“And the past and the future?” “Nothing but an only child with two different masks.” Billy Collins

I have been reading about mindfulness for over 10 years. And I have implemented learning how to live in the moment. Teaching yourself how to be your observer self is the single most important thing I have ever learned.

For today, I am starting a study of mindfulness by reposting an article about Jon Kabat-Zinn who has been resposible for making America realize the practical applications of giving up stress and using our energy in a more positive way. His work is mainly done at the center he created–Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

An article by Frank Lipman includes the 7 essentials of mindfulness practice:

Nearly twenty years ago, I did a workshop with Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., whose first book “Full Catastrophe Living” and overall teachings have had a lasting influence on me. This book is a classic on the topic of mindfulness and it has played a spiritual role in both bringing this practice into the Integrative Medicine World as well as in developing the method we teach our patients on how to deal with stress.

I would like to share with you the Seven Essentials of Mindfulness Practice, adapted from this great book.

NON-JUDGING

Be an impartial witness to your experience. Observing without judging helps you see what is on your mind without editing or intellectualizing it, or getting lost in your thoughts.

NON-STRIVING

No goal other than to be yourself. It is not about achieving bliss, relaxation or anything else.

ACCEPTANCE

A willingness to see things the way they are. By fully accepting what each moment offers, you are able to experience life much more completely.

LETTING GO

Of thoughts, ideas, things, events, desires, views, hopes and experiences, both pleasant and unpleasant. Allowing things to be as they are, without getting caught up in our attachment to or rejection of them. It means to give up resisting or struggling and allowing things to be as they are. Watching your breath as it goes in and out is an excellent starting place for this practice of letting go.

BEGINNER’S MIND

Free of expectations from past experience. Remove the attachment of the past and just be.  Watch the moments unfold, with no agenda other than to be fully present.  Use the breath as an anchor to tether your attention to the present moment.

PATIENCE

Remembering that things must unfold in their own time. An alternative to the mind’s restlessness and impatience. Not letting our anxieties and desire for certain results dominate the quality of the moment.

TRUST

In yourself and your feelings. A feeling of confidence that things can unfold within a dependable framework that embodies order and integrity.

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