Why Mindfulness?

Written By Nico De Napoli

We all want to be happy, but fewer and fewer of us seem to be achieving that goal. For many years, statistics have been telling us that an increasing number of people in industrialised societies are suffering from anxiety and depression.

Consumerism manipulates us into desiring material things and into believing that these things will make us happy. This, of course, isn’t true: an expensive new car, or even a big new house, can only bring about a temporary kind of joy, as we will soon desire new things. It’s a never-ending cycle.

We believe we will only be truly happy “when”…

  • we earn a certain amount of money

  • get that prestigious job

  • publish that book

  • live in the ideal home

  • meet the perfect partner

And so on. But none of these things can make us happy; not in any enduring way – because, outside Instagram, there’s no such thing as the perfect life!

A scientific study found that we spend 47% of our waking time thinking about the past or the future rather than the present moment. We ruminate over past events and worry about what the future holds.

When we’re not fully present, we tend to live our lives mechanically, failing to notice the beauty of whatever we’re experiencing. Whereas when we truly pay attention, even something as simple as breathing, which we do automatically from birth to death, will take on a magical quality.

The word “meditation” can be misleading. A friend once asked: “What is it you meditate on?” – as though meditating entailed thinking deeply about something; which, of course, is another meaning of the same word. But the aim of mindfulness or any kind of meditation is the exact opposite: to “empty” the mind, ie quieten the noisy “chatter” in order to allow our intuition and creativity to shine through.

A general assumption is that in order to meditate, you need to sit cross-legged on the floor, hands in chin mudra (thumbs and forefingers together). While this is for many an optimal position for meditating, it is by no means the only one. You can sit in a chair and meditate. You can also meditate while walking, running, swimming, practising yoga, weightlifting, painting, making music, dancing... You can even meditate while doing the laundry!

Whichever activity you’re engaged in, be it cerebral or physical, creative or mundane, what matters is that you do not allow the mind to wander and the “mind chatter” (the automatic, often unconscious self-talk that goes on in our heads) to take over.

However, while “moving meditation” can be very effective, stillness also has its advantages. When sitting still in silence, you realise just how wild, noisy and chaotic the human mind can be!

The Buddhist sages referred to it as the Monkey Mind — a confused, restless state of being, which also tends to be our own inner critic, causing self-doubt, stifling creativity and keeping us stuck. It is the part of the brain most connected to the ego and can be rather difficult to keep at bay.

One aspect of modern society is its non-stop nature: 24-hour shops, services, news channels, etc. We work longer and longer hours, and even when not working, we often think about work. The famous quote “Time is money”, which dates back to 1748, couldn’t seem more relevant in the so-called ‘gig economy’, where the idea of sitting still ‘doing nothing’ can feel like a waste of a precious resource.

Yet that time spent “doing nothing” might be much more impactful than you think. It could bring about the inspiration for your next project, or the solution to a longstanding personal issue.

Like musical training and language learning, mindfulness meditation practice has been proven to promote neuroplasticity – structural changes in the brain that improve our cognitive abilities and change the way we react to stressful situations.

Sitting still and focusing on the breath and physical sensations for the first time can bring about feelings of restlessness or boredom. If you can observe these feelings without reacting to them, you will begin to feel more and more grounded in the present moment. The aim is to quieten the inner critic and to develop your own inner wisdom and guidance.

During the practice, it is important that you do not try to suppress your thoughts, but rather observe them and let them go, by bringing your attention back to the breath and the body. In time, the space between each thought will get larger, allowing the mind to expand rather than go round in circles, which is what it tends to do when left unchecked.

Below are some of the benefits of mindfulness practice, with links to the relevant studies:

After years of it being treated as a fad, the general consensus among mental health professionals seems to be that mindfulness is one of the most effective methods of increasing and sustaining wellbeing. So why not give it a go? It might be helpful to think of it as “mental hygiene” — something you do automatically, like brushing your teeth. If one hour a day seems unachievable, try 15 or 20 minutes. You have little to lose and potentially so much to gain.

Nico De Napoli
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