Mindfulness

1. Dr. Kabat-Zinn describes mindfulness as paying attention as if your life depended on it. In the other words, it allows you to connect better with your life in the present moment.

2. According to Dr. Kabat-Zinn, our life depends on mindfulness because attention is what helps us navigate our lives, to actually know what's happening around us. 

3. It does not matter what things you pay attention to, all that matters is attending and making sure you are actually present in the present moment. Worrying about the past and the future is irrelevant because you are squeezing out the present moment, which you cannot get back. 

4. No, mindfulness is not a technique; it is a way being aware and opening your mind.

1. Andy simply suggests that we take a step back from life for just ten minutes to familiarize ourselves with the present moment.

2. Our minds are lost in thoughts 47 percent of the time.

3. Mindfulness is not about controlling our thoughts and feelings at all, it is about seeing these thoughts clearly with a relaxed mind and not judging them at all.

4. The activity we did in class when we had to balance a stick on two of our fingers was very difficult for me and now i understand why. I was not focused like i should have been, I was too busy worrying about other things in my life instead of relaxing and focusing on the stick. I was also pretty stressed out about things, which caused tension on my fingers and caused the stick to continuously fall. 

For this activity, I sat on the chair in my bedroom cross-legged and set my timer for ten minutes. For some reason I kept getting distracted for the first five minutes. I kept thinking about school, my boyfriend, things that had been bothering me, and etc. So I stopped and turned on some soothing music, this seemed to help a bit. I guess its hard for me to stay in the present moment, it might take practice, but I must say, meditating is very soothing and relaxing.