Created by:
Carlos Lasserre
There is a very fashionable concept
that has its roots in Buddhism, called "Mindfulness", that is, the
conscious being of here and now. When we review our discussions with others or with ourselves, we usually find
that are based on past events or events that are about to happen. Few times we take
the chance to talk about what is happening to us here and now. The irony lies
in that it is precisely this temporal space, the now, the only one where we
have a real leeway to generate our changes. By linving consciously the present, we are able to:
a. Enjoying what we have and do:
Appreciating what we instead of what
we would ever have, not only keep us away from frustrations, but also helps us to
live in a state of constant joy. Being aware of such basic things and usually
taken for granted, like having our five senses working, admiring the wonders
behind nature events, or just living, helps us to contextualize what we live on
the sense of its true value. The more we are able to marvel at the greatness given
to us by our daily living, the less importance we will give to that minutia we are
sometimes deprived of. And if we do an unwanted activity being complete aware,
without the anxiety that it involves by being
pending for further rewards, we can find joy in activities that we never imagined before.
b. Anticipating the future:
Any event for the future starts by
a present event. This concept, although
simple, often goes unnoticed in front our eyes. Alan Kay said it: "The
best way to predict the future is to invent it". If we are really aware of
what is happening around us now, we will be able to correct on time tomorrow’s
unwanted events.
c. Nurturing a healthy life:
Psychology explains that as the channels
of consciousness towards the present are enabled, the flow of information used
by the mind for ruminate on and worry decreases. Ruminatinig on the negative
feelings are associated with past experiences, that is, "getting
stuck". Concern is the attention on
the possible future events and their negative consequences. Both coexist in times that are beyond our control,
past and future, and by eliminating them helps to decrease feelings of anxiety
and often stress. A we invest time worrying instead of investing to take action
now to avoid them. The key is to identify the avoidable, as the serenity prayer
says: "Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change,
courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference".
There
are Mindfulness neurobiological studies that show its influence on pain
management. A greater awareness of pain, increases tolerance to it and
accelerates the healing process.
Two practical examples to develop this subject:
Example 1:
Prepare a list of everything you
have in your life that you consider valuable, and in another column everything
you would like to have. Then give a grade from 1 to 10 to each item, and
compared both lists. A good way to eliminate the myth of the relationship
between happiness and money, is to notice
how few high valued items of the first column
are actually free.
Example 2:
Prepare
a list of all your worries of future events and in another column all the
things you are doing today to eliminate or mitigate its impact. You will find enough
gaps in the second column and this explains why we accumulate them as concerns.
Complete the list and change the word "concerns" from the title, to "actions"
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