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Living Mindfully and Awakened
‘Awakening’ is the term used by Buddhists to describe the state of mind where a person lives only in the moment, there are no lingering thoughts of the past and no anxious feelings about the future. You’re simply present and you’re simply existing. You feel more ‘awake' than ever before, you experience everything second to second. From your own bodies pulse - to the sounds of birds in the trees. You aren’t missing a second of your life.
I frequently use this term when attempting to describe my state of mind. I wouldn’t say I’ve yet reached ’Nirvana Awakening’ (which means to be fully aware and awake every second without having to think about it) - It’s a journey and I’m on the path, I still sometimes find myself slipping in to past regrets but will always catch myself and bring my thoughts back to this moment. This awareness of what I need to improve and the ability to stop myself drifting away is in itself an awakening.
This state of mind cannot be revised or read, you have to feel it within yourself. It’s usually the difference between someone who was raised to be mindful and already lives quite mindfully with or without their own knowledge, or someone who has decided to ‘try out’ Buddhism. Neither of these 2 ways are wrong, it just takes a different process to train your mind depending on what kind of way you live already.
I’ve been asked things like;
“Does meditation even work, I tried it and it didn’t work for me”
This is an example of someone not giving themselves the time and patience to let their minds be free of thought. It may not be a quick process and you may feel no effect for the first few sessions, but the key is to stick at it and know that each time you even try to sit and practice, you are a step closer to reaching your goal. When you first begin the practice of meditation, it will take a lot more than sitting down and deciding you want to meditate, you are going to have to consciously decide to stop thinking, consciously tell yourself to focus on one consistent thing, after a while you will no longer have to do this, instead this part will all be subconscious; you will sit down to meditate and your brain will know it’s time to quieten down. It doesn’t have to be your breathing you are focusing on (although this method is very popular) it can be any bodily experience you are having repetitively; an itch or a persistent pain, or even a sound from outside your body e.g. a clock, musical instrumentals. Focus all of your energy and attention on to this subject. It’s as simple as that! Guided Meditation sessions can be found on Youtube, all you’re doing then is focusing all of your attention on your teachers voice. Exactly the same concept.
During your first few sessions, it’s extremely common to have any/all of these few thoughts;
‘I’m meditating’
‘I’m sitting down’
‘Not comfortable’
‘Oooh itchy leg’
‘I’m bored’
This is just the restless human brain doing it’s usual thing; due to the constant hustle and bustle of todays world, it’s uncommon for our minds to have a chance to experience a single stimulation. When you notice yourself drifting into any of these thoughts, simply remind yourself you’re going off track, and gently bring yourself back to the present and back to that one stimulus. Do not become frustrated or agitated or begin to feel you ‘can’t do it’ - There is not a single human on Earth that meditation wouldn’t help if done correctly.
The reason I have chosen to discuss and describe meditation within this piece is because the feelings you will reach, whether be in session 1 or session 55 of meditation are the exact feelings you will experience when choosing to live Mindfully and Awakened. It’s all the same concept of allowing yourself to be free from the past and future. If you think about your day to day thought process..In fact.. Your thoughts right this second whilst reading this blog.. I bet at some point during this time, you’ve thought back to a memory or thought about what you’re doing tomorrow, or even what you’re doing straight after reading this. These feelings are what we are aiming to get rid of. They may not feel damaging but every second we spend in our heads, we miss seconds of real human experience.
I hope this piece has helped you gain a deeper understanding on practices of; Mindfulness, Self-Awakening and Meditation. Buddhism may seem like another religion and appear to be very complicated with a bunch of rules, but when you come to read things like this. I hope you’re able to see how it’s simply a way of life, a better way of life that will lead you only to freedom of the mind and self-love! There are no ‘rules’ there are just things that will lead you closer to your happiness, or further away, you are your own judge of this. You can pick and choose which teachings to incorporate into your life - All that matters is that you understand and take time to really practice those you do choose.