It isn’t my first rodeo talking about mindfulness on here, but I thought we could all use a reminder of what mindfulness is and isn’t as we continue forward in this Mindfulness IRL journey.

Overall, the definition of mindfulness is being fully aware of the present moment, experiencing and accepting it as it is without judgment.

Okay, great.

So how in the heck do we actually do this?

Let me begin by saying that while meditation is one form of mindfulness, mindfulness is not simply meditation. So if sitting still, silently, isn’t your thing, great news! There are infinite ways to practice mindfulness.

Actually, every single moment is an opportunity to practice mindfulness. It can be done any time, any where, and with anyone no matter what you’re doing. Chores, playing, eating, drinking, exercising, chatting with friends, arguing with whoever we argue with, work meetings... The list never ends.

All you have to do is notice what’s going on around you. Observe both your inner world (thoughts, feelings/physical sensations) and outer world with your five senses.

For example if you’re outside at the park you might look at a tree’s trunk, branches, and leaves, flowers, grass, playground equipment, whatever else it has to offer. You might listen to the birds chirping, kids yelling, and rustle of leaves. You might smell the flowers or fresh cut grass. You might feel the wind against your cheek and your feet upon the ground. And you might taste whatever there is to taste. Gum in your mouth. A fresh and non-poisonous berry. If there’s nothing to eat or another sensory experience is nonexistent, that’s fine. Sometimes there isn’t one and noticing that is being mindful too.

It’s also important to notice what's going on inside your body, any physical sensations that you’re experiencing. Is your chest tight or your heart racing? The thoughts going through your head. The idea isn’t to stop any of these from happening because they are things that are happening in the present moment and can give us important information.

As you’re doing this, you want to try to stay open and not judge yourself, others, or your experience. When describing something try to do so objectively, like a reporter or scientist, or detective on a crime show. Instead of a beautiful flower, you’d describe exactly what it looks like, having 6 blue petals attached to a green stem. That’s not to say we can’t have preferences or discriminate (in helpful ways) because there are times that’s useful, but we’ll get more into that another time. It can be a bit confusing. 

You also want to throw yourself into every experience, doing only one thing at a time, just what you need to do, and participate in it wholly.

So when you eat, eat. When you worry, worry. When you dance, dance like nobody’s watching. And do YOUR best at it. Not anyone else’s best, but your best. You don’t have to be perfect or even know exactly what you’re doing. As Nike likes to say, just do it. 

This is all so important because as humans we like to add meaning to stuff. We like to tell ourselves stories. And there’s a time and place and purpose for that, but much of the time we aren’t aware that we’re telling ourselves stories so we believe them without question. Mindfulness grounds us. It brings us back to the here and now, our reality. Now you can be a mindful storyteller, but that’s for another day.

Sounds super easy, right? So then why can’t we just be mindful all the time?

Well, there are many reasons, but one, and I think this is the main one, we don’t like to be uncomfortable and will do anything to avoid it. And the present moment is sometimes uncomfortable and painful. We find ourselves drifting back to the past or toward the future as a means to avoid that, even though in actuality that perpetuates the discomfort.

But that’s okay, because we’re human beings having a human experience and we all find ourselves not being in the present moment. Some more than others, of course, but we can all improve on this by practicing mindfulness and returning back to that present moment over and over again. That’s actually what I love most about mindfulness. It’s a practice. That’s why it’s called mindfulness practice and not mindfulness perfection. There really isn’t a right or wrong way to do it. As soon as you realize you aren’t being mindful, you’re once again mindful!

I’ll get more into all the good stuff you’ll get from practicing mindfulness in another post, but as a teaser learning to become more comfortable living in the present moment will reduce stress, improve your mood, and make your entire life a heck of a lot better. So join me on this journey by subscribing to my email list and/or Mindfulness IRL YouTube channel. And please ask any questions and share your own mindful or mindless experiences along the way. We can learn so much from one another and I’m excited to do it!