To do: Live in the moment

The difference between mindfulness and meditation

⁘ Mindfulness It’s a pretty straightforward word. It suggests that the mind is fully attending to what’s happening, to what you’re doing, to the space you’re moving through. That might seem trivial, except for the annoying fact that we so often veer from the matter at hand. Our mind takes flight, we lose touch with our body, and pretty soon we’re engrossed in obsessive thoughts about something that just happened or fretting about the future. And that makes us anxious.

⁘ Meditation How do you learn to meditate? In mindfulness meditation, we’re learning how to pay attention to the breath as it goes in and out, and notice when the mind wanders from this task. This practice of returning to the breath builds the muscles of attention and mindfulness. When we pay attention to our breath, we are learning how to return to, and remain in, the present moment—to anchor ourselves in the here and now on purpose, without judgement.

Mindfulness and meditation are not the same, even though they do have similarities and show overlap. Mindfulness can be seen as a mindset of a meditative state, which can be used all throughout life.

"Quiet the mind and the soul will speak"

Learn more about this topic on Mindful.org

Source: Mindful.org | Picture: Subconsciousservant.com |