Maintaining Mindfulness and The Mindfulness Meditation

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is secular entity and has no boundaries. It has no gender or ethnic or political connotation. Mindfulness is for everyone irrespective of religious believes and thus, everyone can attempt to achieve it. Because those who practice mindfulness regularly are acutely aware of what is happening in the current moment, they are unlikely to use bad language or behavior; engage in wrongful thoughts or acts; harm others; or damage the environment. Collectively, this will bring harmony, unity and peace to us. 

Mindfulness is a state of calmness in which one stays in the present moment, being non-judgmental or reactive. When one is mindful of the current experience, one’s concentration ability improves, and thus, distractions become minimal. Paying attention to the present, facilitates developing the awareness about the self, what an individual is engaged in and his or her surroundings. 

Mindfulness meditation:

Mindful meditation is an ancient meditation technique that is practiced by millions of people. Different versions and techniques of mindfulness that the Buddha taught is included in almost all religions and practice by many. Regular practice of mindfulness, attention to the current movements and maintaining the awareness, reduces tension, stress, anger, jealousy, anxiety, and depression. Recent clinical neuroscience research has demonstrated that the practitioners,’ such as meditating monks who regularly maintain the mindfulness, not only benefits from its spiritually aspects but also benefits from modifying certain centers of the brain favorably, leading to positive functional improvements, as discussed later.

Mindfulness is known to improve attention, body awareness, changes in perspective on the self, and regulation of emotions and actions. The ability to maintain awareness in the present moment leads to sustained attention and developing positive emotions and emotional intelligence. Maintaining the awareness of the body (i.e., posture, activity, etc.) complements emotional alertness, resulting the development of deep empathy and inner strength, which further strengthens the mindfulness. 

Moreover, achieving mindfulness increases one’s ability to look within self—an impermanent and changing nature of life—leading to fewer attachments and entrapments, a reduction of stress and greater ability to cope stress, leading to the development of inner happiness. The latter can only achieve through the development of mindfulness with reduction of defilements. These would pave the path for mental purity, inner peace, and stillness of the mind. 

Benefits of mindful meditation:

Meditation helps to achieve a balance between the outside world and the innermost activities of our minds. Among the most notable effects and benefits of meditation is its ability to reduce the stresses of daily life. Modern life is full of complications and conflicts that are caused by mental irritants in the form of expectations, instability, desires, anger, ill will, hostility, boredom, restlessness, and doubt. To expel these emotional irritants from one’s system requires a great deal of effort, determination, and mindfulness practices with cultivating emotional intelligence. When one is successful in this enterprise, stresses are reduced leading to improved emotional balance.

Practicing mindfulness allows one to recognize the tensions, conflicts, and external pressures that prevent one from keeping the mind in the present moment. Worries about the past and the future will always be there, but with concentration, one can decrease the tendency of the mind shuffling from past to future and vice versa, and bring the mind back to the present moment, where one can see what is happening with clarity. 

Meditation also increases creative thinking and coming up with real-life practical solutions. Such practices also enhance appropriate parts of the brain to develop and work in healthy directions. Consequently, error rates are reduced, and productivity is improved. Collectively, these positive outcomes lead to enhanced better outcomes, peace, tranquility, and happiness.  

Emotional regulation and intellegence:

Functional changes to the brain lead to positive regulation of emotions, better management of anxiety and stress, and survival skills. This is particularly important during childhood growth, when the development of the brain’s structure and function occurs rapidly. Nevertheless, brain plasticity and the ability to change continue into our adult lives. In this regard, the regular practice of mindfulness as a part of day-to-day life has a constructive influence on coping, managing day-to-day stresses, anger, and anxieties, and improving the ability to concentrate and understand. All of these lead to improved behavior, social skills, and better academic and workplace outcomes; improved emotional intelligence.

Studies have demonstrated that mindful meditation practices lead to an improved capacity to focus on academic work and improved interpersonal, family, and social relationships and interactions with peers, teachers, and superiors. Based on these principles, a nonreligious and non-sectorial mindfulness program was developed in Sri Lanka in 2016; the SathiPasala program (www.satipasala.org). This grassroots initiative has been tested in different grades in many schools and has shown positive outcomes. Because of the program’s positive outcomes, the Ministry of Education in Sri Lanka has approved the SathiPasala program as part of regular school activity.

Broader benefits of mindfulness:

Mindfulness meditation practices have been shown to improve memory, attention, concentration, and creativity. They also lessen errors and increase productivity, reduce worries and stress, improve health and enhance happiness, and cause positive structural and functional transformation of the brain. Mindfulness prevents one rushing into judgements and reacting inappropriately. Moreover, the gap between understanding and reaction increases, allowing to make right decisions. It also allows making proactive and preventative decisions and actions, rather than being reactive in life.

Because of the constantly dearth of bombarding negative thoughts and inner chatter (commentary to oneself), practitioners will begin to see the world differently, with open mindedness. While, maintaining a choice-less awareness in day-to-day activities facilitates achievements at a ready phase, the true happiness (not materialistic) will materialize faster, and not be anxious about changes and fear of freedom. 

Whereas, the lack of mindfulness leads to an inability to appreciate the beauty of great life experiences. One gets stuck in the past or present, with greed, prejudiced concepts and ideas, and rushing from one moment to the next with an inability to act affirmatively or solving problems inefficiently. The lack of mindfulness also leads to generating errors at a higher rate at work or school, and thus, unproductive academically or in the workplace. One can reverse these by practicing and bringing mindfulness to everyday activities.

Moreover, mindfulness leads to understanding of the root causes of problems and determining a path of actions for overcoming issues. The centerpiece of a cost-effective approach to calming the mind and improving the ability to concentrate and develop spirituality is the practice of mindfulness meditation. 

Consequences of a lack of mindfulness:

A lack of mindfulness leads to selfishness and the degradation of moral values, uncertainty and inability make right decisions, mental and physical ill health, and inappropriate reactions and violence. These would lead to deterioration of societal, ethical and value-based responsibilities of individuals, and could cause chaos not only for individuals but also for the family, society, and the corporate sector. 

While, Buddhism has a spiritual dimension, it provides a largely secular approach to life and solving associated common problems, maintaining good health and healthy environment. While lack of mindfulness causes mental and communication complexities such as, conflicts, confusion, anger, envy, and disharmony and consequently, harming self and others, maintaining mindfulness creates peace, improve emotional intelligence and internal happiness. 

The next article addresses the longer-term, "structural and function changes in the brain (plasticity), following practicing mindfulness meditation."  

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Professor Sunil J. Wimalawansa, MD, PhD, MBA, DSc, is a physician-scientist, an educator, social entrepreneur, and a process consultant. He is a philanthropist with experience in long-term strategic planning, cost-effective investment and interventions globally for preventing non-communicable diseases. [recent charitable work]. The author has no conflicts of interest; he has received no funding for this work.