Mindfulness means creating awareness of our surroundings and daily activities as we get on with our lives. It means living every moment and feeling every feeling as it takes place, without judgment or thinking of the past or future repercussions of the same.

It means living in the present moment. Studies have shown that mindfulness aids in reducing stress, coping better with our problems/ailments, and increasing our positivity and self-esteem. By practising mindfulness techniques, we can find inner peace have a relaxed mind and can better deal with the continuous barrage of lemons that life throws at us.

Importance Of Mindfulness In Modern Society

We are living in highly stressful times. We have compartmentalized our lives in time slots and are working towards achieving our life goals like increased income, luxurious homes, better amenities like swanky cars, state-of-the-art high-end mobile phones/devices, hefty bank balances, a hoard of jewellery, etc. The stress/anxiety associated with this leads to a host of physical and mental ailments, that need to be addressed.

Generally speaking, you need to slow down, stop, and smell the roses, as the saying goes, which means practising mindfulness. Live and enjoy each moment as it happens, and be more aware of your surroundings. This does not mean that you are unaware of your surroundings while driving.

Benefits Of Practising Mindfulness

Mindfulness aids in lessening stress, reducing chronic pain, maintaining normal blood pressure, improving sleep and easing gastrointestinal issues. Someone once told me “If your software is okay, then you won’t have any trouble with your hardware” – that means if our mind is calm relaxed and focused, then the pain associated with any physical ailments will gradually subside. This is tried-tested and works.

A friend, working in a Corporation, was going through a recurring shoulder ache every three months so she had to be on medication but the underlying pain would not subside completely. She had to leave her job as the Company was not appreciating her long leaves. Her X-ray reports showed everything was normal. Since she had time on hand, she resumed painting, her passion, which she had neglected for years. As soon as she began painting, her shoulder ache disappeared !! Just like that !! We deduced that it was the stress and work pressure that had manifested as the pain, and now since she was her Boss, there was no stress, no urgency to meet any deadline and the pain disappeared and she was happy and in a better state of mind. She now sells her artwork online and through exhibitions, and she is glowing with happiness. Acute stress leads to many medical issues and therefore the lesser the stress, the better we feel.

With mindfulness, our focus increases and we can manage our life in the best way possible. Someone once said to me “You need to accept and make the best of your present situation.” Meaning that I have to accept and make the best of my present situation despite the stress that is associated with it, and also without worrying about what may happen in future or dwelling on what happened in the past.

Life is NOW…. After all who has seen tomorrow?? So why not improve and live a worthy life?