Mindful meditation is the most common form of meditation in the West because it is easy to do and gets rapid results. It can also be done any time anywhere, as often as you like. It can best be defined as a state of active, focused attention on what you are feeling or doing in the present.

To begin practicing mindfulness, start small. Check your body to see if there is any pain or tension. Notice the feel of clothes against your skin. As you go through your day, don’t just wolf down your food, stop to savor the flavor. Don’t just gulp down your coffee. Notice what it feels like on your tongue, the difference between skim milk and cream in it, and so on.

When you become mindful, you switch from doer to observer and can watch yourself from a distance, as it were. You can stop following your thoughts as they jump around in your head, but simply enjoy the experience in the here and now. Whether stopping to listen to birds singing in the trees or giving your complete attention to the mundane chores of washing the dishes that you usually ‘zone out’ when you are doing them, mindfulness helps make the world come more alive, moment by moment.

All forms of meditation have many health benefits, such as:

• Reducing stress
• Boosting the immune system
• Easing chronic pain
• Lowering high blood pressure
• Improving the quality of life in people who have chronic illnesses, even cancer
• Improving mood
• Reducing anxiety

Even a few minutes of mindfulness can make a big difference. Those who practice mindfulness have been shown to be happier, more empathetic, and have more ingenuity while also being more secure within themselves. They tend to have higher self-esteem, more clever thoughts and are more inventive.

Focusing awareness on the here and now rather than past or future cuts down on the ‘automatic’ reactions many people engage in as so-called coping mechanisms, such as overeating, smoking tobacco, or indulging in other forms of impulsive or risky behavior. They are less defensive and feel less like a victim and more in control of their own lives. They also manage their emotions better, being less argumentative, which means they can form a wider circle of happy, supportive relationships.

If this sounds like just the opportunity you’ve been looking for to get out of a rut, try it now. Scan your immediate area to look at something beautiful. Don’t look around the room and think. “Oh darn, better get up to dust it.” Instead, look at the dust, the way it dances in the sunlight streaming from the window, the patterns it forms. Next, enjoy the sunlight. How does it look, feel on your face?

Mindful meditation helps you feel at one with the universe. If you feel at one, there is no separation between self and other, which means more harmonious relationships and a sense of connectedness, which will make you feel you are never alone even if you are by yourself in the middle of a wilderness.

Look at one of the pictures on the wall. Notice the details, the frame, and think about the skill that created it. Think of the artist, the person who made the frame, the glass, and so on. Think of all the people who contributed to building your house or apartment building, how skillful they were and how much you are enjoying the results of their skills.

Focusing on the present moment is like a mini-vacation from all the thinking and overthinking most of us tend to do. Mindfulness draws our attention back in from all the distractions that surround us every day. It keeps us in the moment, so we don’t dwell on the past, however terrible or great it was. There’s no need for nostalgia when you can enjoy a great present if you are simply more mindful of it and take the time to enjoy it.

Mindfulness also cuts back on worry because it builds confidence that you can cope with anything that comes your way. Problems that used to seem like obstacles are now just challenges to be overcome. You’re more in control of your mind, and therefore more likely to have original, inventive thinking that will help you make smart decisions, not impulsive ones.

If you feel your emotions trying to take over, breathe and examine them. Where are they coming from? Is it a reaction to the moment, or something triggering a feeling from the past? Breathing will focus your attention on the present moment and long deep breaths will calm you, so you can deal with any issues cleverly and skillfully.

Finally, being mindful builds your ingenuity because your focus on what you are doing will give you a sense of skill and mastery. If you’re washing the dishes, try to wash each one with your full attention, and admire how you do it. Think how rewarding it is to have clean dishes, and how fun and effortless it can be. Blow bubbles, splash, have fun with it. If you stop treating it like a chore, especially one to be fought over with your spouse, it can transform your entire outlook, so you will live a greater life of ease moment by moment.

If you’ve been doing nothing but chasing a promotion, looking after your family day after day with no time for yourself, or stressing over money worries all the time, try mindfulness meditation starting today, and see what a difference it can make to your overall feeling of well-being.

Living in the modern world in the West is full of challenges and stresses that many people in the East can’t even imagine. Depression, low self-esteem, feeling trapped in the past, being stuck in the rat race, are all concepts that most Eastern people who practice meditation would not understand.

Life is all about choices. A calm, peaceful mind is a mind that has choices and is able to use its ingenuity with wisdom, not emotions such as anger. You can act through careful consideration, not fury or panic. Practice mindfulness several times a day every day and see how enjoyable each moment can be. Cut the bad habits that don’t serve your higher self and cultivate new ones that will help you live your best life as you discover the power of living in the now.

You can do this! You are more than enough!

This article originally appeared in the Winter 2019 issue of CHOICES Magazine