Before clicking on to another page try this – Sit comfortably and decide to do nothing for a couple of minutes.

What happened? Did your mind wander? Were you daydreaming? Were you thinking about what was going on around you? Were you thinking about memories? Were you planning for the future? Did you start to fall asleep?

Most of us have a strong habit which automatically carries us away into thinking during much of our waking lives. This is the unsettled mind, also known as the crazy monkey mind, swinging madly from thought to thought to thought. We don’t decide that the mind should be acting this way, it just does it. If the mind has a habit of carrying us away to automatically dwell on negative things it can cause us to be miserable, moody, anxious or angry and we are powerless to do anything about it.

Also, habits of the mind can lead us to react automatically to situations in our lives, for example, out of anger or fear. Can you recall this happening in your life, for example, when you lose your temper? These automatic reactions can cause problems in our lives and again we are powerless to do anything about it.

By practicing mindfulness, over time, the mind begins to settle. We can begin to see habits of negative thoughts and reactions as they are playing out in our day to day lives. This can give us the freedom to behave skilfully instead of reacting automatically in daily life situations and to re-direct our thoughts away from dwelling on the negative. We can start to relax and be a bit more at ease in our lives.

For more about Mindfulness Based Approaches and its benefits see MBSR & MBCT page

Some definitions of mindfulness are:
“Mindfulness is knowing what is happening, while it is happening, without preference or judgement”
Rob Nairn

“Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way, on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgementally”
Jon Kabat-Zinn

So there are two aspects of mindfulness in which we train. Firstly, we train in being present by repeatedly bringing the mind back to the present moment, each time we notice that it has wandered. Secondly, we train in developing an attitude that doesn’t judge what we experience. We develop a sense that we are OK with whatever is here for us in the moment.

Heather is a meditation student of Rob Nairn’s and has received a secular training in mindfulness, based on Jon Kabat-Zinn’s work, from the University of Bangor, Wales. She is passionate about sharing the benefits of mindfulness training to relieve physical and psychological suffering to people from all walks of life.

Heather is a mindfulness trainer and a British Wheel of Yoga qualified yoga teacher.