*** Note this was written in February 2019 as a discussion post for a Life University course called The Art of Self-Care. I figured I may as well share this on a public platform because what good are the writing/thoughts if I just keep them to myself?
Post Title: Mindfulness Retreat Analysis
The video titled 60 Minutes Mindfulness featuring Jon Kabat Zinn was insightful in explaining how mindfulness can be used to enable people to positively work through the stressors of life (Lopez, 2015). The video discusses Zinn’s experiences with mindfulness and how he has been practicing it for 47 years. Zinn says that mindfulness starts in the morning; he asks the question when a person is taking a shower, are they thinking about work or are they fully present in the moment? Zinn emphasizes that it is ok for the mind to wander, but as one practices mindfulness more, he/she will become more fully present in moments. The video stresses how mindfulness is applicable in all environments, from politics to education. It is stated that mindfulness is a form of mental exercise, comparable to physical exercise for the muscles. Mindfulness makes people more productive because they are better able to control the mind in challenging circumstances.
One segment that was interesting is when the anchor Anderson Cooper admitted that he doesn’t feel very present in the moment. Zinn countered by saying, “We’re only alive now”, and that if someone is always thinking about the past or future, they are essentially missing out on life (1:23 mark). This reminds me of a video I saw from a YoutTuber Actualized.org called Letting Go of the Past – How to Get over the Past in Minutes. In the video, he explains, “The past is a concept … it’s actually not real. It was real at some point; it isn’t anymore. The future by the way is not real as well. The only thing that is real is the now, right now, this second. What I’m saying, that’s what is real. That’s actually reality. Everything else is not reality; everything else is a thought inside your head, which is called a conceptualization. So what’s happening here is you’re putting forth a lot of emotional charge and you’re attributing a lot of reality to something that actually isn’t real” (Actualized.org, 2014, 3:52 mark). His major point is that it is a waste of time and energy to focus on what is not the “now” because a person can never appreciate the present moment fully once it passes by. This point correlates perfectly with Zinn’s message that if someone never is fully present in the moment, they will never appreciate life the way it is meant to be appreciated.
The segment where Anderson Cooper goes to the mindfulness retreat was also noteworthy to me. Cooper explains, “Knowing that you’re sitting may sound simple – turns out it’s not. The mind constantly wanders. The mind has a life of its own; it goes here and there. To not get lost in thought, Kabat Zinn recommended focusing on the sensation of breathing in and out” (3:40 mark). I agree with the idea that standing still and alone with one’s awareness is difficult for many people, especially currently when social media and technology is enticing to many people. If a person learns and practices meditation, I believe his/her suffering and in turn problems will be reduced. This segment also reminds me of a quote from the 1600’s philosopher Blaise Pascal: “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone” (Wernick, 2014). It is no coincidence that mindfulness helps people deal with life’s issues because just the internal control and self-awareness to sit quietly for a certain amount of time to simply breathe, enables people to effectively manage many situations in life.
One quote at the end of the video that resonated with me is when Zinn said, “It’s not a doing at all in fact. It’s a being and being doesn’t take any time” (12:42 mark). Personally, I have not adopted any specific daily routine to practice mindfulness ever in my life. And to the people that meet me, this can be somewhat surprising since I very much seem like the type of person that would meditate. I agree with Zinn that mindfulness is a state of being. Personally, I feel that when I stretch in the morning and singularly focus on the present moment stretching, I am practicing mindfulness. When I walk down the sidewalk to work or the train station, and appreciate the nature around me, I am meditating. When I am in communication with a person, and deep listening without any judgment, I am meditating and practicing mindfulness. I think when people frame mindfulness as this big task to be undertaken, they are missing the point as Zinn said because at its core, it is a state of being. For some people, they prefer to achieve that state of being through setting side a set amount of time to just breathe quietly. For other people, they can achieve mindfulness in different ways though. Every individual should utilize the mindfulness strategy that works for his/her situation.
References:
Actualized.org. (2014, March 26). Letting Go Of The Past – How To Get Over The Past In Minutes. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFYl8TVNwg8
López, C. (2015, March 13). 60 Minutes Mindfulness featuring Jon Kabat Zinn. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsxE7cv83X0
Wernick, A. (2014, July 19). A new study found people are terrible at sitting alone with their thoughts. How about you? Retrieved from https://www.pri.org/stories/2014-07-19/new-study-found-people-are-terrible-sitting-alone-their-thoughts-how-about-you