Over the years, mindfulness and meditation have synonymously become interchangeable terms. So much so both have evolved into wellness buzzwords that can practically be found everywhere; whether you’re in the grocery store or engaged in nondescript daily life activities, you will surely come across its mention.
Interestingly, its widespread use spans the spectrum, from food items, luxurious niceties, amenities, and self-care products, to wellness and meditation. From mediation apps, programs, retreats, and assistive tools, the list literally and figuratively goes on. Making it that much harder to decern the differences between the two.
If you have ever wondered what it truly means to be mindful and practice mindfulness and meditation, you can rest assured that you are not alone. This piece will delve into mindfulness and meditation and the difference between the two.
Why Practice?
We are energetic spiritual beings having a human incarnation. Everything is energy that equates to being in motion or vibration, and by its nature, it can never be destroyed, only transmuted into different forms. Therefore, as within so without as everything within both our inner and external worlds emits a frequency from our internal thoughts, feelings, and emotions to nature, plants, animals, musical instruments, and the outer world around us.
Vibrations are static, ever-moving, evolving, and changing frequencies, hence we are all aligned with each dimension of nature as we mirror its reflection. Therefore, the universal truth of the commonly touted phrase, “as above so below,” reigns true as the world of ideas and thoughts is reflected above by the element of air within the quantum field.
In contrast, the energy of fire is referenced by “so below” as we are conscious within the physical human form. The nature of the quantum field is timeless and spaceless, as time and space are manifested within the lower dimensions (i.e., the material earth plane). Therefore, the quantum field is an unlimited energy source that our intuitive senses and higher selves can only perceive.
Being that energy is persistently in motion; nothing ever remains the same, as everything has a beginning and an end (i.e., temporary). By nature, we are limitless beings, infinitesimally more expansive than the limiting constraints of the human form.
As energetic beings, we are rooted and connected within our bodies through the seven energy centers of consciousness and existence in man, commonly called chakras. The chakra centers are vertically positioned by way of polarizing frequencies from the base of the spine up through the crown of our heads, with the frequencies of the lower chakras increasingly ascending upwards to the highest (crown), which reflects enlightenment. This polarization of the first and last chakras allows for the fluid energy flow in man/woman.
We are each unique individualized expressions of the Divine, as we are already loaded and encoded with everything we could ever wish, hope for, or desire. Hence, we are already enough from the moment we are born into human form and take our first breath. Contrary to popular belief, we have always been and will always be enough.
We must clear our perception of any distractions forming illusions that affirm otherwise. This is the prevailing truth of our being that often gets clouded by the world's densities ( aka limitations) that are incessantly impressed upon us.
From the time we are born, the world's ways begin to be impressed upon us. Naturally, we must be taught the intricacies and nuances between right and wrong, good, bad, and indifference, and how to govern ourselves as we grow and evolve to thrive.
However, these impressions shape and form our beliefs about fear, lack, and limitations, narrowing our view of what’s truly possible for us. We live in a field of unlimited possibilities. However, the prevailing lower frequencies of trauma, fear, doubt, worry, lack, and feelings of inadequacy, often leave us at the mercy of the unknown.
Mindfulness and meditation provide us with accessible tools and practices that support us in remembering the truth of our being. In other words, it helps us to remember WTF we are (individualized expressions of the most High).
Mindfulness: An Endless Practice
In this technologically advanced day and age, we are perpetually bombarded with noise and distractions, persistently vying for our time, energy, and attention. From the ongoing obligations and responsibilities of adult life to the perpetual challenges to find some semblance of work-life balance, we collectively invest an overabundance of time, effort, and energy into staying connected and accessible to all that is persistently happening on a moment-to-moment basis.
Notably, it is exhausting to multitask and juggle multiple competing priorities constantly. In every sense of the word, multitasking outwardly presents itself as an effective measure of productivity.
However, dividing our attention in various directions primarily relies on repeatedly doing the same things time and time again, creating habitual patterns that become automatically engrained within the subconscious. The more we repeat select actions, the more it establishes hardwired habit patterns that enable us to recycle delicate tasks at will, with little to no thought or conscious effort.
Be it texting, reading, browsing through your phone, or an emotional disturbance; this is one of the primary reasons why distracted driving is so dangerous. This is also reminiscent of when cell phones were few and far between, and you had to rely solely on repetitious muscle memory to commit a number to memory.
One could literally do any number of things simultaneously and successfully dial a number without conscious thought. Likewise, the more places you disperse your awareness, the less you are available to what unfolds here and now.
Far too often, our attention is highjacked by the many distractions that threaten to deter us from our intended focus. We are not enslaved to the wayward unpredictability of distractions.
Remember, we are each individualized, unique expressions of the Divine, with the ability to take full volition over where we are placing our attention and think independently of circumstances.
Mindfulness provides the resources, tools, and practices that support us to root awareness within the present moment by redirecting our attention away from distractions. In essence, it’s a practice of singularly focused awareness that empowers one to exercise control over where you place your attention at any given time. Mindful awareness empowers you to take your power back.
Mediation: A Multidimensional Practice
Meditation is paying in-distractible attention to all that is unfolding on a moment-by-moment basis. Thanks to the invariable distractions competing for our attention, it is often easier said than done.
Most are familiar with the idealized meditative postures and positioning; however, beyond the poised postures, meditation is achieved by settling both the mind and body into a calm state. One would think that simply being able to focus on any particular task equates with being in the here and now.
However, the key to residing in the present moment lies in calming both the mind and body by redirecting one’s awareness within (aka the inner realm) to objectively observe all that flows through our awareness without judgment or attachment to a preferred outcome.
Objective observation empowers one to transition from identifying with your thoughts, beliefs, actions, fears, worries, and anxieties to merely observing and accepting them as simply passing through your awareness. In classic human fashion, you will not always like what passes through. Hence, keeping all that passes through without internalizing may seem simple but challenging.
Life is perpetually in active motion. Hence life is static as nothing ever stays the same. Likewise, when holding on to the things that cause discomfort out of fear of loss or the unknown, we disrupt its flow, causing dis-ease (aka pain) and creating suffering. In essence, what we resist persists.
In other words, the more we replay, retain, and internalize thoughts of discomforting experiences, the more we regulate ourselves to live in the past (aka outside of the present). Releasing judgment and accepting all that passes through our awareness frees us to reside within the present.
So how do we close our awareness to all that surrounds us? So glad you asked; the key is to direct and lower the gaze to the tip of your nose or close your eyes. Lowering the gaze disrupts and blurs our visual focus making it that much harder to focus on anything outside ourselves. At the same time, closing our eyes to the external world frees us to redirect our awareness instantly.
To center our awareness in the present, we must focus on the functionalities that can only occur here and now; the breath. Unlike the nature of thoughts and mental chatter, we cannot thrust our breath into any other tense but the present. With each passing moment, life forces energy fuses with the breath as it flows through our bodies, supplying us with all the essential elements necessary to sustain us to thrive.
The breath is perpetually unfolding and evolving each and every second of the day, in accordance with our current state. A restful state sets pace with an ease full relaxed flow. Whereas a stressed tense state charts the course for rapid shallow breathing which gives way to our current state of wellbeing or lack thereof.
The mind and body are synchronously interconnected. For every active physical movement, the mind likewise busies itself with mental activity. The busier the body, the more the reason it occupies itself with mental chatter.
Do you ever notice how preoccupied you are with doing anything you can to remain productive? All the while, you feel more consumed with increasing stress as you contemplate the growing number of things you have yet to accomplish. This increases stress, anxiety, fear, and every other feeling and emotion, likely bringing your worthiness into question.
Regardless of what outside forces may lead you to believe, you were born enough, you are enough, always have been, and always will be.
Take Back Your Power
The good news is that it is possible to gain volition over your attention with practice. Whether journeying within through the private practice of meditation or refining your attentive awareness of being in the world through the endless practice of mindfulness, it all boils down to taking your power back.
Where our attention goes, our energy flows. Likewise, our true power lies within where and how we direct our attention. Hence our attention (aka energy) is our most valuable assets.
Likewise, the practice calls us to pull our attention away from the many things that may distract us from residing in the present. Contrary to popular belief, meditation is not a restrictive practice that requires you to assume complex postures and positions; it is a fluid, adaptive practice that can be curated to meet you exactly where you are.
Hence there is no right or wrong way to practice, as you can sit, stand, walk, lie down, or do any of the many commonplace activities of daily life. Likewise mindfulness is an endless practice that supports you to increase your awareness of noticing where you are directing your attention at any given time to redirect it back to the now moment.
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