Mindfulness can be a term commonly used in counselling and psychotherapy circles but often without any great explanation about what it actually means. It is, therefore, important to understand what mindfulness is, and what it is not.
Simply put mindfulness is staying in the moment non judgmentally. That may sound simple enough, but do any of us achieve this state of being on a regular basis? Even individuals well versed in the practice of mindfulness will refer to great resistance when seeking to stay in the moment, including wanderings and distractions in the mind and avoidance seeking behaviour. Mindfulness means waking up to the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of the present moment, wherever we happen to be. Another important aspect of mindfulness is to keep awareness of our thoughts and feelings as they happen to the present moment.
We tend to operate on autopilot throughout the course of our everyday life. We don’t pay particular attention to what we eat, what sensations we are experiencing as we go for a walk or what we are thinking as we make decisions. That is probably for good reason. The brain, after all, processes billions of pieces of information every second. The average “clock speed” of neurons in the brain is a mere 200 firings per second. Just think of that gigantic set of statistics. Perhaps it is little wonder that the brain needs to form clusters and needs to operate a so-called ‘internal working model’. If it didn’t, we would feel exhausted throughout our day if we were to be conscious of these actions throughout our daily routines. The ‘internal working model’ in the brain ensures that we make decisions efficiently. We don’t, for instance, consciously think too much about doing something that is an everyday task, we tend to just do it.
The risks by operating as this autopilot are that we miss out on so much of the present moment. Mindfulness practice helps us to bring greater awareness to our conscious and unconscious processes.
To be mindful perhaps we need to be more like dogs
In the modern world we are consuming more and more attention every day. Most of us are walking around holding mobile devices so powerful, they have more processing power than the Apollo space mission control. We often walk in the park listening to headphones or looking at a phone whilst regurgitating yesterday’s events, or thinking about likely scenarios in the future.
We differ in so many ways to other species in the animal world. Dogs,for instance, are very mindful. When dogs walk in the park they can be truly in the present moment, taking in their total surroundings with all of their senses. The olfactory sense (that part of the sensory system used for smelling) in dogs is massively more sensitive than ours. Dogs use smell to gather information about the world more than they use sound, and their attention filter has evolved to make it so. To prove this point try calling your dog as they are smelling something interesting. It is very difficult to grab their attention with sound, as smell beats sound in the dog brain every time.
Becoming more mindful
It is important to realise that you don’t need to be anywhere especially peaceful in order to practice mindfulness. It can be practiced anywhere and under any set of circumstances. Taking notice of your thoughts, feelings, body sensations and the world around you, wherever you are, is the first step to mindfulness. This can be whilst you are on a busy commuter train, or attending a busy function, not necessarily in a quiet peaceful place.
Mindfulness practice is often abandoned because one’s mind is too chaotic. However, the aim is not to empty your mind of thoughts but to gradually bring more awareness to your thoughts. The point is to persevere even when the mind is scatty and chaotic and to try to stay focused on bringing attention to the present moment, even if that present moment feels chaotic and all over the place.
A useful exercise is to bring awareness to your breathing. Count slowly from 100 to 1 and bring awareness to your breathing as you observe your surroundings in the present moment. Notice when your mind begins to wander but just try to refocus on the present moment. Yoga and tai-chi can also help with developing awareness of your breathing.
Counselling and psychotherapy can incorporate a mindful approach in the actual sessions. This can be your opportunity to stop and take heed of what is occurring in your body. It is called talking therapy for a reason, you are there to tell your story, but you can also treat the safe and private space to explore what is happening within your somatic energies.
Noel Bell is a UKCP Psychotherapist based in London. He can be contacted by telephone on 07852407140 or noel@noelbell.net
