"Mindfulness isn't difficult, we just need to remember to do it" ~ Sharon Salzberg
... and that is the challenge! Mindfulness is essentially the concept of present moment awareness. Psychology Today defines it as being "a state of active, open attention on the present... living in the moment and awakening to experience". Key attributes of our attention are that it is deliberate, non-judgmental and does not try to change the experience. I believe that this state of being is one to aspire to as a researcher regardless of the culture of inquiry being pursued. I also believe it to be essential in today's digital age.
We are living in the information age in which the access to and control of information are the defining characteristics. Our ability to access and acquire information is growing exponentially every day and knowledge has become a commodity. The overwhelming availability of information is one of the most important reasons why I believe mindfulness to be an essential skill of a researcher. The image at the start of this post highlights this need. Without mindful practice, this overload of information may lead to a loss of self, loss of perspective and/or ability to focus on what is right in front of me. What if I miss the obvious?
This leads into the second reason why mindfulness is an essential skill, which is grounded in quality control. Not only to I need the digital literacy skills to be able to sift through, sort and find relevancy within the vast amounts of available information, I also need to be able to apply the information in a productive way.
So how do I begin to do this? I am more like the person in the image with a mind full. There is no quick solution, only practice. To start, I'm going to take a deep breath... and just breathe!
*For more helpful tips on how to get started with mindful practice, see 10 Tips for Being Mindful Right Now.
References:
Mindfulness. (n.d.). Psychology today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/mindfulness
[Untitled image of mindfulness]. Retrieved from http://www.transition.hw.ac.uk/mindfulness/
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