Mindfulness helps us change our relationship to our thoughts.
With practise, we find ourselves experiencing that thoughts are not facts and that “I am not my thoughts”.
By allowing mind to settle, we step out of the mind-stream. We start to see thoughts as changing mental content, instead of believing them and chasing after them.
One teacher says, “Water, if you don’t stir it, will become clear, just as mind left unaltered will find its true nature.¹”
In mindfulness, we allow our mind to become calm and clear.
This has a few wonderful advantages. As our ordinary mind and all our concerns settle, underneath we discover a profound stillness. We become more spacious and less self-focused. We become aware of sensations, thoughts and feelings, rather than reacting to them. We notice how thoughts and feelings are ever-changing, and we rediscover the pleasure of being in the present moment.
Want to know more? Dr. Ron Siegel’s Google Talk on the Science of Mindfulness is a simple, scientific introduction to mindfulness, including a guided practice at 27:20.
