If You Increase Your Awareness, Then Your Life Will Change

Jon Kabat-Zinn, an ambassador of mindfulness in the western world, believes that changes will come into our lives on their own as we raise our awareness. But he’s not just making vague or empty claims: instead, this researcher has devoted his life to scientifically proving a fact that human experience has taught for years. This is the fact that exploration, introspection, and solid connections within us all help to bring about lasting change.

According to an interview with the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia   , thanks to mindfulness or full awareness, we could actively pay more attention to the present moment without judging. By learning this skill, we could embrace reality. That in turn is healing and transforming on all levels. In fact, a neurological transformation would also take place.

Mindfulness isn’t just for gurus

There is a lot of medical and psychological research behind the term mindfulness. This research proves that the union of Zen meditation and Vipassana is very good for us. Mindfulness exercises have helped people control chronic pain, anxiety, panic, and other physical and psychological ailments.

It could be said that full attention leads to higher awareness for a change in our attitudes, outlook, and ultimately in our lives. We are not told to fall in love with life. Instead, we should just accept it and experience it for what it is. It’s an innovative approach. Because practically all Western health disciplines focus on eliminating symptoms. Also on minimizing discomfort, the destruction of chaos and the need for normalcy.

Maintaining the experience of your presence

At school we are taught to think in order to solve. Mindfulness, however, strives to simply use life’s experiences to achieve change. The goal is actually to go deeper into who you are and what your surroundings are.

The neurological changes that take place after appropriate mindfulness training take place in regions of the brain that are related to learning and memory. These regions increase their activity. This applies especially to the amygdala. Remember that it is the seat of our emotions because it controls our reactions to threats and warns the rest of the brain.

In the aforementioned interview, Kabat-Zinn explained that mindfulness training can lead to changes in gene expression. He particularly highlights the following results:

• The expression of genes that have to do with inflammatory processes and cancer is inhibited.
• The neuron density of the brain decreases less quickly when you meditate.
• Neural connections are created and strengthened.

How can we achieve all of this with mindfulness? What is the truth behind it? So far there is no answer. It’s just about stopping the sleepy “sneaking through life” and starting to live fully awake. Without forcing this, simply through meditation and increased awareness – but this requires a lot of discipline.

So when we embrace the negative thoughts that drag us into the abyss, we keep them from exerting their influence. It is obvious that not everything in life is beautiful.  But a distracted mind is an unhappy mind. Only when we combine everything into a whole will we achieve health, well-being and wisdom. Because the cultivation of mindfulness is a radical act of reason, love and compassion towards oneself.