Mindfulness is the aware, balanced acceptance of the present experience. It isn't more complicated than that. It is opening to or receiving the present moment, pleasant or unpleasant, just as it is, without either clinging to it or rejecting it. (Sylvia Boorstein)
Mindfulness is moment-to-moment awareness. Mindfulness provides us with strategies that enable us to gain rewards in the short and long term – because it teaches us to look within and not without. Once there is an awareness of the inner this illuminates the outer. This then leads to an awareness of the connectedness between the two and all that is around us in a most profound way.
Practising Mindfulness
Practising mindfulness is a way to achieve contentment, no matter what the circumstances are. It is a way to learn how to become aware of you as you really are and the world around you as it really is. It removes wrong beliefs, distorted perceptions, fears, fantasies and obsessional thinking and replaces unhealthy states of mind with contentment, happiness, goodness, generosity, patience and other positives states of mind. It awakens and brings to the forefront authenticity that comes from your innermost being. Mindfulness provides a simple and powerful way for stress reduction. It brings about calmness, even in situations that would otherwise be stressful and unhealthy.
The Here and Now
Mindfulness helps people focus on the here and now. It is about seeing and feeling things as they really are. It is about acknowledging our reactions to our emotions, be they pleasant or unpleasant. It helps people to respond to situations, rather than react. This means we can relate to things in a healthier way, healthier for you and your mind and body, healthier for the organisation. As such it is the best tool for optimal engagement.
Mindfulness and the Workplace
Mindfulness at the workplace is about taking responsibility for one's own wellbeing throughout the working day. It is about making the best out of each moment and every situation. It is about learning to focus on the task at hand with a newly found energy, even if the task is neither motivational nor particularly engaging.
Beyond the Workplace
A mindful way of being extends beyond powerful changes in the workplace. The way with which you will become more engaged in a mindful way of being will become all encompassing and will help you create a better life balance.