Imagine yourself having dinner in the kitchen.
While eating, you start thinking about how tedious it’s going to be to do all those
dishes after dinner and that you’d rather just relax on the couch.
As you’re doing the dishes, you start thinking about that couch and what it’s going to
be like to just sit there and have your cup of tea… and maybe a biscuit.
Later you move your tired body and the freshly brewed cup of tea over to the couch.
As you’re sitting there, you start thinking about the unfinished work you left at the
office, maybe you’ll have to take the cat to the vet tomorrow, was your sister upset
by the thing that you said, where does the universe end and did you really pay that bill,
by the way?
Suddenly, your thoughts are interrupted and you notice an empty cup in your hand.
Who drank all that tea?
You try to, but you can’t really remember what it tasted like.
Depression includes spending a lot of time thinking about the past or worrying about
the future.
And when you are occupied with thoughts about the past or the future, you’re missing something
very important: The present.
Your life, right here in the moment.
The feeling of warm water on your hands or the smell of organic darjeeling
That is problematic, because the only moment we can control is what’s happening here
and now.
We can’t change the past and we can’t decide what happens in 5 minutes.
Here and now is the only moment when you can choose what to do.
Mindfulness meditation is about practising this skill, to direct your focus to the
present moment, try not to judge what you find and, when you get distracted
by thoughts, bring back your focus.
Over and over again.
So, how do we do this?
The easiest way is to direct your attention towards a part of your body, for example your
breathing.
Because the body is always in the present.
Unlike your thoughts, it can’t run to the future.
Another trick is to focus on one of your senses, for example noticing smells or sounds.
When doing this, you will probably notice negative thoughts such as “this is stupid”;
I’m too restless. This will never work.
Try not to think about these thoughts as distracting.
They’re actually a part of Mindfulness practice and they are a signal to bring back your focus.
All such thoughts give you the opportunity to redirect your attention and exercise your
brain.
And if they are really crappy thoughts, try to give them a name.
For example, “the Critic”; “the Judge”; “Mrs Panic” or something else.
This can help you to get some distance from them.
Meditation is difficult at first.
That’s why we need to practise regularly.
After some time you’ll notice that you react differently to negative thoughts and feelings
than before.
Instead of missing out on positive experiences, you learn to use all of your senses in your
daily life.
When you think about it, the present is actually a neat present.