A DOWN-TO-EARTH INTRODUCTION TO THE PRACTICE AND BENEFITS OF MINDFULNESS.

Mindfulness can be described in many ways: –

· It is a practice of purposefully paying attention in the present moment and bringing a non-judgemental, compassionate awareness to the nature of things around us.

· It is a way of being, a way of relating to our inner & outer experiences, and of coming to of our senses, literally and figuratively.

· At the same time, it is nothing at all, nothing but a rediscovery or a remembering of our natural, inborn capacity to be fully awake in our lives, in contact with things in a direct way without the filters & concepts, past experiences, or likes and dislikes.

In essence, it is so simple, and indeed down earth that this way of seeing is immediately available to us. Try it now if you wish:

· Let your eyes move away from this page and your gaze onto something nearby – the back of a chair, a shoe or the carpet.

· Offer it bare attention - seeing it as if for the first time – and therefore totally new to your gaze.

· Softly, notice its shape, colour, texture, and the space it occupies.

· Practising further, you might also notice thoughts crossing your mind, your attention wandering to something else, or feelings arising in response to your sensory contact with the object in view.

· Simply come back again to this chosen spot, again and again, to a direct experience of the object or area you have chosen.

To be continued in Episode 2