Mindfulness, Smith says many people have objections to the idea of mindfulness when they first learn
about it, and these objections can prevent a person from engaging in the practice.
Most of these objections seem to come from misunderstandings about what it means to be mindful.
Kuman methods include mindfulness is unscientific.
People sometimes object to the concept of mindfulness because they prefer to live in the world of fact
and science.
If you need solid evidence for the benefits of mindfulness, you're in luck.
A large and growing number of studies have found that mindfulness helps with a wide range of conditions
like anxiety and depression.
It has even been found to change the brain.
Mindfulness practice is supported by solid science.
Mindfulness means spending a lot of time in our heads, and language is an imperfect tool, and it's
easy to misunderstand what mindfulness refers to rather than dwelling in our minds.
Mindfulness is about connecting with our basic experiences and letting go of the stories we're at them.
And to be mindful is to be aware and in a state of obedience to what we discover.
Mindfulness means giving up any effort to affect our world for the better.
The word acceptance can mean we're not going to try to change from something like when we say I've accepted
that I'm not going to play professional sports in the context of mindfulness.
Acceptance means we don't deny that reality is reality.
We're willing to see a situation the way it is.
This kind of acceptance can actually be the catalyst for the change as we when we accept that there
is crushing poverty in our community and decide to take action to change it.
Mindfulness is weakness if we assume mindfulness means never taking a stand and we quit fighting and
resistance with strength.
But on the contrary, letting go is difficult.
It takes hard work and determination to let go of our habits of Brazil operating on the past and fearing
the future.
And mindfulness helps us direct our strength in ways that serve us.
Mindfulness means never having goals, a full focus on the present and practicing acceptance.
How can we set goals or plan for the future?
It might seem paradoxical, but the planning for the future and setting goals are completely compatible
with mindfulness practice.
As noted previously, accepting reality can give rise to efforts to change a situation.
For example, I might accept that my house is too hot and decide to buy an air conditioner and we cannot
practice presents even while setting goals or making plans, being immersed in the reality of those
forward looking activities.
Mindfulness equals meditation.
The word mindfulness often remind us in the image of someone sitting cross-legged and meditating, which
makes sense as meditation is a very common mindfulness mindfulness practice.
But meditation is not the only way to practice being mindful.
An infinite number of activities offer opportunities to develop openness to our experience, from relaxing
with friends to running an ultramarathon.
The advantage of formal practice meditation is that it offers a concentrated dose of training the mind
to focus on the now.
We can then bring that training into any moment of our lives.
Indeed, I found that practicing meditation leads to more experiences of spontaneous mindfulness presents
in our day to day activities.