The Practice of Mindfulness Meditation
🧠 What Is On Your Mind Right Now?
Are you wondering what this article is about? Thinking about your to-do list? Replaying a recent conversation?
Most of us live in our minds—constantly replaying the past or anticipating the future. Yet each thought subtly shapes our emotions, our body, and our energy.
Rarely are we in the now.
When was the last time you were truly present?
Most people say, “When I was on vacation… watching a sunset… I was just there.”
What if you could access that clarity every day?
🪷 What Is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is the skill of observing your thoughts and emotions without attachment—like watching clouds drift across the sky.
This simple awareness brings healing, peace, and insight.
Researcher Jon Kabat-Zinn has shown that just by being present with pain—physical or emotional—we can transform our relationship to it, moving through it into a space of peace.
🌱 7 Aspects of Mindfulness
(as shared by Jon Kabat-Zinn)
Non-Judging — Be an impartial witness to your experience.
Patience — Trust the process.
Beginner’s Mind — See everything as if for the first time.
Trust — In yourself and your inner wisdom.
Non-Striving — By doing nothing, everything is done.
Acceptance — See things as they are.
Letting Go — Release what does not serve.
🧘 Try This Simple Practice
Set a timer for 5 minutes.
Sit comfortably. Close your eyes.
Focus on the feeling of your breath at your nose.
When your mind drifts, gently return to the breath.
Each time you return, you strengthen your awareness.
You become the observer—not the reaction.
🎯 Why Does This Matter?
Your mind is like a pack of curious children—constantly pulling you here and there.
And that pulling creates stress and dis-ease.
Mindfulness is the anchor that lets you watch your thoughts without being swept away.
At first, the mental noise is loud. But with practice, you’ll realize:
You can observe without reacting.
You can choose peace over chaos.
You are more than your thoughts.
🌌 Beyond the Mind: A Healing Space
As you extend your practice—10 minutes, 20, even 40—you may begin to enter the space before thought.
Deepak Chopra describes this as:
“A void of pure possibilities… the womb of creation.”
In this space, energy flows freely. Healing happens.
You return to your natural state of clarity, presence, and possibility.
🕊️ Begin Today
Set aside 5 minutes.
Feel your breath.
Watch your thoughts float by.
And return—again and again—to the peace that is already within you.
Dr. Jill Henry, Ed.D., is a meditation instructor, polarity and craniosacral practitioner, and lifelong educator.
