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Mindfulness, Smith says many people have objections to the idea of mindfulness when they first learn

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about it, and these objections can prevent a person from engaging in the practice.

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Most of these objections seem to come from misunderstandings about what it means to be mindful.

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Kuman methods include mindfulness is unscientific.

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People sometimes object to the concept of mindfulness because they prefer to live in the world of fact

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and science.

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If you need solid evidence for the benefits of mindfulness, you're in luck.

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A large and growing number of studies have found that mindfulness helps with a wide range of conditions

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like anxiety and depression.

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It has even been found to change the brain.

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Mindfulness practice is supported by solid science.

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Mindfulness means spending a lot of time in our heads, and language is an imperfect tool, and it's

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easy to misunderstand what mindfulness refers to rather than dwelling in our minds.

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Mindfulness is about connecting with our basic experiences and letting go of the stories we're at them.

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And to be mindful is to be aware and in a state of obedience to what we discover.

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Mindfulness means giving up any effort to affect our world for the better.

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The word acceptance can mean we're not going to try to change from something like when we say I've accepted

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that I'm not going to play professional sports in the context of mindfulness.

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Acceptance means we don't deny that reality is reality.

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We're willing to see a situation the way it is.

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This kind of acceptance can actually be the catalyst for the change as we when we accept that there

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is crushing poverty in our community and decide to take action to change it.

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Mindfulness is weakness if we assume mindfulness means never taking a stand and we quit fighting and

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resistance with strength.

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But on the contrary, letting go is difficult.

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It takes hard work and determination to let go of our habits of Brazil operating on the past and fearing

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the future.

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And mindfulness helps us direct our strength in ways that serve us.

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Mindfulness means never having goals, a full focus on the present and practicing acceptance.

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How can we set goals or plan for the future?

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It might seem paradoxical, but the planning for the future and setting goals are completely compatible

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with mindfulness practice.

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As noted previously, accepting reality can give rise to efforts to change a situation.

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For example, I might accept that my house is too hot and decide to buy an air conditioner and we cannot

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practice presents even while setting goals or making plans, being immersed in the reality of those

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forward looking activities.

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Mindfulness equals meditation.

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The word mindfulness often remind us in the image of someone sitting cross-legged and meditating, which

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makes sense as meditation is a very common mindfulness mindfulness practice.

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But meditation is not the only way to practice being mindful.

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An infinite number of activities offer opportunities to develop openness to our experience, from relaxing

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with friends to running an ultramarathon.

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The advantage of formal practice meditation is that it offers a concentrated dose of training the mind

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to focus on the now.

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We can then bring that training into any moment of our lives.

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Indeed, I found that practicing meditation leads to more experiences of spontaneous mindfulness presents

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in our day to day activities.