Buddhist Meditation: Mindfulness
Mindfulness refers to a form of a meditation, as well as a habit.
During mindful meditation, we pay attention to everything that goes on in our minds. We look at our thoughts, our emotions, our desires, where we tend to focus our thoughts, what categories of thoughts do we frequently produce, how we react to different stimuli.. etc. For example, you could be doing mindful meditation while hearing a TV in the background. You may hear the voice of some actor or anchor that annoys you, and you notice that you started name-calling the person, or that you got tenser. You pay attention to anything and everything.
We can also be mindful while going about our daily business. We can try and pay as much attention to how we react to our environment, and how we feel during our daily grind. This, after sometime, becomes a habit.
How does mindfulness benefit us?
By observing your own mind, you may find that you go through stress throughout the day that can be easily avoided. Let me give you a personal example. When I began meditating, I put a lot of effort into staying mindful and practicing informal meditation throughout the day. I began noticing that while driving, I tend to stare down other drivers in that macho competitive way. I also noticed that it was causing tension and stress within me. Noticing this, I would not allow myself to stare down other drivers. It seems minor, but driving has actually become more pleasant since. The more of these little stressors you find throughout your day, and the more of them you work on removing, the better and happier you will feel overall.
So, come on! Pay attention to the crap rattling around in your brain! Help yourself stay relaxed!