I had heard of the concept of "mindfulness" as early as two or three years ago, and had also purchased related courses on the platform. But I still don’t quite understand it, or I can’t feel its benefits.
It wasn’t until I read the explanation of mindfulness in Kaola Xiaowu’s book “Actually You’re Very Good” that I slowly realized its beauty and learned how to enjoy my current life, my own work and study, etc. Some aspects have also been improved due to practicing mindfulness.
If you often feel anxious in your life, this book will slowly take you away from anxiety.
The following notes are mainly from the book "Actually You are Very Good" by Koala Xiaowu.
The so-called mindfulness is conscious awareness, focusing on every second of the present moment, without any subjective judgment.
It can be understood this way: Mindfulness is to consciously let go of one's subjective thoughts and pay attention to and be aware of one thing without any judgment, including one's own thinking activities, emotional ups and downs, and physical reactions.
First, mindfulness is not about emptying your mind and thinking about nothing, but about focusing your attention on what is happening at the moment.
Second, the purpose of mindfulness is not to reduce stress, even though it can sometimes achieve the effect of reducing stress.
Third, mindfulness is not the same as being average or relaxed. The purpose of mindfulness is to live in the present moment.
Fourth, mindfulness is not a religious practice.
Fifth, mindfulness is not about performing major surgery on your life. As long as we understand the true meaning of mindfulness, we can be mindful anytime and anywhere.
Sixth, mindfulness is not a panacea that can cure all diseases.
First, mindfulness can improve people’s happiness.
Second, mindfulness can make the body healthier.
Third, mindfulness can reduce anxiety and improve mental and emotional health.
First, be aware, that is, consciously and purposefully turn your attention inward, and curiously observe what you are thinking, what your emotions are, and how your body feels.
For example, when we wash the dishes, we curiously feel what it feels like when the tap water slides between our fingers; when we apply skin cream, we carefully feel what it feels like when the skin cream touches our facial skin. What kind of feeling; be aware of what kind of thoughts are in your mind at this moment...
Second, description, that is, describing your thoughts, emotions and body in an objective, neutral and matter-of-fact way reaction.
It is very important to describe things as they are, and you must constantly remind yourself: I am an emotion, this is an idea, not necessarily a fact or truth. You are not your thoughts, emotions, or physical reactions.
We practice mindfulness when we allow ourselves to see our thoughts as just thoughts rather than as facts.
Third, participation means to participate wholeheartedly in one and only one thing. In other words, the opposite of multitasking and multitasking, which literally means living in the moment.
For example, if a person can really eat, when he eats, he just walks, when he relaxes, he just relaxes, when he works, he just works...
Whole body Participating in the present moment is the state of mindfulness.
First, non-judgment, that is, when we perceive, describe and participate, we must do so in a neutral and objective manner without subjective judgment. This is the most important part of mindfulness. .
The so-called non-judgment means that we should allow ourselves to temporarily put aside our personal subjective thoughts and perceive everything with a neutral, objective and curious mind like a child's perspective.
Second, single-mindedness, that is, we try to focus on and only one thing at the moment.
For example, listen to a song, watch a movie, read a book, or put down your phone and spend quality time with your family.
Third, be effective, that is, do what works for you and the situation itself at the moment, without letting yourself be imprisoned by the obsessions in your mind.
When we live our lives in a way that works, it means we choose to focus on the most effective way to solve a problem, rather than focusing on our own obsessions. Because each of us has obsessions in our hearts, many times in order to prove that we are right, our inherent problem-solving model will make us farther and farther away from our goals.
Ask yourself: What do I want to get out of this situation now? Is everything I’m doing now helping me get closer to my goals, or is it taking me further away? If further, what is the most effective approach at this moment?
Of course, any skill or ability cannot really benefit us if it only stays in books. Only by applying it in life can we make it work for us. This requires us to practice more in our lives.