Yoga and meditation have become increasingly popular in the United States. Concepts about consciousness, spirituality, and mindfulness have also become more widely accepted.
It’s no surprise mindfulness has found its way into the mental health community. But the meaning and application of “mindfulness” are so broad that many use it in the context of either spirituality and meditation—or not at all.
Simply put, mindfulness is the practice of focusing your attention or awareness on something in the present moment. Basically, paying attention on purpose. As a mental health practice, that “something” to bring attention to is an unconscious tendency to think, feel, or behave in a way that may be maladaptive.
Consider an unconscious tendency brought to your awareness through either self-observation or someone pointing it out. Once you become aware of an unconscious tendency, the thought, feeling, or behavior you wish to correct or avoid is no longer unconscious.
This awareness allows you to choose what to think or how to act in response to a certain trigger. By choosing a different response, you create new neural pathways, which lead to new, automatic corrective responses and behaviors.
I’m thinking of when my husband noticed my inclination to pick up my phone while driving. He pointed out that I did this whenever he used his cellphone to peruse social media or emails as a passenger. I wouldn’t use my phone, thank goodness, but I still had an unconscious desire to pick it up.
After my husband noticed this behavior, I realized how often I did it.
With this awareness, I became mindful of unconscious behavior and observed the impulse to pick up my phone. By bringing my attention to a space where I could decide not to do it rather than do it unconsciously, I was able to correct it.
Over time, I noticed my desire to check my phone when a passenger checked theirs diminished significantly. Sometimes, this desire doesn’t even arise at all.
Mindfulness brings unconscious thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to the surface. When they’re no longer unconscious, we can acknowledge them, reconcile them, and choose a path more conducive to our well-being.
Sometimes, an intention to be mindful will uncover many of our unconscious tendencies. From there, we can decide to modify them as we see fit.
Other times, online counseling can be very beneficial. A professional counselor can help you make connections and bring unconscious thoughts, feelings, and behaviors related to certain triggers to the forefront.
Staying in a mindful space helps us observe and shape our tendencies rather than let them control us. Putting mindfulness into everyday practice is about consistently being aware of what we’re doing and why—and then choosing the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that bring us closer to who and how we wish to be.
