And we may have thought we were just practicing meditation to help reduce our stress- perhaps deepen our ability to relax- or to simply be less reactive? This may be true, but mindfulness meditation is also about transforming our relationship to the mind, body, and to the ‘whole’ of our being- in helping us to see more clearly our impulses, habits, vulnerabilities, strengths, and potentialities- and in opening us up to a more compassionate understanding of who we genuinely are- in all that limits & expands us.

One way to think of this transformation process is mindfulness as a lens taking the scattered and reactive energies of our mind and focusing them into a coherent source of energy for living… for problem solving… and for healing. All of life’s moments- all of life’s experiences can be seen more clearly through this lens– this quality of awareness, a freely open and compassionate power to observe, sense, feel, and be embodied.

For many of us modern day dwellers, the moment is everywhere but the present. Without being fully in the present moment, there is no practice. Because of this inner busyness which is going on almost all the time, we are liable to miss a lot of the texture of our life experience, or to discount its value and its meaning.

Residing in a world that has conditioned ‘automaticity’, and at best, semi-conscious awareness, we are often disconnected from living fully and consciously in our own experiences- so busy and encumbered with what our minds think to be important that we fail to take the time and stop to listen… to notice things… to experience what is beautiful, meaningful, and vivid in our own lives. Unawareness causes us to miss signals in our lives both internally and externally. We don’t see the details and texture of our own experiences when we cannot be fully and consciously present in the moment… an awakening process to presence with mind, body, and being.

A mindfulness practice helps us to shift & transform our attitudinal foundation both purposefully and consciously. We learn to shut off the auto pilot and take over the controls of our own mind and body… we come to awaken and bring awareness to what we are actually doing while we are doing it. The fact is that when we start to pay attention in this way our relationship to things changes-we see more and we see more detail. By paying attention purposefully, we literally become more awake.

In essence, this practice leads to new ways of seeing and being in our lives, because the present moment whenever it is recognized and honored reveals a very special power. It’s the only time that any of us ever has… this is why we value moment to moment awareness so highly. The practice- the effort itself is its own end. It makes our experiences more vivid, and our lives more real.

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