Mindfulness is incredibly simple. But that doesn’t mean it is easy. Like any skill, it takes practice to feel the benefits. Mindfulness is about using an anchor to the present moment, being fully present in that moment and then moving to the next moment and the next moment.
Your anchor may be your breath, coming in and going out. Your focus is on what it feels like, without trying to change anything at all. Or if that feels uncomfortable, the sense of your feet on the floor, or your bottom on the chair, whatever feels solid and grounded to you.
As you practice mindfulness, you focus your attention on your anchor, moment by moment.
You must expect that your mind will wander because that’s what minds do. And when your mind wanders, your only job is to notice and kindly bring it back to your anchor, without judgement, frustration or anger. Try to behave toward your mind as you would a friend who needs a bit of guidance – with kindness and compassion.
As a beginner, you may need to notice and guide back your wandering mind many times during the session. This is normal and it does not mean that you aren’t “doing mindfulness” correctly. In fact, when you do notice your mind wandering, then you are being mindful. Your goal in learning mindfulness is not to stop thoughts or stop your mind from wandering, but simply to notice and guide it back, respectfully and without judgement.
As you spend more time practicing mindfulness, you may observe that you become quicker at noticing the mind has wandered again. This is how we know that we are becoming more skilful at mindfulness.
Gradually over time, you will be able to integrate mindfulness into your everyday life rather than just during a scheduled mindfulness practice and this is when you will start to reap the huge benefits that mindfulness offers.
