Healthy Mind: Formal Practices
Attitudes to cultivate for your Mindfulness practice – and your life.
1. Non-judgement
This is when you aim not to categorise thoughts and experiences (good, bad, amazing, terrible, unfair, typical) and understand that you don’t always have the full picture. Mindfulness encourages watching our thoughts and emotions without judging them; crucial for a clear and unbiased understanding. This mindset stops us from overreacting or jumping to conclusions. It also helps with negative self-talk and makes us kinder to ourselves and other people.
Jon Kabat-Zinn, the father of modern Mindfulness, said in his book Full Catastrophe Living that “judgement often makes stress worse.”
Embracing the non-judging attitude in mindfulness allows us to stay fully present, and free from stress and helps support a strong, calm practice
2. Patience
In today’s fast-paced world, we’re conditioned to expect immediate results. With a quick Google search or next-day delivery at our fingertips, our patience muscles aren’t flexed as often as they might have been in the past. Developing a patient mindset is valuable; it allows events to unfold in their own time, resisting the urge to hurry through life to get to the ‘good bits’.
Patience is a cornerstone of Mindfulness, recognising that some things, like seeds needing time to bloom, require a period to evolve. Mindfulness teaches us to embrace this waiting period without frustration or rushing.
This skill is especially useful when we feel stuck or eager for change. Patience encourages us to remain composed and hold back from ‘forcing’ situations, strengthening and calming the mind. This calmness proves essential in tough times, showing us that sometimes the wait is as important as the outcome.
3. Beginner’s Mind
Sometimes, we can get trapped by our own expertise, and believe our own P.R. We predict outcomes and act on our assumptions. Adopting a beginner’s mind opens us up to freshness and a broader perspective, letting us seize the unique opportunities of each moment without interrupting the flow.
Have you ever skipped a night out, convinced it would be as you expected, only to hear of surprising developments? Or found someone unexpectedly defying your expectations? Viewing the world with fresh eyes, as if for the first time, helps us notice new details and escape old thought patterns.
This mindset rekindles our childlike curiosity and love for learning. It also encourages us to let go of our preconceptions and resist the urge to categorise or interrupt experiences/experiences prematurely. With a beginner’s mind, we remain open and ready to explore, keeping our thoughts clear and adaptable.
4. Trust
This might seem at odds with adopting a beginner’s mind, but it actually complements it. You can trust certain things, especially your own feelings. Your experiences are valid, and trusting your judgment and intuition is key, even when mistakes happen. Taking responsibility for your well-being is part of trusting your feelings.
As you begin daily mindfulness, trust is crucial, particularly during the initial, often confusing weeks. Remember, meditation and mindfulness have been transformative for centuries. Trust in your wisdom and listen to your feelings to guide you away from self-criticism and towards resilience.
Mindfulness involves trusting in both yourself and the process. Embracing this can feel unusual as it means letting go of control, but it’s vital for personal growth. Trust allows you to experience life fully, letting events unfold naturally and teaching you that patience enhances trust, allowing experiences to emerge in their own time.
5. Non-striving
Sometimes – less is more, especially in our goal-driven world. Just as we can’t rush an egg to hatch, there are benefits to not pushing outcomes. By focusing on the present and accepting what is, we often discover more effective approaches than pushing for things that aren’t ready or suitable.
This concept is like not trying to hulk-smash a headache or meeting violence with violence. In mindfulness, embracing non-striving means stepping back and letting life unfold without aggressively pursuing specific outcomes. It’s about being present with your situation – experiencing your current feelings and thoughts without trying to change them.
This attitude helps anxiety by removing the pressure to achieve specific results. Non-striving in mindfulness involves focusing on your breath, allowing thoughts and feelings to flow naturally. This can significantly reduce stress and enhance mental and physical health by helping you find peace in the present moment just as it unfolds.
6. Acceptance
Acceptance is another key principle in mindfulness, building on the concept of non-striving. It means seeing things as they truly are, not as we wish they were.
It involves facing the reality of our current experiences. It isn’t about giving in or agreeing with everything that happens but acknowledging things as they are without rushing to change them.
By adopting an acceptance mindset, we can face life’s challenges more calmly. Accepting reality reduces the struggle against what’s happening, which can significantly lower stress.
Mindfulness strengthens when we recognise and accept our thoughts and feelings without resistance. This helps us cope during tough times and clears our minds for better decision-making.
7. Letting Go
Letting go is closely linked with acceptance, helping to ease the stress that often comes from holding on too tightly to ideas, people, or potential outcomes. It allows things to either stay or go exactly as they should, naturally.
It can be tough to release something with a strong hold on our mind, but thinking about what holding on feels like can teach us a lot about letting go. You’re already well-practiced in letting go each night when you effortlessly drift into sleep. It’s the same principle.
Thinking of ot as ‘letting be’ might soften the idea, making it feel less like you’ve lost something. This allows things to stay nearby, not having to cling to them tightly. It’s similar to how acceptance means recognising and letting go of our resistance about certain situations.
Mindfulness encourages us to view our thoughts and feelings as temporary, like clouds drifting across the sky without attaching feelings to them. This practice helps us not to get bogged down with worries, significantly reducing stress.
By purposely letting go, we make room for fresh understanding.
We start trusting that life will progress at its own pace, freeing us from the urge to control everything. This not only declutters our minds but also broadens our understanding and peace. It paves the way for clearer and more deliberate decisions.