Not too long ago I was signing up for classes. I, like many of the other transfer students, soon realized I didn’t have much to choose from.
Most of us just picked what we were suggested to take. It was the same for me; when all was scheduled, I had ended up with PSCI 101, SPAN 203, ECON 123, ENGL 301, and finally ENGL 372. If you are reading this and feeling like you are just reading an odd assortment of numbers and letters, then you’re not far off from how I felt during scheduling. To me, they were just a jumble of classes that I needed to take to get my degree.
So it was to my great surprise when I walked into my class titled ENGL 372: Advanced Composition, I found the class was about much more than just composition. The class was also about “mindfulness.”
At the time, I had no idea what this mindfulness thing was. All I knew at the time was that the class was going to be much more than what I signed up for; whether for better or for worse I couldn’t say. Being several weeks into the class now I can safely say that I am glad I signed up for the class, even though it is far from what I was anticipating when this semester began several months ago.
The core ideas of mindfulness, as they were taught to me, seemed exactly like the kind of things a nervous, stressed out student like me needed.
What is mindfulness, you ask?
Well, the University of California, Berkeley defines mindfulness as “maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment,” but it is much more than that. Berkeley continues on to say that mindfulness “also involves acceptance, meaning that we pay attention to our thoughts and feelings without judging them—without believing, for instance, that there’s a ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way to think or feel in a given moment.”
Mindfulness can change a great many things like attention, memory and compassion. All it takes is a little work.
All that sounds well and good, but what exactly does mindfulness mean to someone who has been practicing it? Well I certainly wouldn’t call myself an expert on the topic, seeing as I’ve only been practicing for about two months now; but I do have a beginner’s experience with mindfulness so my initial experiences are still fresh in my mind.
The very first mindfulness exercise that I’ve done was in my class. It was a guided meditation that was as simple as just listening and breathing in a relaxed manner. I left that class feeling very calm and at peace (which helped me out to no end when I found the parking ticket on my car later that day). That sense of calm and peace is what I’ve been striving for ever since my first meditation.
I’ve found that doing small breathing exercises and meditations are a great help to me if I’m feeling overwhelmed with work. It allows me to approach what feels like a landslide of work from a much more rational state of mind.
I won’t lie to you, mindfulness isn’t some wonder drug, it isn’t a cure all, and it isn’t an overnight thing. Becoming mindful takes time and can be frustrating, especially when it’s working. In his article “This Is Your Brain on Mindfulness,” Michael Baime points out that research has shown that while you are more mindful and trying not to get distracted “that the distractions are actually less common, but that with practice you are more likely to notice them because your attention works better,” so while you may think you are failing at being mindful, in actuality you are succeeding.
So here’s how you do it: Start with just five minutes a day. It’s not that much and most of us can find some point in the day to borrow those minutes from. Take those five minutes and allow yourself to relax and focus on the present moment. Try some breathing exercises to help calm you down.
These breathing exercises can be as simple as breathing in through your nose and exhaling through your mouth; pretty much anything is fine so long as it is comfortable. If the problems of your day seem too pressing and nerve-wracking, remember that these five minutes are for you. If you find yourself distracted, that’s okay, just try and bring your focus back on the present.
Allow yourself five minutes each day for meditation and see where that takes you. If you find it helps, try adding more than just five minutes.
Little by little you may just find yourself being more mindful, less stressed, and better prepared to take on the challenges throughout your day.
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