Stop what you're doing, and start paying attention

A friend of mine (also a psychologist) dropped by my place last week to grab something I'd borrowed from her a while back. As she got out of the car, simultaneously waving at me, ending a chat with someone on her mobile phone, recalling what errands were next on her list and trying to put up her umbrella, she joked that she was mindful of her brain being scattered in a dozen different directions. Sound familiar?

Psychologists talk about mindfulness a lot... it's been proven to be a highly effective practice in reducing stress, managing anxiety, dealing with chronic pain and a host of other things. For those of you who have never heard the term much less have the foggiest what it means, I'll explain: simply put, mindfulness is about focusing your attention in the present moment. You may argue that your attention is focused right now on the words you're reading. That's awesome, but to really be mindful, the challenge is to try and become aware of not just the words you're seeing on the screen, but of the thoughts generated in your mind, the sensations going on in your body, the sounds around you, the emotions you feel... Basically every rich piece of information that is available to you from outside of you in your environment, and within your own mind and body.