Mindfulness & Meditation
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In short
Mindfulness and Meditation are two different techniques which act in a complementary way to each other.
Where mindfulness means to be aware of everything that is happening in our physical life in the present moment (both internally and in our surroundings), meditation focuses mainly in one thing that takes us a mental journey which can go beyond our present moment (physically).
Mindfulness can be practiced anytime even while interacting with other people, whereas meditation can be practiced in a peaceful environment while being alone.
Mindfulness is the awareness of “some-thing” (that exists in our physical life), while meditation is the awareness of “no-thing” (that does not necessarily exist in our physical life but rather in the realms of the mind or emotions instead of our physical senses).
In our sessions we use mindfulness that involves practical techniques to find the source of our daily issues that come up and deal with them, and meditation in order to increase our awareness and strengthen the desired outcome.
Mindfulness in detail
The roots of Mindfulness are found in ancient Buddhist meditation. It is an integrative mind-body approach which helps us relate effectively to our experiences. It involves a moment-by-moment observation of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations and surrounding environment through a gentle nurturing lens without judgement or resistance but rather with care and acceptance.
It expands our awareness, helps us manage difficult experiences beyond the conditional thinking patterns of duality (“right” and “wrong”, “good” and “bad”, etc) , and creates the appropriate space for beneficial choices in life. It enhances our understanding of the deeper intentions and triggers which lead us to specific (inner or outer) actions or reactions and provides us with the tools that help us be alert and totally present in the moment rather than rehashing the past or imagining the future.
Why Mindfulness
Most of our daily behavior and actions have nothing to do with the present moment but rather with what we have in mind or how we feel at that point in time.
We experience life through our perception of what is true for us which is influenced by our past experiences and most of all by our beliefs. And guess what… Our belief system is not ours; instead, it has been planted inside of us through our culture, society, religion, parents, school, media, and so on. It is scientifically proven that only 10% of our daily actions are conscious, the remaining 90% is driven by unconscious mechanisms of our mind. Everything that we experience in life is in accordance to what we are able to see, rather than what it actually is.
Repeated feelings of loneliness, rejection, emptiness, anger, anxiety, frustration, sadness, etc are useful signs that show us what we need to work with. You should feel blessed if you can see these repeated behavioral, emotional or thoughtful patterns even if you cannot do anything about them, because most of the times these repeated patterns are disguised as superficial behaviors which come from our deeper thinking processes found into our subconscious mind.
In order to be able to cope with issues that emerge in our daily life we first need to understand what makes these issues to come up. By understanding them at a deeper level, we become able to see their source (where they come from) and thus find ways to deal with them.
Mindfulness focuses on the examination of these issues (and their source) and promotes the intentional cultivation of moment-to-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations and the surrounding environment in order to be able to catch them at the moment when they emerge before taking action (or better before reacting).
Benefits from the sessions
Being Fully Present to what’s happening In The Moment - leaving the past in the past and letting fantasies of the future dissolve.
Strengthening Mind Stability - maintaining the mind in an alert clear space rather than at the two extremes of a dull or agitated.
Refraining from Self-judgment and Judging Others - observing what is happening with acceptance rather than resisting.
Regulating Attention and Focus - the ability to shift our attention to whatever object we choose, rather than having it bounce haphazardly between a number of issues.
Increasing Self Awareness - being aware of our thoughts and emotions gives us clarity and understanding of our typical behavioral patterns.
Keeping Emotions In-check - sharpening our feelings without being prone to our subconsciously driven behavioral triggers.
Responding vs Reacting - becoming more active and less reactive.
Strengthening the Connection to our True Self - experiencing compassion and understanding of the important things in life.
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