Day 3 Defining Mindfulness

_________

22 Dec 2020

#mindfulness

Many of my friends ask me what mindfulness is.

I always catch myself struggling to give a clear definition. And what’s more, is each and every time, it means a slightly different thing to me. So all I ever say is: You kind of have to experience it to know.

I’m sure most of you who have asked me think I don’t know what the answer is myself. So, this is what the creator of the 3 Min Mindfulness app says to give you a general idea.

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is defined as paying attention to the present moment, without judgement.

Mindfulness is about observation without criticism.

"A mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique." - The Dictionary.

I’m guessing you still feel like it’s as abstract and intangible as a physics definition from a textbook (if you are as hopeless in physics as I am).

In future posts, we will explore together some more mindfulness exercises. The more we do it, the more simplicity of it becomes clear and the benefits manifold.

PS. Any sharing on the thoughts and effects of slowing down the breathing?

第三天：定义正念

不少朋友都问我：正念究竟是个啥？

坦白说，就连我自己也很难对此给出一个明确定义。更何况每当我完成一次正念减压练习之后，我对它的认识都会发生细微的变化。所以我想说的是：心动不如行动，自我体验一回吧——为什么不呢？

我敢肯定大多数问我这个问题的人都会认为我自己并不知道答案。所以我借用了“正念三分钟”应用程序发者的一段话来为大家一个总体思路。

什么是正念？

正念是一种关注当下时刻而不作出是非论断的精神状态。

它的关键在于非批判性观察。

字典上这样定义正念：“一种精神状态。一个人可以通过集中注意力于当前时刻并同时平静地确认和接纳自身感受、想法与身体知觉来达到这种精神状态。本方法可作为精神疗愈手段使用。”

我猜你还是会觉得这解释就跟物理教科书中的名词定义差不多——抽象而难以理解（如果你也和我一样对物理感到绝望的话）。

在以后的推送中，我们将一起探寻更多正念练习法。我们练得越多，就越会觉得它轻而易举，也越会感到受益匪浅。

顺便说一句：欢迎大家分享有关降低呼吸速率的个人想法与实践功效呀！