Mindfulness is simply the putting into practice practices that help you to silence the endless chatter of the mind. Many don't realize why they are so full of anxiety. It's because their mind runs like a television left on in the background. It just chatters away as you work, drive, read, and even when engaged in conversation with others. And people are so used to it... they think it's just normal. They've never experienced mindfulness.
Most go through their day, part of their mind on something important they have to do later. Or perhaps part of their mind rehashing a conversation they had and what they should have said, could have said, or did say. Or, what the other person said or did. For the countless majority, most have a part of their mind endlessly engaged in thinking about something that has happened or something that will happen. If those things are negative or undesirable, they suffer anxiety. When talking to others, or even when reading posts, they listen or read to gather a "response". They don't stop to truly listen for purely the sake of "understanding" the other person. As a result, we often short change our kids who want to spend time with us. Our mind is only half engaged in the moment. Mindfulness is silencing this chatter.
When you experience it for yourself... you realize how noisy the mind really is. You also realize how the brain is processing experiences, fears, etc. and how these really aren't your actual thoughts! LOL You begin to sift through the preprogrammed responses, thought patterns, and emotions that we take on ourselves or are taught to us. By silencing the endless chatter of the brains processing... we experience... this moment. Most live focused on yesterday or what is going to happen tomorrow. Few truly live in the moment. It's hard to. But there are times when being in the moment is of great value. Especially if one is trying to focus, relax, heal, or just... breathe free of stress and anxiety.
Imagine being on your back porch. You've gotten your mind still and silent. You see the trees, you see the garage, you see the lawn, you see the car in the driveway... but as you look at them your mind isn't saying, "Tree, garage, lawn, car, …." Instead... you see these things without labels, words, meanings, or preconceived perceptions. These things... just are. That thing growing with leaves, just is. They have no label or meaning assigned. You're in the moment. You feel the breeze. You breathe and you can actually feel the life in your body. You see the lights in the sky, they just are. And when your love walks out to say hi, he or she just is. When they speak, you follow the words, and you understand what they are saying... without any knee jerk response. You soak up their meaning, their intention, their understanding. And communication becomes crystal clear.
It's so hard to describe. I liken it to that experience when you fly. The plane takes off and you peer outside the window and you see the airport, the city, the buildings, the cars, even the little people walking down the street. They almost look like very micro-detailed toys. Detailed, real, moving, but the height and distance leaves them a bit... undescript. When in the moment of mindfulness... everything around you looks that way. It's like you're now sitting, standing, or walking in the midst of those very detailed toys. LOL
Man... It's hard to explain a different mode of consciousness. LOL But it's relaxing. It's calming. You feel... real. And you realize that you've spent hours, days, weeks, or even years... walking around in the illusion you've convinced yourself is reality. You begin to realize... you're a jerk. Yes, for years you've thought you were the "good guy" but certain people just don't get you. No. You see yourself for who you are. And you can become overwhelmed with shame and a sense of needing to change things. You watch your kids without imposing the mental illusion of what you "think" about them. You see them at that moment, in that moment, … as they are. Flaws and all. You realize that you've spent years worrying about things... most of which never happened. And those that did, you had no control over anyway... so why did you waste so much time worrying??? I actually saw my sons hair for the first time in years one day. I wanted to cry. I've always just processed, "Son's hair is blonde." It only was expressed when relevant. However, I was in a moment of mindfulness and he come around to play in the backyard. I saw him running in the sun, and his hair... that hair was so real. I saw the strands, the sun glisten through them. I saw his excitement and joy as he played tag with his little sister. I then saw her... a little lady. Her hair, beauty, joy. And I realized how much of a "dream" or "illusion" I have walked around in for years. It's like you assign meaning to everything like you own it. Like you know everything about it. You file it. We do this with people we love... and fail to even get to really know them. And you move on with your day and the tasks at hand. Responding almost mechanically, in the way the script you've imagined should be. But... it's all some illusion we've created. It's not reality. The moment is so beautiful. And experiencing the moment with those you love is something beyond words. You realize, this was almost natural when you were a small kid and knew nothing about people or the world. But at some point, in the teens, you entered a dream state. And though awake... you've been living the pattern of what you think is or should be. And... sometimes mindfulness unlocks years of this state of mind.
It's crazy stuff. It's really hard to explain. lol