Humanity is in deep slumber of unconscious mind which is the root cause of unhappiness.
Our mind, as we are, is a sum up of our personal life experiences, genetics and collective unconsciousness (a term coined by well renowned psychoanalyst Carl G. Jung). Collectively all our direct or indirect past experiences starve consciousness and nurture unconsciousness. We don’t even know what we think, feel and do.
Carl G. Jung says “Until we make our unconscious conscious, it will run our life and we will call it fate”. He is not teaching us to change our habits and beliefs. It is easy to misinterpret this quote since our reasoning faculty is limited to our past knowledge and experience. Carl G Jung talks about a meditative dimension, beyond comprehension of mind.
When we were little children, we were living mindfully. You can notice un-caused joy and inexhaustible energy in children. As an adult, we have lost that capacity under a burden of thoughts. And have become automatic machine controlled by fear-based unconscious mind.
Consciousness energizes. Unconsciousness drains.
In a given moment, we are either functioning consciously or unconsciously.
We often hear word ‘mindfulness‘ these days in corporate world, social organizations, communities, and healthcare institutions. Mindfulness word pops up at various places while you browse on internet or reading New York Times.
Mindfulness is a turn from being unconscious to conscious; from automatically programmed mind to be still and awake to the activities happening in present moment within our mind and body and also outside. This is what Carl G. Jung means.
“Consciousness or mindfulness is the state or quality of awareness or of being aware of an external object or something within oneself.” – Wikipedia
“Mindfulness meditation is a state of open, non-judgmental, and non-discursive attention to the contents of consciousness, whether pleasant or unpleasant” . – Dr Sara Lazar, Ph.D. Neuroscience of Yoga & Meditation, Harvard.edu
Unfortunately, despite immense research and development in conventional psychology and psychiatry, it had missed mindfulness for centuries until lately. Thanks to the internet.
Gautama Buddha used a Pali word “Vipassana” for similar quality. Buddha’s entire emphases was to be aware/conscious/mindful to the present moment. He had no other teaching because he knew all goodness will sprout out of it spontaneously. Hence, mindfulness is basically an ancient subject.
What is it important to be mindful or conscious of the present moment?
Some of the well known neuroscience benefits of mindfulness (by Harvard Neuro) are following.
Mindfulness:
- Stimulates dormant areas in your brain
- Release serotonin, oxytoxin, dopamine in brain (good chemicals)
- Acts as an antidote to negative thoughts and feelings
- Opens blockages from your Chakras and Aura
- Raises your vibration
- Heals emotional baggage
- Makes you compassionate, loving, and forgiving
- More creative and better performance at work
- Heals joints and muscular pain
- Helps to Manage stress easily and quickly
- Helps to release the conflict and improve your relationship(s)
These are some of the benefits all of us crave for. Please remember mindfulness is not limited to any one experience or insight. It holds the promise of total liberation from suffering. And it eventually leads to Samadhi.
Fortunate are ones who realize the beauty and benedictions that consciousness brings with itself as a by-product. Within it, is all that you ever need or desire. It is ultimate nectar to satisfy your longing for eternity.