The guru of mindful living
Simple question, with a simple answer: mindfulness is the state of being where you observe what you are doing instead of being involved in what you are doing.
Eckhard Tolle, the author of ‘The Power of Now’, and one of the guru’s of mindfulness
“When you recognize that there is a voice in your head that pretends to be you and never stops speaking, you are awakening out of your unconscious identification with the stream of thinking. When you notice that voice, you realize that who you are, is not the voice — the thinker — but the one who is aware of it.”
What Tolle is emphasising here is the fact that we identify with our mind and our thinking. Our mind seems to be the strongest force in our life, which determines our decisions, our actions and also our emotions. But we give too much power to our mind and that can cause us a sense of non-control and powerlessness. When your mind is racing around, busy and impossible to stop, you are out of control. And in a way, you are not really living. The way to take control of your life, and get your power back is by taking a step back and watching your mind, observing your thoughts instead of identifying with it.
Meditation and mindfulness
The skill of observing is key. To develop that skill, it is not necessary to just observe your thinking, you can observe anything, from your breathing, to a flower, a sound or a candle light…… Once you are able to observe, it will be easier to notice that you don’t observe, or get carried away by your mind.
Another aspect of mindfulness is being in the moment: not in the past, not focussed on the future, events, situations or other people, but about being connected to yourself in the here and now.
Mindfulness practice
A series of simple meditation or focussing practices will help you to achieve that. To watch a short video to get an idea of how quick and easy it is, click here.
If you want to receive my hints and tips, click here.
