According to Tim Ferriss' Tools of Titans, eighty percent of highly successful people practice mindfulness. How do we get started? I found Meng Tan's bestseller Search Inside Yourself valuable as he discussed the science, benefits, and mechanics. Many readers don't want to invest the time required. Here's a summary.
Here's my extemporaneous take:
1. Mindfulness offer anatomic (MORE BRAIN measurable on MRI), physiologic (e.g. lower blood pressure and circulating stress hormones), psychological (confidence), and emotional (less anxiety and depression) benefits. Aside from being fun, its value is proven and (buzzword alert) evidence-based.
2. It improves attention, awareness ("perceptual resolution"), and habits.
3. It requires limited time (15-20 minutes daily).
4. It promotes non-judgmental thinking (there is no bad meditation session).
5. Sit or lie comfortably. We don't have to adopt any 'rigid' or traditional posture. I do embrace sitting up straight "head pointed to heaven" or (sometimes) "pointy head to heaven."
6. We can choose unstructured or guided meditation (link to free site).
7. Our minds will wander. That's okay. That's part of the process of learning better attention to attention.
8. Anchor on breathing...the air movement through the nose and upper airways or chest and abdomen movements.
9. "Don't feed the monsters." Negative thoughts happen. Move on.
10."Make it an indulgence, not a chore." Do less than you can.
Let diamonds rain.
