FAST FACTS:
Pulling into a parking spot, you realise you have no recollection of the drive that got you there. On reaching the bottom of a page in a book, you are frustrated that you have failed to understand what you just read. In conversation, you all of a sudden become aware that you have no idea what the person speaking to you has said. Have you ever had the experience of watching a television show or movie and suddenly realising you missed a good portion of it because your attention drifted? Or had to ask someone to repeat something? Or had a partner accuse you of not listening? These episodes are symptoms of a distracted mind. Whether the mind journeys to the future, or the past, whether the thoughts that distracted you were useful, pleasant, or uncomfortable, the consequences are the same. You missed the present, the experience of the moment, as it was unfolding. Distinct from daydreaming, our mind gets offtrack almost half the time. Such mental meandering is associated with negative mood. Severe psychological stress may be cultivated by rumination, worry, or fear about many topics. This type of diffused and unstable focus impairs performance too. The opposite of a wandering mind is a mindful one. Mindfulness is a mental state of being engaged in the present moment without evaluating or emotionally reacting to it. Evidence reveals that mindfulness reduces psychological stress and improves both mental and physical health, alleviating depression, anxiety, loneliness, and chronic pain. How to practice Mindfulness:There are many ways to practice mindfulness, and you don’t have to be a Buddhist monk to do it. One of the simplest ways is to pay attention to your breath, because that is always here and now. You simply sit and breathe, watching your breath as it goes in and out. You can also practice mindful walking, where you walk slowly and feel each footstep. You can eat mindfully, keeping your attention on the smell, texture and taste of food. You can do dishes or laundry mindfully. Anything you do, you can do it with mindful awareness of the experience as it is happening. You can also learn to observe your own thoughts and feelings, and therefore be aware of your internal experiences rather than just being swept up in them. 10-minute mindfulness exercise:
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