Mindfulness
Some years ago, I attended a day-long course in mindfulness. I found the experience enlightening, inspiring and genuinely eye-opening. It led me to complete an eight-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course and gave me a much deeper appreciation of what it can mean to be fully present.
Mindfulness is about paying attention to what is happening in the present moment — to our thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and the world around us — with curiosity rather than judgement.
What struck me most was how easily we can move through everyday life without really noticing it. Something as simple as breathing, seeing, hearing, standing or taking a step can disappear into the background. Taking time to notice these ordinary experiences gave me a renewed appreciation for things I would normally take for granted.
Noticing the world around us
As part of the course, we spent a full day practising mindfulness. We were fortunate to have beautiful weather and had an opportunity to walk outside while deliberately paying attention to our surroundings.
Slowing down and noticing what I could see, hear and feel made the experience completely different from an ordinary walk. It reminded me how much of the world around us can go unnoticed when our attention is elsewhere.
Mindfulness in everyday life
Mindfulness doesn’t have to mean sitting in silence or setting aside large amounts of time. It can be practised during very ordinary moments.
During the course, for example, we were encouraged to eat lunch without talking and to really pay attention to the food. Initially I found it difficult. I realised how often I would normally eat without giving the experience much thought.
By slowing down, I began noticing the flavours and textures of the meal, as well as thinking about its ingredients, where they had come from and the work involved in preparing it. It was a simple exercise, but a memorable example of how differently we can experience something when we give it our full attention.
What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness teacher Jon Kabat-Zinn, who developed the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction programme, describes mindfulness as deliberately paying attention to our present experience without judgement.
In practice, that might mean noticing our breathing, becoming aware of physical sensations, recognising thoughts and feelings as they arise, or simply paying greater attention to what is happening around us.
Mindfulness and counselling
Mindfulness will not suit everyone, and it is not about trying to eliminate difficult thoughts or feelings. For some people, however, learning to notice experiences without immediately reacting to them can be a useful part of developing greater awareness of themselves.
Mindfulness can also complement counselling by helping us notice thoughts, emotions and patterns that might otherwise pass unnoticed. Even taking a moment to pay attention to the breath or to our surroundings can sometimes give us an opportunity to pause and reconnect with the present.
Interested in counselling?
If you’re considering counselling or psychotherapy and would like to find out whether working together might be right for you, you’re welcome to get in touch.