“Breathing in, I calm body and mind. Breathing out, I smile. Dwelling in the present moment I know this is the only moment.” ~ Thích Nhất Hạnh
Overloaded! Stressed! Extreme Anxiety! Are you feeling any of those? When I read a lot of what is going on in today’s world, it seems that stress and anxiety has become the norm rather than the exception. There are many factors that helps to create it. You may be working and your job may be asking more of you than ever before and yet, you’re making less. You may be unemployed and stressing to find a job with bills coming due. You may even be late (by a lot). You may be stressed over how you look.
And those are but a few areas where each one of us may feel stress and anxiety. The outcome of which leads to myriad of health problems. Obesity, heart disease, loss of sleep, trouble concentrating, anger, overeating, faster aging and more… I can tell you that stress and anxiety are not going to leave our lives. It’s simply up to each of us to know how to best handle it and help to release it.
That is where an ancient for of meditation and awareness comes in. Back in the 1970’s I was doing Transcendental Meditation (TM) and it works in relieving stress. Those days were the heyday of TM as well as other mind focused training. Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) came about in the early 70’s. Still, how amazing those days were, I’d like to take you back way before that.
An ancient Buddhist teaching known as mindfulness (awareness) is one of the pathways to enlightenment. It is simply emptying the mind of those things that hook us to the past or the future and is completely present focused. This is very difficult to achieve since our minds are full of thoughts and judgement. Hence, those same thoughts lead to anxiety. Even obsessive-compulsive disorder is a form of anxiety in which mindfulness can help.
Fast forward back to the 1970’s and modern psychology meets mindfulness. Jon
Kabat-Zinn made it popular with his Mindfulness-based stress reduction training (MBSR). He learned from Thich Nhat Hanh through a retreat that was held. He later became a student of Zen Master Seung Sahn. As far as the West was concerned, this was the first time we knew about it. Again, the 1970’s was a time of discovery. I had learned some of mindfulness from my Uncle Keiji and his Zen Meditation much earlier than when it was brought forth.
Here’s the difference between meditation and mindfulness: meditation is a deliberate practice in which the focus in on one’s breathing or mantra in which a higher state of awareness is reached. Mindfulness is being focused on the present moment of awareness, without judgement, with complete attention. Distractions is getting away from being mindful.
While the modern version of mindfulness differs from that of Buddhism, it is very valuable in today’s high stress society. I believe it is perfect for the Western culture without the need to convert to Buddhism. In fact, it is non-religious in nature.
You can start now by learning to let go of your thoughts and only focus on the present moment. Let no thoughts cloud each moment. Look around and let your senses take control. Be aware. It will take a lot of practice. You may need a mindfulness teacher to help you reach a level of complete awareness where stress and anxiety completely melts away. I would suggest that you do that.
Eventually you will have developed your mind and mental focus to the point where you are in control of your thoughts instead of letting them control you. And wouldn’t that be of great help? I wish you the best and may joy fill your life.
Cheers,
Bob Choat
America’s #1 Mind-Body Transformation Expert and author of Mind Your Own Fitness
Resources:
UMass Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program founded by Jon Kabat-Zinn www.umassmed.edu/cfm/stress
Dharma Zen Center in Los Angeles www.dharmazen.com/
Deer Park Monastery in Escondido, CA teaching the lessons of Thich Nhat Hnah deerparkmonastery.org/