What is mindfulness?

Making a decision consciously, having a conversation consciously, driving a car consciously, playing with a child consciously... What does all this mean? Isn't this a hint that we live in an unconscious state and need a special practice to live 'within ourselves'? It seems so. We spend a significant part of our lives 'on autopilot,' existing more in our heads than in reality. We eat while scrolling through Facebook; drive while listening to a podcast; make love while planning tomorrow's meeting. The most beautiful sunset over the ocean cannot distract us from the consuming dialogue with our inner critic and from reliving the failure that happened a year ago. It is no wonder that our life, as it unfolds at this very moment, brings us so little pleasure and satisfaction.

At the same time, everyone has experienced a state of awareness at least once in their life.

Usually, this is an experience that goes beyond the usual, in which time disappears completely or is greatly lengthened, when a second seems like ten minutes. The most diverse episodes or cases that you have just recalled are united by your state: maximum concentration on the moment, a willingness to accept it and live in it 'as is', the absence of evaluations and judgments.

This state is called 'awareness' or 'mindfulness' (from the English mindfulness - attentiveness).

Three key points here:

• concentration,
  
• acceptance,
  
• non-judgment.
  

Mindfulness is developed through regular awareness of your thoughts, feelings, sensations, as well as awareness of what is happening in the external environment. It includes acceptance, or the ability to non-judgmentally observe your thoughts and feelings, not dividing them into 'good' and 'bad', 'right' and 'wrong'. By practicing mindfulness, people focus on what they are experiencing at a particular moment, without being distracted by thoughts of the past or future.

Mindfulness is organic to human nature; it's already built into us. It's not so much a study as a recall of our experience and extending it to a significant part of our lives.