Wendy Harvey
Mindful Living
Mindfulness as a timeless spiritual tradition and now
Mindfulness has been realised and taught within many spiritual traditions for centuries. It is one element of a meditative practice to be cultivated within an approach which is founded on ethical and spiritual values and guidelines which lead towards wise and compassionate living.
Mindfulness as a foundation for life
When we approach life mindfully, being more fully in the present with whatever we are experiencing, we can begin to feel more alive and can deal with our problems and difficulties more resourcefully. Instead of staying tangled up in patterns of stress and unhappiness that we can't seem to find a way out of, we can get in touch with a sense of inner calm and steadiness and from this perspective we can see things more clearly and act more effectively. Over time our old habits of reaction can lessen, we may find we are listening more sensitively to our own needs and those of others, and being able to respond in different, more helpful and compassionate ways to life's challenges.
The two key qualities of mindfulness practice which go side by side are Relaxation and Awareness. We practice being both aware and relaxed in each moment of our lives until these qualities become more and more our natural way of being in the world. This is a lifelong practice for living well for the benefit of all beings.
Sometimes the question arises, ‘Yes, but once I’m aware, what do I do then?’, as if there is some other quality beyond awareness that has to be found, when actually awareness, in the context of trusted ethical and spiritual teachings, is all that is needed. Actively acknowledging and deeply listening to our embodied experience in the ‘now’ will tell us all we need to know about how to take care of our inner state and how to act with wisdom and compassion.
‘Trust the process’ is a mantra that can guide us all the way through life. We are always connected to the whole of life, inter-dependent, constantly receiving information through our senses which will show us how we can go forward towards healing and wholeness. We only have to listen and allow ourselves to be guided from within.
Mindfulness as a formal and informal practice
Establishing a regular formal meditation practice, ideally a daily routine, to make space for this in our lives, is a wonderful investment of our time that tends to reward us 'with interest'. The other and equally essential aspect of mindfulness practice is informal practice - the intention to practice bringing mindful attention to all the moments of our lives, just as we are experiencing them, without judgment.
Surrendering to the flow of life in all its vitality and unpredictability, we can let go of the struggle to control the uncontrollable and embrace the conditions of the present moment with confidence, compassion and joy.
We can begin to welcome even difficult conditions when we start to experience for ourselves how they can bring wonderful gifts of insight, learning and growth.
Nowhere to go, nothing to achieve, just endless letting go
I start from the belief that we all have 'BuddhaNature' at our core and already have all we need to be peaceful and happy. It is only our habitual patterns of reaction which were adopted to protect ourselves from difficult experiences in the past that cause us problems and when we can begin to see through these and let them go peace and happiness naturally increases.
'Let go of what has passed.
Let go of what's to come.
Let go of what is happening now.
Don't try to figure anything out.
Don't try to make anything happen.
Relax, right now and rest'