On the banners you can find the words "to be here and now", that is, constantly do only deliberate actions, not succumbing to your own deception. So why has the topic of mindfulness become so popular in modern world... In this article, we will understand what consciousness is and how to become aware.

What is mindfulness

At almost every moment in time, yours are directed to the search for any fantasies or ideals. If at a specific period you are not mentally, your thinking apparatus begins to be distracted from reality, wander in the world of illusions, “frame by frame” generate something that cannot be. After all, when you go to bed, mentally you are not in bed, you are about something, you leave the conscious reality. The goal of the practice of mindfulness is to distract from his karmically conditioned, return to pure, true reality. As one Chinese sage said: "When I - I eat, when I wash - I wash." This is an extremely simple, but at the same time, profound statement, ideally describing human consciousness.

Be aware of- is to focus on what is happening in the real world at the moment, on what is happening to you. A conscious person, performing some task, completely concentrates on him, and his thoughts do not wander through the unreal world of illusions. But in any business, concentration leads to increased success. Frankly speaking, consciousness and meditation are approximate concepts. The only difference is that in the process it does not perform for the benefit of itself and society, it is simply absorbed by the spiritual process. But wisdom lies in activities that create clarity.

Features of the concept

Mindfulness refers to the general concept of mindfulness. Some may wonder what is the difference between these concepts. In fact, mindfulness is inherent in many who are able to carry out the learned commands, but they do not possess awareness, since they do not have an accurate sensory perception of external events. The definition of consciousness is different in different teachings.

In psychology

In psychology, it is believed that it constantly regulates the level of attention, and it is she who is responsible for the conscious or unconscious suppression of the level of awareness. CNS and peripheral nervous system able to absorb a large number of information from the outside world. Moreover, such a large number that the area that is responsible for cognitive abilities simply would not have time to digest everything if it were not for the suppression of awareness. Psychologists believe that without a system of suppressing consciousness, a person can perceive and process much more information and enter a state of so-called expanded consciousness.

In philosophy

In philosophy, the great French mathematician and thinker Rene Descartes was the first to raise the problem of consciousness. His famous expression "I think, therefore I am", was for him a sacred guide throughout.

Did you know? Descartes came up with the numbering of seats in theaters. Now it is absolutely familiar and does not surprise anyone, but in the 17th century it caused a real emotional explosion in the high society of Paris.

Descartes stated that he was thinking about that, and understood only what he did by means of deliberate deeds. The Frenchman distinguished between mental and physiological processes, awareness for him was the criterion of their differences.

In religion

For this practice to be beneficial, you need to ask questions about how your partner likes to fall asleep: under a light or under a pleasant one, in a cool room or warm, with flickering evening lamps or in full immersion v . With almost 100% probability, we can say that your preferences will be different. That is why try

Quite a long time has passed since the release of the film "The Matrix". It would seem an absurd idea, but it is increasingly cited as an example by scientists trying to explain the picture of the world. No, it comes not about supercomputers and cryogenic chambers in which the physical shell of a person sleeps. Rather, we can talk about a big "game" in which everyone plays a role. And this role is not always suitable for the "actor". Awareness of your true essence allows you to break out of this vicious circle, start living for real. This means awakening - a way out of social suspended animation. We will talk further about how you can initiate awareness and awakening.

What is self-awareness?

Awareness is a complete understanding and acceptance of everything that happens in life, including your actions, thoughts, desires. Why is this needed? In order to live your life consciously, to fulfill your true. Open your eyes and see your real life path... What will it give? Feeling of harmony, happiness, fullness of your life. Indeed, in fact, it does not matter how much money a person has, what house he lives in or what car he drives to work.

The main thing is that he is happy in his life, that he has enough of what he has. Awareness of yourself, your desires and needs, allows you to understand the direction in which to move without being sprayed with unnecessary things. Awareness and awakening is the key to yourself truly and whole.

And if with awareness everything is more or less clear, then what is awakening? Why is there so much emphasis on the need to do it? Awakening is the moment of transition from ignorance to awareness. It's like opening your eyes after a long sleep, or rather suspended animation. "Social suspended animation" dictated to us by society, its collective mind or traditions. But before we talk about awareness and awakening, let's touch on the issues of this "dream" and its "dreams".

Why does the person "sleep"?

Many thinkers reproached society for violence against the individual, in the suppression of its true essence. Is everything really so unambiguous? Probably not. The point is that there are objective laws social nature... What is good for one can hurt others. How do you keep this balance? Society did not come up with anything other than rules, orders or traditions.

From time to time, traditions change, then we talk about fashion. Awareness and awakening certainly useful for a particular person, but can be detrimental to society, since it becomes more difficult for him to control a free personality. In any case, when it comes to a technocratic society.

Awareness is rather spiritual term, but in this publication we will look at its psychological and social significance. Before birth, each person is assigned a specific role. This is called a life mission or purpose. Regardless of who he becomes: a creator or destroyer, a revolutionary or an official. A certain role is inherent in his genes, pervades his spirit and aura.

But do free-thinking people need society as a single mechanism? He needs teachers, doctors, policemen, and the military. Society needs professions, not individuals. On the one hand, it is not bad if the social role coincides at least a little with the purpose. But what happens if someone falls into the wrong "plate?" - Depression, stress, loss of energy, continuous negativity, these are just the first signs of self-destruction. Awakening becomes the only way to protect yourself. But how to understand that a person is "asleep?"

How do you know when it's time to "wake up?"

Signs that the person has lost their true path are eloquent enough to go unnoticed.

• Lack of understanding of the life purpose;
• Comparing yourself to other people regularly;
• Live in the past, not the present day;
• Lack of development and progress;
• Passivity in decision making;
• Failure at work or in personal life;
• Chronic fatigue, depression.

If all this can be said about a person, then he needs to start his awakening as soon as possible, otherwise he will never wake up from his daily routine. So that this process does not drag on for many years, it is advisable to familiarize yourself with the main ways of awakening and awareness.

Effective awakening techniques

Since awareness of oneself comes only in the process of cognition, the awakening is of a research nature. Here you cannot do without introspection, work with your subconscious. We will not describe overly exotic practices, but here are those that you can do on your own, without the help of a spiritual mentor.

• Ask yourself the right questions;
• Observe your body, emotions, mind;
• Accept yourself for the present;
• To live an active lifestyle;
• Get rid of fears and complexes;
• Practice meditation;
• Stop chasing material goods.

These simple recommendations help to quickly achieve a state of awareness and awakening. Perhaps, to someone they will seem very simple, but you should not create unnecessary difficulties for yourself. Sometimes the obvious things are right under our very noses.

The right questions

For starters, it doesn't hurt to ask yourself a few leading questions:

• Who am I?
• What am I doing?
• Why am I doing this?
• How do I do it?

Answers to them will help you to realize your life, turn off the effect of automatism, start comprehension. It may not be possible to answer them right away, but the desire to do so will be the first step on the path to awakening.

Observation of the body, emotions, mind

Physical, intellectual and emotional activity are interconnected. Observing his breathing, thoughts, feelings, experiences, a person begins to realize the peculiarities of his physiology and psyche. Probably, you will not be able to learn how to manage them right away. But this will no longer be a meaningless existence.

Accepting yourself as real

It's worth trying to be honest with yourself. If we feel anger, then do not dissemble by calling it something else. If we are afraid, we must have the courage to admit it. Self-awareness is possible only through sincerity. Deception leads a person to the side, preventing him from understanding who he really is.

Active lifestyle

Proactivity encourages action, development, introspection. Even a morning run, elevated to the category of a daily ritual, can awaken our hidden potential. Awareness is an active process. For it to happen, you need to overcome your inertia or passivity.

Getting rid of fears and complexes

Fears and complexes, most often, are alien to the human psyche. They arise in response to pressure from the people around them: family, campaign, society. Fear of not living up to other people's expectations, worries about their own insolvency instantly disappear on a desert island. This means that the reason for them is not in ourselves, but in our reaction to others. Awareness will come much faster if you stop chasing social trends, start living the way you really want.

Meditation

By its nature, meditation is relaxation, immersion in your subconscious mind. It is not at all necessary to take intricate poses, to shudder the surrounding space with monotonous sounds. It is enough just to come to the place where you can calm down in order to escape from the daily routine at least for a while. For some it is fishing, for others - a secluded bench in the nearest park, and for the third - a favorite hammock in the village. When a person is free from extraneous thoughts, then awareness of his true nature is possible.

Ending the pursuit of material goods

This is not about the hermit life. No, a person is a product of society, so it is advisable not to fall out of it. It's just that in the pursuit of money, people very often deviate from the correct course, eventually realizing that they could have lived differently. If you do what you love, then there is every chance of becoming a real professional. In this case, a person will always be able to earn money, he will not be in poverty. And the wrong choice of profession, under the pressure of social trends, in the end will only lead to depression or disappointment. You have to work in order to live, and not vice versa.

Today we have sorted out such important concepts as awareness and awakening. Without them, you can never find your way of life, as a result, working not where you would like, communicating not with those with whom it is pleasant, living in someone else's house. Self-awareness reveals a completely different reality, complete bright colors and joy. Since most people “sleep” soundly under the domination of society, they need to go through an awakening, due to which their eyes will literally open to the world. The next step awareness will become, which will bring with itself a sense of integrity and harmony, will help to become yourself.

It is important not only to understand what awareness is, but also to live consciously. Mindfulness is the key to all doors. Starting with the great teachers of the past, such as Jesus, Kabir, Nanak, Buddha, Muhammad, and ending with modern teachers such as Karl Renz, Ethart Tolle, Dalai Lama, Osho, we can say that all these teachers taught only one thing - awareness.

Each teacher called mindfulness differently. Jesus called it awakening, so he said more than once: stay awake, be alert, but people did not understand him, they thought, being awake means not sleeping in bed, but they did not understand that even if they are not in bed, this is not means they are awake. You can sleep on the go.

Ethart Tolle called mindfulness presence, or by the power of the moment now. Osho called mindfulness witnessing. Whatever you call it, the essence does not change. Awareness is the ability of a person to be here and now, to feel the world more, and not to think of it, the ability not to be led by the illusions of the mind. To understand that thoughts are just thoughts and thoughts in the head have nothing to do with real reality.

Mindfulness helps you see your inner world. Thanks to awareness, a person begins to get acquainted with his inner world, before that only the outer world existed for him, now it opens inner dimension... The person who becomes aware becomes less and less reactive. It is harder for him to control, he no longer reacts to the same stimuli in the same way, he has the opportunity to freely choose how to react to this or that stimulus. Such a person becomes more and more spontaneous and unpredictable.

For example, if an unconscious person is shouted at, then, depending on the habit, he can either shout in response, or, fearing the screams, avoid conflicts. An unconscious person always reacts, for example, to shouts in the same way, and a conscious person can choose to shout to him, that is, go to a conflict, or avoid a conflict, and this depends on the situation. A conscious person increases the efficiency of communication with people and resistance to stress.

It is important to understand that there are three main aspects of the inner world for awareness:

BODY AWARENESS

Most First stage awareness begins with the body. At this stage, a person learns to feel his body, to be able to direct his consciousness into the body, to feel how the energy flows in the body. Listening skill emerges internal organs, heartbeat, etc. A person begins to take better care of and love himself, that is, his body. At first, it is difficult for a person to meditate on the body, thoughts are often carried away, a person constantly jumps from awareness to unawareness, often falls asleep during meditation.

Over time appears new level when a person realizes that he is not falling asleep, thoughts still come to mind, but they do not carry him away, and consciousness remains in the body more and more often. Then a person begins to direct consciousness into the body already on the street, wherever he is, when communicating with people. The hardest thing, perhaps, is to be aware of your body, to move and talk at the same time.

CONSCIOUSNESS OF THOUGHTS

Awareness of thoughts or observation of them, this is perhaps the second level of awareness - this is when a person already sees his thoughts and understands that thoughts are thoughts and they have nothing to do with reality. A person can even laugh at those thoughts that come to his head, since he has an understanding that he is not thoughts and that thoughts often come from outside, and are not always born in his head.

Life is not as serious as the mind draws it !!! A person who is aware of his thoughts lives by this principle. Such a person does not get lost in his thoughts, does not follow them, this person is already the master of his mind and does not allow thoughts to lead him into illusion, but consciously directs his attention to the moment now that surrounds his body.

CONSCIOUSNESS OF THE SOUL

Soul awareness is the third level and can only be dealt with after the first two stages of awareness have been passed. In fact, all three stages of realizing the three aspects of a person - body, mind, and soul - are very interconnected and complement each other, and they were separated for better understanding and assimilation of the material. Awareness of the soul occurs due to the awareness of emotions and feelings, moods, at this stage a person can clearly distinguish emotions from feelings and be aware of their mood and control it.

Emotions follow thoughts, no matter what kind of thoughts they are, positive or negative. And feelings come from the soul, not from thoughts. Thoughts can come to mind after feelings, that is, emotions are a consequence of thoughts, and feelings are always their source. Feelings - this is a deeper level, most often come from the chest. And emotions are felt in the abdomen, but you should not take this for truth, all this is individual. It is important to understand that this article on mindfulness is not mindfulness - it is just a direction towards it, but if you are reading it, then you are closer to mindfulness or to awakening than ever before.

CONSCIOUSNESS GOES TO CONSCIOUSNESS OR PERCEPTION

This is the fourth stage, which already happens to a person on its own., after when he has already passed the three previous stages. At this stage, awareness is directed to perception, a person already asks himself who perceives all this, who I am, at this stage a person remembers Who He Really Is.

Conclusions on the topic of what awareness is:

• mindfulness helps a person to finally discover the inner dimension besides the outer world;
• awareness gives a person freedom of choice, the ability to react as a person chooses, to one or another stimulus;
• awareness occurs in three stages: awareness of the body, mind and soul, all these stages are interconnected and complement each other;
• awareness in different times it was called differently by different people: awakening, witnessing, being present, being here and now, being awake, vigilant, and so on;
• all these words have the same essence - a person climbs new stage evolutionary spiritual growth.

Awareness as a personality trait is the ability, while awake, to be vigilantly present here and now, to perceive, feel and be aware of events, objects and sensory attitudes.

In the life of the Buddha, when he was still a simple seeker, a remarkable incident occurred. Together with a fellow traveler, he passed through some village. The two were in a lively conversation when a fly landed on the Buddha's neck. The Buddha raised his hand and waved the fly away. The fly flew away, but Buddha suddenly stopped. “I have made a grave mistake,” he said. Then he repeated the gesture to drive the fly away. The friend exclaimed: - What are you doing? The fly has already flown away. The Buddha replied, “Now I drive the fly away as I should. Now I am fully aware of what I am doing. Now, as I raised my hand, I was fully aware that the hand was going up and moving towards the neck to ward off the fly. Then I got too carried away by the conversation; my movement was automatic. I have committed a sin against the body.

One day the Buddha was asked, "What makes a person holy?" He replied: “Each hour is divided by a certain number of seconds, and each second by a certain number of beats. One who is able to fully abide in every fraction of a second is a saint. " When Buddha became enlightened, he exclaimed, “This is incredible! So I was enlightened from the very beginning, and all these chains and fetters were just a dream! Subsequently, when people asked him, "What should we do to get rid of vices?" Buddha invariably answered: "Be aware, bring awareness into your life." Listening to him, Ananda, one of his disciples, asked: - People come to you with different problems, and you have one recipe for all "ailments". For example, one person asks: "How to get rid of anger?", You answer him: "Be aware!" Another asks: "How to get rid of greed?", You answer him: "Be aware!" The third asks: "How to get rid of gluttony?", You also advise him: "Show awareness." How to understand this? The Buddha replied: - Their ailments are different from each other, as are the dreams that are dreamed to different people... But if they all come to me and ask, I will tell them: “Begin to be aware! Awake! "

Do you realize that the universe takes into consideration only your conscious desires, intentions and goals? Mindfulness - necessary condition for their implementation. Is it possible to take seriously the desires of the person who is asleep? A person, as a set of habits, thinks and acts sometimes mechanically, is a kind of universal robot. Although, if you interview most people, they will be convinced that they are living consciously. They will even be indignant that they are suspected of unawareness, like any tree or stone. Many people understand unconsciousness as abnormal behavior, their ideas about awareness will more than fit into business card... In aviation, the concept of spatial disorientation is widespread, when on an airplane you lose the feeling of connection with the ground and do not understand at all where you are. Many people live their entire lives in a state of spatial disorientation and moral uncertainty.

In order to understand the essence of the state of mindfulness with our mind, let's turn on our imagination. The "good" fairy with one wave of her magic wand robbed us of the memory of the past. We have remained the same: with our character, feelings and emotions, but all we have left is the current moment. The fairy also made sure that our thoughts did not run into the future. Now our brain is unable to think ahead and overtake the present. For us, there is only the awareness of I AM here and now, outside the past and the future.

At first glance, it may seem that we have been amputated all the charm of life, taken away dreams, deprived of sweet walks through the nooks of the past. Let's see if this is just an appearance? Any seemingly sad and desperate situation, which cannot be changed, must be taken for granted, and then substituted for it the word "but" and list what we have won or gained from the intricate games of the good fairy.

Mindfulness and negative emotions

The fat plus of mindfulness is elimination of all negative emotions ... Like a flamethrower, awareness burns out resentment, anger, hatred, dislike from us. In a word, the branchy tree of our negative emotions, on which there are more than fifty branches, burns to ashes. It's even hard to believe in such happiness: anxiety, depression, stress and fears disappear from our lives. In an unconscious state, we become slaves to emotions. They control us as they see fit, depriving us of our conscious choice. We have all had to deal with a situation where a person says that everything is fine with me, that he is calm, while body and gesture language gives unambiguous signals that he is "out of himself." On the contrary, in a conscious state, we cannot be the provider of negative emotions. To be offended, hate, angry at someone, past experience is necessary, and we are deprived of this. And to take offense at us is as senseless as at the sun and wind. In a conscious state, we are the personification of sincerity, independence and benevolence. What is the point of being offended by a really sincere person? They are offended and displeased when the other positions himself as an open and sincere person, and his behavior shows the opposite. When we see and understand with our soul that we are really a sincere person, it is impossible to take offense at him.

Mindfulness and chatter of the mind.

On average, about sixty thousand thoughts flicker in our mind per day, ninety-five percent of which do not differ from yesterday's. This is just a mockery of the mind. At the same time, negative thoughts prevail. Under the influence of bad mental habits, people become fixated on the problems of the past, digesting their financial failures and personal troubles hundreds of times. Many burden themselves with bleak childhood memories, when they were teased and humiliated by classmates, bullied by teachers and parents. Others recall with dismay and irritation the conversation with the boss and the conflict in the store. The abundance of such worry-filled thoughts destroys us. We do not want to understand that mind control is the quintessence of life control. In an unconscious state of mind, when thoughts flutter like a free bird, we do not have time to enjoy the world around us. The trouble is that we often take our chatter of the mind at face value, identify with it and turn a momentary thought into reality and then play it out in virtual practice. In fact, most of our thoughts behave as unpredictably as gases. There is no need to take them seriously, identify with them or spend your energy on them. If we gain awareness of the mind by observing our thoughts from moment to moment, its chatter will slow down or stop altogether. Through awareness, we gain a deep sense of peace. Thinking works with a different intensity. It easily distinguishes true from false, clouded by negative emotions, or based on sheer assumption. We will not jump from one thought to another and will learn to think deeply and consistently.

Mindfulness and people.

In our relationships with other people, we have a clear deficit of awareness. Our positive feelings and emotions, released to others, in their completeness can be compared with blockade rations. The harsh reality of megacities prevents us from seeing in another person a separate unique world filled with thoughts and feelings. In addition to our loved ones, we often look at other people mechanically, from the standpoint of what they may or may not do. We are preoccupied with our problems, our importance, and we do not care about others. They are not interesting to us. Mindfulness as a vigilant, observant presence here and now allows us to change our relationships with people for the better. We can consciously see their faces, their eyes, their body language. By paying conscious attention to people, we will see them as whole human beings. When people see genuine attention to themselves, it fondles their own worth. Your attention will be rewarded according to merit: you will be considered a charming person, your interaction with other people will be qualitatively different.

You can enumerate and describe the benefits of mindfulness indefinitely. It doesn't take long to convince you of its extraordinary usefulness. By the way, about beliefs. Our beliefs completely determine our vision of the world. Realizing their erroneous beliefs that prevent us from really perceiving our external and inner worlds, we can consciously replace them with new beliefs. This quality of mindfulness allows us to exercise personal growth, purposefully move towards the realization of their goals.

In general, what a great pleasure it is to communicate with a person who, talking to us, is not hovering somewhere in the clouds, but is in the present. To return it to reality, you do not need to ask: "Where are you now?" We know that a conscious person perceives everything we say, understands where we are and what is happening around. It is pleasant to communicate with such a person.

Thus, awareness is the alert presence in the here and now. The vigilance of awareness is that our attention has not slipped into the past or the future, does not cling to it or get stuck in it. Mindfulness is when we can honestly say, “I am all attention and hearing,” by letting go of our restless ego. Our ego does not like to live "here and now", it always needs to wander somewhere - either in the past or in the future.

Someone asked Bokuju: - What are you doing? What is your religious practice? He replied: - I live ordinary life Is my practice. When I feel hungry, I eat. When I feel like I want to sleep, I sleep. The questioner was puzzled. He said: “But I don’t see anything special in this. Bokuju said, “This is the whole point. There is nothing special. Everyone who craves something special is selfish. The questioner was still puzzled. He said: - But everyone does it. When they are hungry, they eat, when they want to sleep, they sleep. Bokuju laughed and said, “No. When you eat, you are doing a thousand and one things: you think, dream, imagine, remember. You don't just eat. When I eat, I just eat: then there is only food and nothing else. When you sleep, you dream. When I sleep, then I just sleep, nothing else exists. When there is a dream, there is only a dream. Not even Bokuju. When I walk, there is only a walk, there is no Bokuju, just a walk.

Awareness is achieved primarily through observation. Watch your thoughts, putting them under constant control. A friend of mine always carried a toothpick with him. As soon as a bad, negative thought occurred to him, he lightly pricked his palm with a toothpick. He says that after a couple of months he no longer needed a toothpick.

Observe your every action and deed. Whatever you do, be aware that you are doing it. I eat - I am aware of myself. I go - I am aware of myself. I listen - I am aware of myself. Observe body language: gestures and facial expressions. As you chew your food, experience the pleasure of eating. Do not swallow food like a crocodile. In short, learn to observe the body, desires and emotions, and finally, thoughts.

Measure your life in moments and live it moment by moment. Try to always be present in everything that happens to you. It will be a shame when a miracle comes to you, and you, as always, will be everywhere and everywhere, and not here and now. Don't let the past and future take your power away from the present. Focus your attention on the charm of every moment.

Petr Kovalev

How is mindfulness related to our quality of life and personal development?

We will reflect on this and much more in this article.

Attention

Let's start with attention. The topic of attention itself is broad, deep and deserves a separate article.

Now let's look with one eye to make out in the first approximation the concept of awareness.

Attention- This is a selective orientation of perception, a property of various mental processes.

The object or process on which the focus of attention has stopped is most vividly, clearly and fully imprinted in our psyche. The focus of attention varies with a variety of personality characteristics, emotions, feelings, and interests.

Attention can be intentionally manipulated. Perhaps this is what is most important for us.

I like to associate attention with a flashlight. We can direct the beam of our flashlight exactly where it should be. In fairness, I note that most often the ray rushes chaotically, snatching out some emotions, feelings, thoughts, sensations, memories of the past or experiences about the future.

Another association. Have you ever watched dogs? It happens that a dog runs from one smell to another, in places shies away, in places gets carried away. She moves along an absolutely unpredictable trajectory. Dogs can run like this for hours without a specific purpose and directions. How does this relate to attention? The beam from our attention flashlight reminds me of the behavior of dogs walking in search of new smells :)

Often a person commits actions under the influence of emotions and feelings, without realizing possible consequences... Busy from morning to evening with things that don't lead anywhere. Life goes by without a definite purpose and direction.

The flow of information that collides with modern man, enhances the jumble of thoughts swarming in our heads. Often, even after determining the direction of our life, we are led astray by external circumstances and internal contradictions.

What is mindfulness?

Nowadays it is fashionable to engage in various meditations. There is nothing wrong with that. Meditation is a great thing, but on some subconscious level, I never wanted to do it. Couldn't understand why? When I figured out what meditation is, did I find the answer to this question?

Meditation- this is awareness, only in artificial and sterile conditions. So why waste such a fleeting life in meditation? Mindfulness can be practiced in real life, without wasting time.

Mindfulness Is a clear and complete understanding of the moment. Continuous attention focused on thoughts, emotions, feelings, bodily sensations, motives and their causes. A clear understanding of what, why and how is happening.

Mindfulness tools are attention and observation. We have already sorted out the attention and now a few words about observation.

“I” is not my thoughts and not my feelings or emotions. We can observe our thoughts and emotions. Observation in this case is not an assessment or analysis, but simply fixation of attention and evidence of what attention is directed to.

Why is mindfulness needed?

Personally, I am interested in mindfulness for two reasons: firstly, it is the foundation and an absolute necessity for personal development, and secondly, it is one of the fundamental principles of coaching.

Our most important freedom is freedom of choice. Thanks to the freedom of choice, we have the opportunity to go our own way towards our goals. We have the opportunity to determine our attitude to many things, to shape our worldview.

Freedom of choice determines the emotional and mental response to what is happening. At any moment, anything, we can evaluate as a Victory or a Defeat. It is at the moment of making a decision about what this or that event means to us, and how to react to it, that our freedom manifests itself and that is how we build our life. Without awareness, this would be impossible.

The martial arts masters of the East instruct their students to fight in the state of Zanshin, i.e. in strict awareness. As they practice, gain experience and improve their skills, they live in the state of Zanshin. Of course, if you tirelessly practice and develop this quality.

Professional athletes in the West are also in a similar state during competition and training. Whether it's pole vaulting, soccer or boxing. For example, a boxer in the ring needs to be aware at every moment of time how tired he is, feel the time until the end of the round, see the opponent's actions, react to the referee's instructions, choose tactics, change the strategy and much more, and all this in high dynamics.

The entrepreneur or manager is in an equally stormy stream of events. He needs to clearly plan time, feel subordinates, establish emotional contact with partners in negotiations, keep a million and a small cart of information in his head, navigate with lightning speed in the constantly changing space of external and internal circumstances... It has been proven that ordinary workers usually have less awareness than top managers or entrepreneurs who are responsible for the company or a significant part of it.

A housewife, especially in a large family, should truly possess almost the entire set of qualities of a first-class manager. Even more than that: she does accounting and logistics, organizes children, and this is much more difficult than adult uncles and aunts, negotiates with doctors and teachers, plans a million cases, etc. All these worries can be an overwhelming burden, or they can be a pleasure. It all depends on the degree of awareness.

Self-awareness relieves us of social patterns and bad habits; in relation to others - leads to harmony of feelings and emotions; in relation to all surrounding reality frees from all kinds of erroneous judgments that lead many people to suffering and dissatisfaction with life.

Mindfulness allows you to constantly remember the main things. About what each of us is here for, about the purpose, mission, goals and life values. Determine your purpose and goals, and most importantly, do not deviate from the path, under the pressure of external circumstances.

Mindfulness monitors our moral character and morality, not allowing us to fall below the level we have determined.

Hypostases of awareness.

Body awareness is perhaps the basis for practicing mindfulness and, in my opinion, it is worth starting with it. Attentiveness to own body at the same time the most simple and the most difficult.

V Everyday life we do not hear our heartbeat. But by directing the ray of our flashlight-attention, we can clearly feel its jolts. First, try to feel your heartbeat in the complete silence of your own home, then when the atmosphere at home is normal, then on a quiet street, and finally at rush hour in a crowded city. A very interesting exercise for those who have never practiced meditation. Try it!

We can also observe respiration, digestion, movement of blood and other fluids in our body. You can start simple - be aware of your body while walking or running. Pay attention to each step, how the foot becomes, how the muscles tighten, how your spine absorbs, how you inhale and exhale.

Such activities seem like a waste of time only at first glance. Over time, such practices lead to a decrease or complete stop of our internal monologue - the rumble-like thought-stirrer. Gives a sense of pleasure from simple movement. It allows you to feel the body so deeply that a person knows for sure what food or any other effect on his body is good and what is bad.

Do you think yoga asanas or all the variety of styles of Taijiquan (Wushu) were invented only for the health of the body? First of all, they were created for the development of consciousness, and only then for the body.

In our daily routine, it is not necessary to practice yoga or wushu. It can be any workout: fitness, exercise with and without weights, walking or running, cycling, roller skating, tennis. Any physical exercises when concentrating on the body, they will do.

If health does not allow, then you can be aware of your body while eating, remember the famous tea ceremony (and not be distracted by TV, a magazine or music), walking, and during any other movement or even without it :)

Realizing your emotions is the next line.

It is dangerous to suppress or otherwise deal with emotions! Emotion is a complex mental process in which hormones are released into the bloodstream and other serious changes in the body. Suppression of emotions leads to psychosomatic illness, i.e. to a violation of both physical and mental health.

I suggest watching your emotions. At first, you can even get yourself a small notebook and write down what emotions you experienced during the day and in what quantity.

Let me emphasize once again that observation excludes evaluation and analysis, but only testifies: "Oh, I was just surprised, but now I am upset ...".

Detachment from observing emotions will take us to the next level.

Awareness of an attitude or sensation.

Any event or person gives us an instant feeling of inner comfort or discomfort. It's already over delicate work by observing our inner sensations. This is the very voice of the soul, about which so much is spoken and which few people hear.

The next step truly opens up great opportunities for us. Here we will just use the freedom of choice. The process looks something like this: external stimulus - sensation - emotion - our response. Often times, people act like a snail that hides in a shell every time it is touched.

The practice of being aware of sensations and emotions allows you to rise just above the level of the snail. And now, at the level of sensations, more and more often we experience comfort. Then a positive emotion appears, and, accordingly, our reaction will be constructive and effective.

All this is simple, but in practice it is difficult, because there are many more negative emotions. This is due to the need to survive in aggressive environment. Good news is that dinosaurs are already extinct and we can choose our environment ourselves.

Our sensations are often built on the basis of past experience and patterns of perception imposed from outside. Therefore, by deliberately and consciously choosing positive reactions to negative stimuli, each time we strengthen the positive experience and form our own patterns of perception.

Awareness of thoughts

You can often hear sayings: “The head is like a box” (and there is a hum and noise in it) or “Porridge in the head”. Unfortunately, it does. Our mind is constantly busy with a monologue, which rushes with great speed, jumping from thought to thought, absolutely chaotic. We worry about what has not happened yet, we reason and assume what is not, we condemn and evaluate other people, develop fantasies according to various negative scenarios, envy, regret the past, feel sorry for ourselves, etc. Moreover, most of this chatter is negatively colored, and another part is absolutely useless in practical application and only rarely do positive or constructive thoughts slip through.

Constant practice of observing thoughts and unremitting attention leads to a complete shutdown or weakening of the thought-stirrer. After mastering observation, you can move on to analyzing, evaluating and filtering thoughts. Leave the positive and the necessary, weed out the negative and the false. Even at the level of observation, there is an incomparable feeling of peace and tranquility. When, instead of a raging mess, a ringing clarity reigns in my head. This is comparable to complete silence after several hours of drilling with a hammer drill. concrete wall your neighbors :)

The main advantage of being aware of thoughts is the ability to consciously direct our thoughts, to concentrate on a specific topic. You yourself understand how much a positive mood of thoughts gives - the whole world around is in a hurry to do a good deed for you.

Awareness of thoughts leads not only to high efficiency thinking, but also to intuitive insights that come from nowhere more and more often.

Awareness of the living world

Of course, first of all, these are people. Take my word for it, being attentive to animals and even plants brings no less joy and benefits than communicating with people.

People themselves are rarely aware of themselves, more often they identify themselves with their thoughts, and are named according to the type of activity or social status. And even more so, we do not notice those around us. Even people close to us. We are always in a hurry, say something on the go, do something. Sadly, but we have to admit that we often use others with some purpose... And they, in turn, use us. What kind of harmony is there?

Awareness of the surrounding people or animals is nothing more than a manifestation of attention to them. This means to understand and feel their mood, feelings, emotions, motives of actions. This is the basis of any relationship - both in the family and in business. Just think about the people around you, about their lives, interests, concerns, health. Pay attention to passers-by, to strangers on the streets or in a cafe. On their facial expressions, gestures, intonation. This is also part of the practice of observation.

When communicating with people, focus on their personality, on their needs and interests, and involuntarily they will do the same in relation to you. Don't believe me - try it!

Observing animals and plants will also add a lot to your life. We can learn endlessly unconditional love and loyalty in dogs, independence in cats, thriftiness in rodents, etc. A lovingly groomed garden or vegetable garden will give you not only tasty and useful harvest but also with positive energy.

Awareness of reality

The world around us is many-sided and diverse. It doesn't matter where you live, be it an apartment in a metropolis or a house in a village. All of us are surrounded by many things and objects. All of them can remain faceless for us, or they can be spiritualized friends.

When I watch children play, I am never tired of being amazed at their endless imagination and passion. They can spend hours fiddling with pebbles, twigs, sand, etc. This is the phone, this is the car, and this is the bed. But with age, we lose the power of imagination and the belief that the impossible is possible. This, by the way, is a minus in our creativity and efficiency in solving complex problems.

I am a supporter of functional simplicity - I do not like unnecessary things and objects. But those that are, for me become friends and assistants, until they finally fail. This is partly why they serve me faithfully for a long time. I enjoy using them and taking care of them.

The whole reality around us - from the morning breeze to the trills of cicadas at sunset - with due attention, can give us pleasure. We are constantly busy and always in a hurry, we do not notice the bright colors of life - this wears and exhausts us.

Observing the surrounding nature or the rhythm of a metropolis, attention to the entire space, gives us a sense of peace and beauty. Allows you to experience the joy of simple things and activities. Taste the world, feel its aroma, consider all its colors, feel it with your hands, stamp your feet. Try yourself in the mountains, in the sea, in the steppe, in the meadow, in the park - feel the beauty and grace of life.

Awareness of reality in a global sense leads us to an understanding of the fundamental laws of our life.

For example, the realization that death is part of life. You should not be afraid of her, but you need to remember about her so as not to waste the time allotted to us on candy wrappers, but only on worthy deeds. It is easier for the conscious one to determine the really worthwhile goals from the fake ones.

Another law is that there is no beginning and end, but only action, movement, change. Having accepted this, we no longer put off the new habit of “start on Monday,” but start it right there. The same principle is the answer to the question: "Is it too late for me?" or “is it not early for me? I'll do it when I retire. ” In fact, “yesterday” and “tomorrow” do not exist for us. All that is given to us is only a real moment and they must be used as efficiently and better as possible.

You yourself can encounter many insights and find those already discovered by deliberately practicing awareness of reality.

In conclusion, I would like to note that awareness requires regular and round-the-clock practice. Use every convenient and inconvenient moment for this. Then awareness will become a part of your life.