Definition Of Mindfulness

Mindfulness (n.): Awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally. This is the definition according to Jon Kabat-Zinn. This definition, although quite descriptive as to what mindfulness embodies, may not mean a whole lot to someone who has never experienced mindfulness. This is because understanding what mindfulness truly is and then living life in a mindful manner is quite challenging and takes plenty of practice. Throughout my relatively short experience with mindfulness I feel I have learned quite a lot, both about the topic of mindfulness and its uses, but also about myself as a person. If asked to explain the concept in one sentence, I would exclaim how mindfulness is a state of being …show more content…
As a college student with a busy lifestyle, it was common for me to just keep going and going, allowing days to fly by as if nothing had happened. Mindfulness formal practices, however, forced me to slow down, even if just for twenty minutes and focus on the here and now, which helped me to appreciate to a greater extent what was going on in my life at the current point in time. This being said, my mindfulness formal practices have not always been easy. Often times it was tough to stay focused, and because of this I would tend to judge myself for not focusing as well as I knew I was capable of. This non-judging attitude however, is a key part of mindfulness. We are not supposed to judge ourselves when we aren’t preforming to our full potential, just like we are not supposed to strive to feel something if nothing is there. A quote that I liked about mindfulness that dealt with this claimed that the most difficult thing about mindfulness is thinking something should be happening. This resonated with me because often times in my early practices, I did have this feeling, and I sometimes struggled to accept it for what it was and let it …show more content…
Some examples of informal practices that I feel were beneficial in my life were focusing on having mindful conversations, mindfully eating, and overall just being present in the current moment. After learning mindfulness, I noticed myself begin to think differently and to act differently around people. I felt as if my life had slowed down a bit and that I was now more aware of my surrounding