Mindfulness sounds a bit strange. At first glance, it seems to be the antonym of "evil thoughts", which means teaching people to do good.
After listening to the book Miracle of Mindfulness written by Fan Deng thich nhat hanh, I realized that mindfulness means living in the present and teaching people to enjoy the present.
The book has always quoted the example of washing dishes, saying that if you are washing dishes at the moment, enjoy washing dishes. Be fully aware of the fact that you are washing dishes. At the moment of washing dishes, you are completely yourself, follow your breath, realize your existence, and realize your thoughts and actions. This is mindfulness.
There is a similar saying in "University", "It is wrong to be angry because the so-called cultivation is in the right heart; If you are afraid, you may be wrong; What is fun can't be right; If you are worried, you may be wrong. Absent-minded, blind, deaf, eat without knowing its taste. This is the cultivation in the heart. "
Then mindfulness is actually the "mindfulness" of "Xiu De is in the heart" as we say in Confucianism. "University" has always emphasized that "the mind can be repaired". "Self-cultivation, keeping the family in order, governing the country and leveling the world" must start from "righteousness". In school, when it comes to traditional culture, only the latter part is mentioned, which teaches people to "cultivate one's morality, keep the family in order, govern the country and level the world", but omits the root and source of the above results, that is, "righteousness". When I first came into contact with Zheng Xin, I didn't understand it. I thought that "Zheng Xin" was for establishing correct attitudes and values, not for twists and turns. Actually, it's not like this. "Righteousness" is not as complicated as distinguishing between good and evil, right and wrong, beauty and ugliness.
Modern people often say that "cultivating metacognitive ability" and "living in the present" are essentially the same as Buddhist "mindfulness" and Confucian "mindfulness", but they are different in teaching people to realize their own thoughts and behaviors and enjoy the present. If we want to join friends in chatting or playing games, or reply to emails, or watch a favorite TV program, and finish the dishes in a hurry as if they were disgusting, then we are not living in the moment when washing dishes. At this time, you are completely unaware of the miracle of life. ? If you don't know how to wash dishes, you won't know how to drink tea or eat. Generally speaking, you just don't know how to live. Everyday life is like dealing with errands. It seems that we have never lived.
When you know that "mindfulness" means "awareness of the present reality", every moment of life is an opportunity for you to practice. If you are with your child at the moment, then focus on your child, don't look at your mobile phone, don't look around, and don't worry about doing housework; If you are waiting for a train or plane at the moment, wait calmly and take out a book to read, because the chairs at home are not so different from those outside. Even if you stand and wait, you can enjoy the feeling of standing. Standing can consume more calories and is good for your health. If you are eating oranges at the moment, taste the taste of oranges carefully and feel the juice of oranges. No matter what happens, at what time, what you are doing now is the most important thing. You should experience and enjoy it, because that is your life.
Why cultivate "mindfulness"?
If you don't cultivate mindfulness, you will always be dominated by your emotions, not yourself. When you are angry, you are angry itself; When you are happy, you are happy; When you are afraid, you are the fear itself. It is important not to drive away or cling to any idea, but to be aware of it. Looking at yourself from a bystander's point of view is mainly to look at your heart. The true heart is the self, which is called "Buddha" in Buddhism. Buddhists believe that everyone can become a "Buddha".
I used this trick on my son yesterday. He lost his temper over something. I told him, look, there is a monster called "temper" now? The devil came into your body and made you like this. Do you want it to stay in your body? He immediately felt that he was really controlled by something, and then obediently said "no". The moment he said "no", people were calm.
Think about whether we will be greedy at any time. What about those monsters who are jealous and resentful? These monsters make us unable to see the beauty in front of us, taste the delicious food and appreciate the value of life. Moreover, these emotions and messy thoughts are actually the most energy-consuming and take up valuable time. Think about who we are angry with, whether we can't do anything well, let alone study, and even the basic eating and sleeping are greatly affected.
I subdued my Xiong Haizi with mindfulness the day before yesterday. I mean what Mr Fan Deng said during his wife's caesarean section to ease the pain. He taught her to say, "Oh, so this is the feeling of pain. I have experienced pain. " His wife said this and fell asleep in a few minutes. I took my son out to play on weekends. It was very hot outside. He kept complaining about "it's so hot, it's too hot". I taught him to say, "Oh, so this is the feeling of heat. I experienced what heat is. " He just listened to my words and was silent, as if he felt "hot", but after that, no one complained about "hot". In fact, it was not the heat that made him uncomfortable before, but the mood that made him irritable. According to the analysis in the book, such emotions mainly come from people's "self".
Therefore, cultivating mindfulness can make you look at the problems in life more intelligently and cherish every moment of life. Can let the "heart" settle down, so as to study and work more efficiently.
How to cultivate "mindfulness"?
The reason sounds so simple, but it's really done. It's not that easy. Our minds are not occupied by all kinds of messy ideas all the time.
Practicing "mindfulness" can start with "conscious breathing" Be quiet, feel your breath, don't think about anything, focus on breathing. When you inhale, you know you are inhaling, when you exhale, you know you are exhaling. After inhaling for a long time, you know you are inhaling for a long time, and after exhaling for a long time, you know you are exhaling for a long time.
Still use the "interest method". Inhale, count one in your heart, exhale, count one in your heart. Inhale again, count two in your mind, exhale again, count two in your mind. Count to ten like this, and then start from the beginning. If you count wrong, start from the beginning. When you can't make mistakes, you can focus on breathing itself without calculating interest.
Some people will say, what a waste of time. I am so busy every day, how can I sit there and count? There are so many things to do that we can't be idle. I used to think so, too. Even if I sat down, I couldn't be quiet for two minutes. I couldn't sit still, and all kinds of thoughts floated in my mind from time to time, completely forgetting to breathe.
Then we can start our daily work, washing hands, washing dishes, mopping the floor, drinking tea and chatting. When doing these things, we should concentrate on doing them and keep mindfulness at all times. Life is full of opportunities to practice mindfulness.
If you can't be in mindfulness every day, you can set aside one day for yourself every week and practice mindfulness wholeheartedly. This day will also help you improve yourself and form a good habit of practicing mindfulness. When you get up, remind yourself that today is mindfulness day, feel the smile on your lips, get up slowly with the breath, brush your teeth carefully, wash your face, prepare a breakfast for yourself with mindfulness, and carefully taste the taste of every bite of rice. Then wash the dishes, make yourself a pot of tea and sit down and enjoy it. Don't leave tea in a hurry, drink slowly.
Have a deeper understanding of "mindfulness".
The above content about mindfulness is the most basic. In-depth analysis will lead to a lot of wisdom in life. For example, why do we have so many emotions? The reason is that we can't let ourselves go. Self is always in our hearts, and we always feel special than others. It is normal for others to get sick, suffer or even die, and it is unacceptable to fall on their own heads. I always feel that I shouldn't suffer like this and be treated like this. In Buddhism, it is called "separation from heart". Through the cultivation of mindfulness, we can gradually help ourselves get rid of "separation", observe ourselves from the perspective of outsiders, and put ourselves in the same position as others, then our life will be more peaceful, full and meaningful.