Mindfulness

This is something that I have just come across. I've been told by a good friend that meditation is the key to happiness. I didn't quite believe or understood this. Now I'm starting to see glimpses of how it can be. This discovery come from my journey to recovery from a difficult relationship. At first it was all about getting out of depression and seeing possibilities of happiness in my life.

Then it was about controlling the negative emotions. For example, I would get upset at things that happen today, through my past experiences. Then I started to let the past go by not associating everything that happened to me in the past. Instead of saying "here we go again" when something bad happen, I would think that this was just a separate and new incident. This is difficult because we layer our life with our past experiences. So I started to see things in a positive way. I learnt that I had a choice in how I see things and that had an impact on my feelings. If something happen during the day and I view it as a negative event, my mood and attitude would be affected. However, if I saw it as a neutral or positive event, the end result would be much better. This was great! This mind shift was great for getting rid of the anger, hate and resentment. It was a huge step forward for me.

Now I am starting to discover mindfulness. It goes a step beyond. It's about looking at life beyond positive and negative. It's about experiencing the moment for what it is. Neither positive or negative, but just IT. I didnt get it at first. The Aha! moment came I came across a lecture by a tibetan monk asking, "When you are in a shower, where are you?". Most people are probably thinking about their upcoming day's events like their next meeting or shopping trip. Then you are not in the shower... Your body is, but your mind isn't. You are not enjoying your shower. You are not feeling the water running over your body. Remember the first time you had a shower in a luxury hotel or a new home? You would take the time to savour the moment. However after a hundred such shower, you will just treat it as normal and let your mind wander to other things.

We let our mind wander and dont slow down to enjoy the moment. If we can slow down and enjoy each moment, no matter what we are doing, then life is a constant joy! No matter how mundane or boring.