Learning and practicing mindfulness
In a group of friends, we had an interesting conversation about mindfulness apps which inspired me to share my perspective on this topic. The book Sapiens talks about the concepts of imagined reality and observable reality (or science), and the distinction can be very helpful in understanding the world that we live in. In context of mindfulness, it has been around for a very long time, but only few people have been practicing it in its true sense, because theoretically, if most people in our society were mindful, then stress, depression, anger, greed, anxiety, intolerance, hatred, jealousy and lifestyle diseases like obesity would not exist in the proportions that they do. Mindfulness and its benefits are an imagined reality for many - until the individual makes it an observable reality for themselves. Having said that, the power of science is that science can observe a phenomenon numerous times to conclude that the concept or hypothesis will work in most instances. Science has recently been focussing on mindfulness and prestigious organisations like Harvard, Cambridge and NHS UK have identified quantifiable benefits of mindfulness. The capitalist world that we live in means that every observable reality or emerging science also provides a business opportunity to capitalise on the demand for the concept in the society. Given the origins of mindfulness, the organisations like Dhamma Dipa that teach mindfulness techniques developed by Buddha do not charge a fee for teaching the technique, because the moment money is attached to a cause, money can start influencing the cause in at least two ways.
The first and obvious way is down to how paying money creates an implicit assumption in our mind that we are now paying for a service and it sets an expectation of the return on investment. This phenomenon can lead to an expectation from learning or practicing mindfulness, and the irony is that one of the fundamental teachings of mindfulness is to observe the reality of the moment as it is and not as you would like it to be (the expectation). The expectation is based on what others have found about mindfulness and that actually sets you up for disappointment (at least at the initial stage) when it comes to the actual practice, as the practice is deeply rooted in removing expectations from the mind.
The second way in which money can influence the outcome is that any product or service that is designed to meet a demand in the society is certainly developed to benefit the society by supplying the service that meets the demand, however, in order for the product or service to survive, it needs to be funded. This may mean that a dependency on the service will actually benefit the service in the long term. It is very likely that some of the services have been set up with an intent that if the service serves the society and then gets eliminated due to the fact that it has enabled its consumers to be independent. I would certainly be mindful of that situation, however, as a consumer of the service, being mindful of both scenarios can help you understand where to stop.
Mindfulness is a state of mind where you are aware of the reality of the moment as it is and are not reacting to the cravings and aversions of the mind. This is a way of life, and just like any other habits we develop, it takes time and practice. When you listen to a mindfulness video or audio or read a book about it, you are learning to be mindful, not necessarily being mindful, because the act of watching, listening or reading has created an alternative reality for you already. At this point, you are not observing the reality as it is, you are observing a new reality that you have created with the intent of learning to observe the reality as it is after you have trained your mind to do so. There are many institutions teaching mindfulness, and the moment a thought or concept is spoken or written down, it is contained by the vocabulary and the interpretation of the author or speaker. Being mindful of this can also help you on this journey. There isn't a single perfect way to practice mindfulness, but the essence is to observe the reality as it is, from moment to moment. This is not rocket science, but our mind has been trained over and over to keep jumping in the past or the future, which is the biggest cause of unpleasant feelings, stress, depression and other mental health challenges. I've used these words in this order, because I speak with a lot of people who say that they are perfectly fine and don't need to do anything about their mental wellbeing, yet, on many occasions, in the same conversation, they will talk about how unpleasant someone or something is and it is hard to ignore how that thought is causing unpleasantness or stress in their mind. Mental wellbeing is a spectrum, and in spite of the progress science has made, we do not have a clear and easy measure of it like BMI which serves as a good basic measure of one's physical health.So, if it's not rocket science, then how do you learn to be mindful? One of the ways in which you can learn to be mindful is by practicing it. One could even say that this is probably the only way, because you can only become a singer by singing or a dancer by dancing. Reading about it or listening about it can inspire you and provide the necessary knowledge, but the practice will be the way to make it your reality.
A number of religions and philosophies have emphasised that meditation is the technique of inner engineering. Meditation allows you to disconnect yourself from the worldly distractions and pleasures and observe yourself. While there is huge emphasis on getting to a state of nothingness, that is also an imagined reality until it becomes your observed reality, so rather than setting an expectation of a certain type of experience, just shutting your senses and observing your breath which is an observable reality is one of the core techniques of mindfulness, which is called aana-paana in Hindi and is the first technique taught in a 10 day Vipassana course. It is extremely likely that the moment you start observing your breath, your mind will start thinking about the past or the future. The beauty of meditation is that even though you may be mentally affected by those thoughts, you won't physically be acting upon them until you stop meditating. This inherently means that you are only being an observer of your thoughts in that moment. The thoughts can be overwhelming and they may last for the entire duration of your meditation practice, but they did not allow your mind to physically react to the thought for the duration of your meditation practice. This is training your mind to observe your thoughts and developing strength in your mind to not react to those thoughts. This is very powerful, because a lot of times, we react to a situation without thinking and cause unpleasantness for ourselves and others. If this is all you do during your meditation practice, then observe this reality as it is - my mind is obsessed with this idea. That is also mindfulness. What you do after your meditation will be based on the existing habit pattern of the mind, so you may or may not see an immediate impact of meditating. It's like strength training of the body, you won't typically be able to do something significantly different physically after a gym session, but over a long period of time, you will see an observable difference. It's the same with mindfulness, so just making time for it and doing it regularly will take you a long way.
Whether you pay for a service or watch videos to initially learn it is dependent on your level of commitment (although you may think it's down to how busy you are). I made time for a 10 day Vipassana course which is probably the best gift I have given to myself in my life. Vipassana is a free residential course, but requires commitment. If you'd like to pay for a service or watch videos to learn it, being mindful of the impact of introducing money and also being mindful of the fact that at the end of the day, it is someone's interpretation may help you as you start this journey. Whichever path you choose, understanding the difference between learning mindfulness and actually practicing it in life can help you decide when to stop learning and start doing it or balance the learning with doing as soon as you start. Meditation is the easiest way to practice mindfulness, just because you are not allowing your body to react to the thoughts and the associated sensations. Through practice, it is likely that you will start to live your life in a mindful way, and the irony is that the more you are attached to this result, the longer it will take you to get to this state. Before I end, I'd like to say that this is my version of the story and is in context of maximising the learning of mindfulness. I am neither my thoughts, nor my acquired knowledge, as they keep changing from moment to moment. This is a reflection of what I have observed, but I have no beliefs, so feel free to challenge this reflection. Take everything with a pinch of salt and be your own light.