Mindful Development - Experiencing the "Now"

I’ve always been fascinated by the concept of “mindfulness” - calm awareness of one's body functions, feelings, content of consciousness, or consciousness itself. Buddhists hold that over 2500 years ago, Buddha provided guidance on establishing Mindfulness, or the action of bringing one's awareness to focus on experience within the mind at the present moment.

I became involved with Mindfulness in the early 90s when managing rehabilitation programs. At the time, cardiac and pulmonary rehab programs were researching and testing Mindfulness for managing stress and relaxation. Two decades ago it was a bit “new age” but the concept has definitely come into its own in the 21st century.

It’s been difficult to master – in fact, I wouldn’t say I have mastered it all yet. But I try several times a week to practice it, especially while training for the Livestrong Bike Challenge - observing the changes in my cadence, what happens to my leg fatigue when I change gears, what parts of my legs fatigue, or improvements in pace in different positions.

Why might Mindfulness be particularly challenging for an ENFJ like me?

“Mindfulness” is about being in the moment. It’s letting go in the mind our “internal chatter” or thoughts and paying close attention to the present experience. It’s being in the “now.” From a Type perspective it’s using Extroverted Sensing – experiencing the world using the five senses. Extroverted Sensing is the third most natural function for the ENFJ type code. Sometimes I think I am pretty good at it, but as my husband says, I’m not always paying attention! My mind is buzzing forward, connecting concepts and ideas using my Introverted Intuition.

Mindfulness does not have to be constrained to a formal meditation session. It’s an activity that can be done at any time, does not require sitting or focusing on the breath. Rather, it’s simply realizing what is happening in the present moment, just “noticing” the mind’s usual “commentary” but not reacting and being mindful of the sensations of the moment. For example, enjoying the hummingbird feasting on your flowery shrub, the sensation of your feet while walking on grass or if you exercise in the early morning, intently listening for the first bird to chirp good morning.

One of the most frequently cited Mindfulness activities is the Listening activity. Partner with another person and sit facing one another. One person talks for a few minutes while the other person listens while looking into the eyes of the speaker. The person speaking can speak of matters profound or mundane, it isn’t important. What is important is that the person listening fully listens and doesn’t interrupt the speaker.

After a few minutes, roles are switched and the person who listened is now the speaker, and the person who was the speaker is now the listener. Again, as the speaker talks, the other person listens with all their attention. Once you are done with the exercise, take turns discussing how it felt to be listened to, and to have listened. Usually when people have a conversation, listening is done on a half-hearted basis. The person listening often is drifting off and thinking of other things, or is gearing up to interrupt the speaker by saying something, whether related to the conversation or not.

Our lives are on speed-dial and we do so much without thinking. Our actions our on auto-pilot, at work, at home and at play. Many jobs also require the ability to gather information accurately using the five senses, observe and record. If you need to develop your Extroverted Sensing function to improve personal or work effectiveness, consider practicing Mindfulness as one of many activities to develop this function.