At this point you must be wondering “What the heck is mindfulness?” Especially if you follow me on Twitter, Facebook, this blog or have any interest in my preschool, you are seeing all kinds of articles or posts related to mindfulness. I am fairly new to mindfulness in the formal sense of the word, but it is a journey I have been on for quite some time now and especially when it comes to education and learning.
For all intents and purposes, I will used the most recognized Western definition from Jon Kabat-Zinn (if you don’t know who he is, you should:)
Paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non judgmentally, to the unfolding of experience moment to moment.
I have been holding off on this post because it turns out I found it very difficult to explain. I realized this week that it IS difficult to explain because it is not something explained, but experienced. Similar to being in love, words often cannot describe it – you “just know” or you need to feel it. You can only read so much about it and you may have a general idea, but until you experience it you just may not “get it.” Following my journey and learning experience will hopefully inspire you and give you the courage to take a risk in that experience. I want to start by giving a broad scope of what mindfulness is and is not:
It is secular not religious
It is an awareness, not a technique for relaxing or clearing away thoughts
It allows us to notice stress, not eliminate it
It uses breath, it does not training in deep breathing
It is the present moment. My favorite, as stated by one of my mentors, is “what is alive in the room,” not a new age method with chanting and incense
It is that moment to moment experience for which is what is alive in the room (and shows up differently for everyone). So, now that we have cleared that up are you ready to dive inward? We hope so! Enjoy the process of this journey which can be bumpy and beautiful all at once. What you can expect to find here…
Permission to do, fail and do again
Support in your exploration of mindfulness
Sharing of thoughts and ideas from readers
Research around mindfulness
Suggestions for micro practices so you to can do this without feeling like you have “failed”
Ideas to support your family and children in mindfulness
My experiences around mindfulness and finding pause
I hope you will have fun with the process and share your triumphs and tribulations. Let’s shift the conversation and begin with the inside in mind.
