Coming to Our Senses

What Is Mindfulness?

The practice of mindful meditation enables you to live in the present without judging, interpreting or analyzing. Mindfulness is the ability to experience moments without thinking. It exists in that precise instant when you see a bird – right before you start thinking to yourself, “Wow, that bird is beautiful,” or “I wonder where he’s going,” or “Hey, I saw that exact same bird yesterday.” Mindfulness also means not dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. It is a way of slowing down and focusing on the simpler things in life. Mindfulness is probably the healthiest, most stress-free state you can embrace.

What Meditation Is and Isn’t

As the pace of daily life accelerates, placing yourself in a state of timelessness is important. You can control the present – at least in your mind. Buddha perfected the practice of meditation and expounded on it. He taught that people should not cling to ideas, expectations, relationships, feelings, possessions or even their bodies. Instead, he said, they should always be open to possibilities and opportunities.

Meditation is the ideal way to deliberately foster mindfulness, and it is available...