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Have you ever tried to be more mindful only to completely forget about it 2 minutes later? There's nothing wrong with you. That is actually a part of the practice. You're listening to Relish, the podcast for people ready to stop chasing self-improvement and start savoring their lives. If you're tired of the hamster wheel of healing and hungry for more joy, presence, and meaning, you're in the right place. Hey friends, it's Alysia and welcome to today's quick bite episode here on Relish. My intention is to help you savor your life more because the more present you are for moments of life, the more meaning they hold and mindfulness is one of my favorite tools
for that. Today I want to share something I learned about the roots of mindfulness that have really supported my practice. So let's go back to the basics first. What is mindfulness? Mindfulness is a type of awareness of the present moment. But it's not just any type of awareness. It's nonjudgmental awareness. So mindfulness is about noticing what's happening right now inside your body and also outside in your environment. But it's doing this without labeling anything as good or bad. and letting your attention just be with whatever is here. John Kittzen, he's one of the leaders in the space. He often says mindfulness is simple but not easy. So,
let me give you a taste of that right now. I invite you to stop and just become present to yourself. And you don't have to close your eyes, but you can if you want. Obviously, you know, stay safe for whatever you're doing. But either way, just bring your awareness inward. and notice what's happening without judging any of it. And throughout your body, you might notice body sensations, maybe pressure or tingling or warmth or coolness. You might notice strong emotions, feelings coming up. Just become aware of what you're feeling. Maybe you're relaxed or curious or open.
Maybe you're stressed or frustrated. Not trying to change it, just observing. And there might also be thoughts popping up. And right now, just allowing the thoughts to be there without following them, without even thinking them, just noticing this is how it is for you in this present moment. Okay, great. You did it. That is literally it. You just practiced mindfulness. It's simple. Yes. And I know the not judging part can be a challenge, but really I find the part that makes this simple and yet not easy is actually remembering to be mindful. Our brains love autopilot. We've talked about this. Autopilot saves energy. It's efficient. And that is great when you're brushing your teeth or you're driving a
familiar route, but it's not where meaning and joy and connection are going to live. Those live here in the present moment in consciousness and awareness. So doing this work to become more conscious. It does feel like work because it is. It is hard to step off autopilot to step off of that fixed mode. Mindfulness has its roots in Buddhist traditions and the Buddha spoke the language of Pali. And the Pali word for mindfulness is sati. And while sati is often translated as mindfulness or awareness, it also means to remember. And that is just so profound for me because mindfulness, it's not just awareness, it's remembering. remembering to come back to the present moment when I've drifted away.
Remembering to wake up from autopilot. And you've heard my uh philosophical qualms, if you will, over spiritual frameworks that often unintentionally imply that we're supposed to become eternally present. Okay, I shared a few weeks ago that actually can't happen. It's not neurologically possible in a healthy brain. And I love this framing of remembering because it normalizes the truth of being human. It's like baked into the word itself that part of the point of mindfulness is to remember. It normalizes that the mind is going to wander away and the practice is coming back. coming back to presence. And for me, it's not just a reminder about remembering the present moment. It's
also about remembering who I really am. In Buddhism, they may call this your Buddha nature or pure awareness. I've referred to this aspect as my light or intuition, my truest self. But it's this unconditioned aspect. Some call it higher self or spirit or soul or you know universal consciousness. However you name it, whatever traditions resonate, it's the unconditioned part where your truth resides. My pure kindness, compassion, curiosity, my connection to something greater. That is who I really am. That's my truth. And then there's conditioning. Those patterns of perfectionism, people pleasing, self-criticism, abandoning your own needs. That's not who you really are. that is a part of your human experience, but it's not your truth.
And that conditioning, I almost see that it's like over time, we've taken that on and it's covered up the unconditioned truth beneath. And the work of personal growth and all spiritual development really is shedding that conditioning to reveal the truth that's always been there. So every time I practice mindfulness whether I'm meditating on a cushion or you know in a moment in my daily life it's the act of remembering to be here now remembering my light my truth and remembering that the noise of my conditioning is not my truth. It's just a part of my embodiment and my human experience. To me this is so normalizing. And I also love this because it helps to dismantle this misunderstanding that people often tend
to have about meditation. I hear so many people say, you know, I can't meditate because my mind just wanders too much. And I'm like, that's actually the point. That is the practice coming back. A practice in remembering and building up the capacity to come back. It's not about stopping the thoughts or stopping the wandering. And neuroscience research shows that mindfulness meditation strengthens our capacity to sustain attention and redirect it when it wanders. So in other words, it trains the very skill of remembering to return. Whether that's returning to the present moment, returning to the breath, returning to ourselves. Mindfulness isn't just awareness.
It's how we direct our attention over and over again back to what matters. So the takeaway today is that mindfulness isn't about getting it perfect or staying present all the time. It's about remembering again and again to return to presence and in that remembering who you really are and knowing you are going to forget and that's okay. That's a part of being human. I have included a dessert practice today. It's a basic mindfulness meditation that can help you, you know, see what I mean here and building up that capacity to remember to come back to remember yourself, your truest self.
So hold that reflection. When you hear the word mindfulness, can you also hear the word remember? And when you remember, what are you remembering about yourself? If this resonated with you, I hope you will share it with someone who's on their own journey of remembering themselves. I would love to hear what came up for you. Please find me on social, tag me, DM me, connect with me. I hope that you will try out the meditation following this. Let me know your thoughts. And if you haven't yet, please follow, please subscribe so you don't miss the next episode. Give us five stars. Leave a review so we can keep rippling out and spreading the word. Thank you for your kind attention and for practicing this remembering with me today.
