to meditation. Mindfulness meditation is only the visible part of the iceberg.
Concretely mindfulness is the miracle of the present moment: present which is a gift when you appreciate it like this. In our modern time that’s to say our crazy western society (for which I baptized the concept of “busease”: busy + disease) which goes very fast the majority of us act in automatic pilot. Like driving most of the time you do not think about your gestures: the pedals, the wheel, the gear. In 95% of the time we are not in the present moment: we think about our memories or our plans, our future projects.
It is based on the fact to be 100% aware of the moment and one’s feelings, thoughts and emotions. The objective is to be wholly absorbed by the present moment, by the tasks we are doing with a maximum of details. Mindfulness is behaving without filter (we accept what comes), without judgment (we do not decide whether it is good or bad, desirable or not), without waiting for anything (we do not look for something specific).
There are 2 axes, 2 faces of the same medals in mindfulness:
The reconnection to your higher self by being more aware of your 5 senses activating thereby the 6th sense linked to the intuition, the subtle world and which represents a bridge with the invisible world.
The reconnection to the outer world by being more sensitive the 4 elements thereby the 5th element: Ether, Prana, Qi (for Chinese, Qi Gong, Tai Qi), Ki (for Japanese, Rei-Ki). Globally speaking being closer and aware about the environment: the animals, the nature, the cycles of life(the seasons, the stars).
Mindfulness is a state of mind, it is practicing every single second.
1- To reduce stress
2- To “fight” peacefully against depression
3- To have a better sleep
4- To chase migraines
5- To reduce the blood pressure
6- To avoid burnout
7- To reduce degeneration of the brain
But beyond of this most common intakes, mindfulness activates your deep reconnection to your inner and the outer world meaning thereby your mind is more sensitive to some details, some hidden messages of the Great Book of life or synchronicities(the subtle links of events without any causal relationships). The more you practice it progressively the more you feel the universe vibrating through you and within you allowing you to experience what the Vedas(the ancestral Hindu wisdom): find the place which is already yours in this giant cosmic breath.
Mindfulness is simple of complexity and complex of simplicity but remains easy as a child’s play because the infants practice it naturally, so maybe one of the keys, one of the gate to reach this state of mind is to regain your childish vision, your inner child to marvel about tiny miracles of the power of now.
Our modern society is perceived for a lot of people as neurotic, Mindfulness is one of the best palliative and cure to rethink our way of life to live more intensively, more truly, and more harmoniously.
In Shambali retreat you will experience mindfulness meditation and also mindfulness in general as a state of mind to practice regularly easily in your daily life.
Issa