Revisiting the Art of Mindfulness: Rediscovering What We Were First Taught to Lose

Mindfulness is the practice of maintaining a present awareness moment by moment; the art of noticing thoughts, feelings, sensations, and the environment that surrounds us. Mindfulness does not include influencing or changing the things we notice, nor does it judge these things or events.

I heard a talk given by Eckhart Tolle on the different types of knowing; we can learn something conceptually or experientially. In this talk, he describes walking through a forest without naming the objects in the forest, connecting with the sensations and experiences lived in the forest. At the end of the hike, someone asks, "What did you learn about the forest?" He answers, "Nothing. I learned nothing about the forest; I experienced it deeply."

This resonated so much with me because in my work and daily life, I meet so many adults and families who are trying to include mindfulness, and I notice how focused we all are on knowing something conceptually. Children naturally experience things deeply. A child will, 4 out of 5 times, answer a conceptual question with an experiential response (i.e., "What is your favorite thing about your pet?" - "He's soft").

I have noticed, both through observation and personal experience, how society steers children away from this innate sense of understanding and towards a more cognitive, sometimes analytical, mindset. This shift causes us to lose touch with our feelings and sensations. This disconnection leads to various consequences in our lives, prompting us to strive for reconnection with ourselves and our senses through the practice of mindfulness.

So, how can we change this? If you are a parent, believe in and foster your child's innate capacity to be in the moment, to immerse themselves fully in an experience, to notice and acknowledge the world around them. Young children are experts in mindful presence because they have no concept of time or place; all they know is here and now. Yes, this is annoying when you're rushing to get out the door. I am not saying schedules and routines get thrown out the window.

If you are an adult, believe in yourself. You know how to connect to yourself and the world in this way; you always have. There are different paths and supports available to bring you home if you've lost your way, but the capacity has always been within you. "Be still and know."