“Mindfulness is awareness that arises from paying attention to the present moment, on purpose, non-judgmentally.” -Kabat-Zinn
We typically navigate our day-to-day experience on auto-pilot, mainly using thought as our guide. We plan and we process. You might notice even now that your awareness is mainly in your mind and almost completely disconnected from your body and emotions.
Mindfulness allows present-moment awareness of our thoughts, emotions, sensations, and memories. It is like a superpower in this way. In mindfulness, we can access WAY more information about our internal experience than when we rely solely on the mind.
When we practice mindfulness to access the vibrancy of present moment experience, we can pick up on pieces of our truth that we would otherwise miss when stuck in thought. In other words, we build our intuition.
For example, in making a decision, we could use thought to weigh the pros and cons of each choice. We could also use mindfulness to sense how each choice feels in our body. These sensations are informed by our thoughts, memories, and emotions.
What would it be like to get curious about how your body feels in a choice? Would you feel relaxed or tense? What would you notice is informing that sensation?
We make more informed choices when we add mindfulness to our decision-making toolbox. More informed choices = more thriving and less suffering!
When we practice mindfulness, we build intuition, and we make choices that help us thrive.