What is Mindlessness?
It is not the same thing as ignorance. Mindlessness is an inactive state of mind that is characterized by reliance on distinctions drawn in the past. When people are mindless, they are trapped in a rigid perspective, insensitive to the ways in which meaning changes depending on subtle changes in context. The past dominates, and they behave much like automatons without knowing it, where rules and routines govern rather than guide what they do. Essentially, they freeze their understanding and become oblivious to subtle changes that would have led them to act differently, if only they were aware of the changes. As will become clear, mindlessness is pervasive and costly and operates in all aspects of people’s lives. Although people can see it and feel it in other people, they are blind to it in themselves.
A baby, born as it were, would not be presumed to be mindful. Since mindfulness involves a sustained deliberate quality of awareness, most of us, most of the time, are just not aware: we're mindless. Our minds wander most of the time. And when it does wander, we don't know that we're not aware, because when we're not aware, we're not aware to notice. We aren't aware of the present moment, because we are so busy and preoccupied about anticipating the next moment. Many times we engage in this behavior to distract ourselves from being bored of the present moment. Mindlessness usually comes about by default. Mindlessness is not motivated, it just has never occurred to you that this behavior could be changed.
Examples of mindlessness:
Being mindless is like being like a robot; responding and reacting to it's environment with predictable behaviors.
A baby, born as it were, would not be presumed to be mindful. Since mindfulness involves a sustained deliberate quality of awareness, most of us, most of the time, are just not aware: we're mindless. Our minds wander most of the time. And when it does wander, we don't know that we're not aware, because when we're not aware, we're not aware to notice. We aren't aware of the present moment, because we are so busy and preoccupied about anticipating the next moment. Many times we engage in this behavior to distract ourselves from being bored of the present moment. Mindlessness usually comes about by default. Mindlessness is not motivated, it just has never occurred to you that this behavior could be changed.
Examples of mindlessness:
- daydreaming,
- anticipating the future,
- eating and watching television,
- driving on automatic pilot,
- learning something and practicing it so frequently, that it becomes like second nature to them.
Being mindless is like being like a robot; responding and reacting to it's environment with predictable behaviors.
Impact of Mindlessness
Mindlessness, or the views you take of events, causes vicious cycles of stress. In 2015, 78% of adults have reported experiencing at least one symptom of stress (American Psychological Association, 2016). While there are various causes of stress, the prevalence of stress is profound. Regardless of the cause, stress is reactive and may induce adverse effects, from increased anxiety to gaining weight. In an effort to cope with stress, many will turn to the pharmaceutical industry. In fact, 1 in 6 Americans reported taking psychotropic drugs at least once during 2013 (Moore and Mattison, 2017). Nationally, nearly 38% of adults are obese. (Flegal et al., 2016). Some people engage in mindless learned behaviors because it's the popular thing to do; however most mindless behaviors result in very serious consequences.
"All certainty creates an illusion of stability,
so certainty promotes mindlessness."
Ellen Langer
Bad reception, whether satellite, cellular or cognitive, causes static - whereas, good reception creates clarity. The answers to problems are not as elusive as they seem, they just require a shift in perspective.
What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness: being aware of or bringing attention to this moment in time, deliberately and without judging the experience
Mindfulness is a natural state of being by paying attention to the present moment experience. It is the awakening of the possibility, and the possibility of awakening. Really, it's about just noticing what is happening every moment of the day; paying attention to the actions that you are taking. Mindfulness is the sustained quality of being present and can be described as being "in the zone", a state of flow, or a clear-minded observational perspective. To experience mindfulness is to tune into reality as it is, as it unfolds simply right now; which is really just the full experience of life, without getting lost in thought and becoming forgetful. Thoughts are representations of reality - mindfulness is the actual experience. Mindfulness is paying attention to the present moment with openness and willingness to let go of old patterns.
To cultivate mindfulness, we must be aware of what we are doing. When we eat, we acknowledge that we are eating. Your mind should be present with your actions. Your mind does not need to be anywhere else; be present in the moment. If you are thinking of work as you chew, that is not eating mindfully. Realize how much went into the food that you are eating. Give your full attention to what you are doing; that is mindfulness. Each mindful practice will unfold differently and each person is unique. There is no right or wrong way of practicing mindfulness.
Neuroscience of Mindfulness
We don't experience reality as it really is. We perceive it through a filter that allows us to see only what we've been conditioned to see. This is because we have become trapped in the neurobiology of our own brain. Just like every tree has a unique set of branches, every brain has a unique pattern of neurons and connections that are both genetic and learned over time. So each and every one of us is wired differently. And it is the neural architecture of our brains that tells us who we are and how we're going to act and react to the world.
"Go deep enough into witnessing and observe the function of ego and you'll discover that it's just continually running reactive loops"
Jun Po Dennis Kelly
Every thought we have the the result of a network of hundreds of billions of brain cells called neurons. Unlike other cells in our body, neurons don't actually touch each other, but are separated by microscopic spaces called synapses. Neurons communicate across these synapses through chemical transfers that blast from one cell to the next with a zap of electricity. Messages zip around our brain like a supersonic pinball machine. Each neuron sends and receives information to 50,000 other neurons in a rapid fire production that all adds up to 100 billion neurons times 50,000 connections. It is estimated that there are more connections between neurons in a single human brain than there are stars in the Milky Way. The result is a complex neural forest of networks that form our personality, our identity, and our habits. Hardly ever do we find trees that grow alike, and we do not find brains that grow alike; we are all unique. While these massive network of neurons work in concert to create brainstorms of creativity and new ideas, their primary purpose is to keep each and every one of us alive and safe by recognizing patterns as they access a constantly changing environment. Sometimes, this adaptation can get stuck in it's ways.
Who, of us, doesn't have some form of addictive behavior? Regardless of the culprit, personal comfort, or personal desire, each and every one of us can get stuck in addictive behaviors. As a result to these patterns we may live our lives on autopilot. Essentially, becoming more and more mindless as we continue to view the world through filters, instead of seeing things as they really are. As we grow older, our actions and reactions become conditioned by our hopes, our tensions, anxieties, motivations, loves, hates, desires, fears, or frustrations. Thus, we analyze before we experience and we filter before we see.
There are habit centers in the brain, roughly shared with reptiles, that are very unconscious. These habit centers get into behavioral loops that causing patterns that you, most often, are not aware of. Our perception operates increasingly like defense mechanism, trapping us in patterns of behavior that have less to do with present reality and more to do with past experience or expectations.
Who, of us, doesn't have some form of addictive behavior? Regardless of the culprit, personal comfort, or personal desire, each and every one of us can get stuck in addictive behaviors. As a result to these patterns we may live our lives on autopilot. Essentially, becoming more and more mindless as we continue to view the world through filters, instead of seeing things as they really are. As we grow older, our actions and reactions become conditioned by our hopes, our tensions, anxieties, motivations, loves, hates, desires, fears, or frustrations. Thus, we analyze before we experience and we filter before we see.
There are habit centers in the brain, roughly shared with reptiles, that are very unconscious. These habit centers get into behavioral loops that causing patterns that you, most often, are not aware of. Our perception operates increasingly like defense mechanism, trapping us in patterns of behavior that have less to do with present reality and more to do with past experience or expectations.
Nothing Comes From Nothing
One way to be mindful is to be conscious of where your food comes from. Food does not create itself out of thin air. For instance, apples come from fields where they are picked, with hard work, from the farm, to the distributor, and the seller. But the apples began from a seed that required sunshine, water and other nutrients, to grow into the fruit seen when eaten. The whole universe has come together to create that apple and place it in your hands to eat. Recognizing this insight does not require much work. Simply just stop letting your mind wander, worrying about the past or the future, and be present.
Solutions: Becoming Mindful
One way to break out of these mind-sets is to meditate. Meditation, regardless of the particular form, is engaged to lead to post-meditative mindfulness.
The shortest path to the present moment is mindfulness
Benefits of Mindfulness
Reduce stress
Learn about yourself
Learn about yourself
References
American Psychological Association. (2012). Stress in America: Our Health at Risk. [online] Available at: https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2011/final-2011.pdf [Accessed 11 Aug. 2017].
American Psychological Association. (2016). Stress in America: The Impact of Discrimination. [online] Available at: http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2015/impact-of-discrimination.pdf [Accessed 11 Aug. 2017].
Flegal, K., Kruszon-Moran, D., Carroll, M., Fryar, C. and Ogden, C. (2016). Trends in Obesity Among Adults in the United States, 2005 to 2014. JAMA, 315(21), p.2284.
Hanh, T. N., & DeAntonis, J. (2014). How to eat. United States: Parallax Press.
Moore, T. and Mattison, D. (2017). Adult Utilization of Psychiatric Drugs and Differences by Sex, Age, and Race. JAMA Internal Medicine, 177(2), p.274.
American Psychological Association. (2016). Stress in America: The Impact of Discrimination. [online] Available at: http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2015/impact-of-discrimination.pdf [Accessed 11 Aug. 2017].
Flegal, K., Kruszon-Moran, D., Carroll, M., Fryar, C. and Ogden, C. (2016). Trends in Obesity Among Adults in the United States, 2005 to 2014. JAMA, 315(21), p.2284.
Hanh, T. N., & DeAntonis, J. (2014). How to eat. United States: Parallax Press.
Moore, T. and Mattison, D. (2017). Adult Utilization of Psychiatric Drugs and Differences by Sex, Age, and Race. JAMA Internal Medicine, 177(2), p.274.
