Mindfulness

Larry Yang on Huffpost has a great essay on the Buddhist concept of mindfulness, "Now More Than Ever We Need Mindfulness." He speaks of the need for this Buddhist practice now, especially as the divisive presidential campaign revs up and intensifies over the coming year. Even in the midst of such terrible and angry times it seems we can find a place of serenity, one that helps, not just ourselves, but the society and world at large:

We need the Freedom that Mindfulness invites for us -- the freedom that we do not have to follow the unconscious patterns of acute reactivity. We need to remember that it is possible to notice deeply what is happening, understand it with some wisdom, treat it with some of the compassion inherent in our humanity, and move into responses and actions that are of benefit -- that is, to move toward that which lessens suffering and creates happiness, not just for us as individuals, but us as a collective world.

Our Mindfulness practice, whether it is on the cushion paying attention to the emotions and thoughts that weave between the breath and bodily sensations, or whether it is in the world paying attention to our actions and behaviors which emerge from our emotions and thoughts, is always a reminder that in order to change any unhealthy or harmful patterns -- in order to transform any suffering -- we have to first become aware of the patterns themselves. We cannot change anything that we are not aware of. This is also true of our collective transformation into a culture that meets the needs of greater numbers of people and beings: We first have to become deeply aware of the conditions that we are living within, and then that will guide us into transforming the world into a better place to live.

I recommend the entire essay, as it goes into both the psychological and social implications of this practice, and ways to put it into effect.