Motivational speakers encourage us all to think positive thoughts and they will happen.

Most of us who are grounded in reality discount this reasoning, fully understanding that just simply thinking something is going to happen will not make it come true. We don’t know about you, but we could paper a whole house with the lottery tickets we’ve bought over the years.

BUT – and it’s a big one – by living in the present, the basic tenant of insightful mindfulness meditation, we really will become happier, healthier and enjoy our life more. Isn’t that better than winning any lottery?

Life happens in the present – not the past or the future where most of us reside. When we are at work, we often are dreaming about an upcoming dinner date or future vacation. When we’re out for dinner, instead of focusing on the conversation, we are thinking about the bathrooms that need cleaning at home, or worrying that the children are still up because the babysitter is not forceful enough. On vacation, instead of enjoying the change of scenery, we are thinking about the work that is piling up in our desks.

Our thoughts are in control. “Ordinary thoughts course through our mind like a deafening waterfall,” writes Jon Kabat-Zinn, the biomedical scientist who introduced meditation into mainstream medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. The key to feeling in control of our minds – and our lives – is to pause, or as Kabat-Zinn says, to “rest in stillness – to stop doing and focus on just being.”

How is this accomplished? By practicing insightful mindfulness meditation for at least 20 minutes most days. That daily practice cascades into every aspect of practitioners’ daily lives. Living in the moment is a state of active, open, intentional attention on the present. When you are mindful, you are not your thoughts. Instead, you become an observer of your thoughts, letting them pass through without judgment.

And that brings huge rewards. Insightful mindfulness meditation reduces stress and anxiety, boosts immune functioning, reduces chronic pain, lowers blood pressure and helps patients cope with cancer and sleep through the night.

Mindful people are happier, more exuberant, more empathetic and more secure. They have higher self-esteem and are more accepting of their own weaknesses. Instead of reacting to problems they respond, which might seem like a small distinction except that impulsivity and reactivity underlie depression, binge eating and attention problems. When you are mindful, you don a thicker skin and can hear negative feedback without feeling threatened. You fight less with loved ones because you become more accommodating and less defensive.

Contact Pathway to Mindfulness today at 203-628-4492 ext. 592 or info@PathwayToMindfulness.com to start experiencing the freedom insightful mindfulness meditation can bring to your daily life.