What is mindfulness? (And will it drive you crazy?)

I purchased a mindfulness colouring book recently. My mind moves often at a 100 miles an hour (yes I know I'm not special in that regard), and focus on the moment, clearing my thoughts, applying my filter(s) can be at times, difficult. So concentrating on the task at hand, surely with Faber Castells at the ready, would solve the lack of "stillness" in my daily routine? Sadly no. I've not had that much self inflicted frustration thrust at me for quite some time. Of course I didn't choose an "easy" selection of graphics, and well I wanted to "blend" colours and not have it look like a 3 year old had completed the templates. Perhaps I was missing the point?

There are different approaches to mindfulness. A great way to explain what it actually is, is probably to start with what it is not. When we don't pay attention to what is going on around us, when we operate on automatic pilot, when we go through the motions, this is indeed the opposite of mindfulness. And we have all done it.

I can't tell you how many times I have driven into my street, and can't actually remember the drive home. Perhaps considering Melbourne or now Sydney traffic, that's a good thing. But imagine if that's the way you felt about a meeting, and interaction, or your day? In other words where we really haven't paid attention to what we have been doing or saying. Rather we have just reacted with ingrained habitual responses. Without mindfulness we can not create changes in how we live our lives, which is required because of the constant interchange and exchange of experiences that comes at us each and everyday. Without mindfulness we can. It change patterns that possibly are not serving us well.

I have triggers. Throughout my life they have led to a pattern of reacting to things. The reactions have manifested differently depending on the different experiences encountered, but nevertheless they are the result of patterns. Sometimes the reactions are needed and beneficial. Sometimes they have been rather destructive. The reactions are not the problem. The habit and locus of control relinquishment is.

Has mindfulness helped? Well I don't think I'd be writing this without it.

So what is mindfulness? It's paying attention, it's being aware. It is a style of thinking. It's being actively invested in the experiences that come your way, and dealing with them in the present rather than applying old filters and patterns.

Buddhist meditation teaches one to detach your own personal filter from the experience so that the automatic reaction does not occur.

It's not easy! It is about firstly focusing your attention to the experience at hand and then being open, accepting, curious.

Researchers have demonstrated that self awareness levels and positive emotions are associated with the ability to be more mindful.

But to break old habits, when you are practising mindfulness, Shapiro and Carlson in their article "The art and science of mindfulness, integrating mindfulness into psychology and the helping professions" (American Psychological Association, 2009) listed some elements that being mindful requires. They posit that to have success in mindfulness one must be non judging - be impartial to the experience, non reactive - forget and let go of habitual responses, trust - trust you are in control of the experience and also they identify having patience as key (just to name a few).

For me it was very much about transferring the quiet stillness I feel when running track, into everyday experiences, and not reacting in patterns of the past. It was also about appreciating that what was happening now, in the moment was not something that was happening to a scared helpless 11 year old boy. And as such triggers become, well, less of a problem. Letting go of some patterns is not without it's trauma.

What's the point of it all? Well there is a connection to concepts of flow, to peak performance for individuals and for teams. There's connections to happiness and well being. There are connections most profoundly to living a better life and being closer to the person whom it is you want to be.

That old adage exists : of playing the movie of your life, and whether you are proud or not. Luckily for anyone reading this, you can throw the script out if you don't like the direction the story is heading and rewrite it. It's never too late.

Time for positivity?

The bandwagon has arrived and I'm jumping on. Or so it may seem. It appears if anyone and everyone who has read an idiots guide to positive psychology is turning themselves into key note speakers, quoting the same studies about cortisol and oxytocin and about the amygdala and neuro plasticity. And you know what......good luck to them. If they can earn a dollar and possibly get some inquiring minds to investigate positivity in their own lives, well then kudos to them.

But make no mistake, what they are espousing is nothing new. Theories of happiness and well being, and what delivers these often subjective measures of life satisfaction have changed little since ancient times and the days of philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.

Socrates believed that the quest for happiness was only delivered by knowing oneself, or in other words by self awareness of self and virtue. This was expanded on by Plato who suggested that that awareness needed to be beyond the sensory self and in fact required a deeper investigation. And Aristotle looked at values, self discipline, and the balance of virtues in a quest towards the good life.

As theories expanded through the enlightenment, the 50s, and then with the humanistic psychology movement, one of its guardians Maslow, entitled a chapter of his 1954 book (Motivation and Personality) : Toward a Positive Psychology.

So what of this modern thinking? This new positive psychology movement that talks about the left prefrontal cortex of Buddhist monks lighting up when they reach a state in meditation? What of the biochemistry of emotions?

Well it's new science. Assisted by technology, that supports the theories around happiness and well being. Yes, oxytocin is associated with social bonding, yes increased dopamine is associated with the experience of happiness and yes the brain can change during our life as we explore different skills and we can create new neural pathways and these pathways can be plentiful when we meditate or practice skills such as playing or learning music.

But here's the rub. None of these positive effects occur without individuals actually doing the work that is involved with self exploration towards self assessment and awareness. It takes work on behalf of the individual to investigate their positive self, to create plans for growth, foster relationships, to regulate behaviours, to find purpose in life and to strive to master ones environment.

Chanting "serenity now" will not deliver eternal happiness, set oxytocin flowing through your viens, light up your left pre frontal cortex or create new neural pathways.

A lot of hard work and self examination just might. So take the next presentation you see with a grain of salt, with curiosity, with critical thinking and with a notepad to write down the suggested actions you might take personally to develop positivity in your world.

If there are no suggested game plans, strategies or processes, well then seek answers from someone who has lived the journey. Not just from someone who has read a book.