Often, I hear practitioners wishing they had a regular meditation practice. This is common, even among teachers and facilitators. Many people just rely on Mindfulness in the moment and that is a wonderful thing. Still, there is this feeling that lacks confidence. A sense of missing something and wishing to have enough time or the built-in habit of sitting and meditating like brushing teeth every morning and night. The inability to make meditation a routine, maybe due to a misunderstanding of what Mindfulness is.

That Mindfulness itself is NOT a tool, like many refer to it as. If it were a tool, then you’d eventually have to set it down and use a different tool. Mindfulness is a quality of mind and way of being. One of 3 aspects of Mindfulness is memory, which relates to the past. Yet, in the present moment one may think they should let go of all thinking and memories and only be here in the present, in a vacuum. That is a fallacy of the practice. We certainly, need our memory system to draw upon many things we have learned in the past. The hallmark of it is that in a Mindful state, we utilize our memory system effectively, skillfully. We practice Mindfulness to train our mind, thinking and remembering conducive to a happier more successful life. The original mission of Mindfulness is to remember our intention for wellness, happiness and wisdom (skillful thinking, speech and actions) in every present moment and to strengthen that through awareness and trial and error.