As soon as we wake in the morning, if we pay close attention, we can feel our mind & body come back to "full steam ahead", especially when we have something pressing or exciting to do. We can feel our mind-body revving up like a racing car immediately before the race. We 'get' this part. What takes a lot longer to realize, is that though it seems like we're always energized TOWARDS activities or people, in fact, much of the time the real motivation is AVOIDING more challenging aspects of our life.
It's immeasurably useful - healthy - to reflect on what we're running from whenever we find ourselves running.
We do an awful lot of running, but "a life unexamined" is not an intelligently chosen life-long path.
“Your vision will become clear when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.” Carl Gustav Jung
Most people are drawn to Mindfulness when they find life overly stressful. Their usual coping mechanisms are simply inadequate to the burden that today's pace of life imposes. So at least initially, their interest tends to be focused on Mindfulness "as a self-regulation strategy in addressing stress & pain management and enhancing relaxation & physical health." Shapiro DH. A preliminary study of long-term meditators: Goals, effects, religious orientation, cognitions. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology 1992; 24(1): 23-39.
So why so much stress in a time of plenty? Is it possible that many of us have lost - or never found - our bearings, spending most of our time & energy chasing after relatively meaningless things? Before we reach meaningless goals, we ride the anxious energy of the chase. But after achieving them, profound disappointment quickly sets in. We sense we're wasting our precious life. After repeating this chase-&- catch routine too many times, the pattern becomes obvious, and hopefully we can stop "doing more of what doesn't work!" "Man's search for meaning is the primary motivation in his life." Viktor Frankl
The beauty of doing meaningful work is that daily life becomes & feels worthwhile, significant. In the process of doing something of value, we live meaningful lives. Instead of stressed, we feel engaged, energized to contribute. But to know what is meaningful for us as individuals, we must first discover who or what we are. To help accomplish this intentionally, sitting quietly and observing the pattern of our thoughts & emotions is exceptionally useful. Welcome to mindfulness meditation! See also: http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/2013/11/432-i-try-and-i-try-but-i-cant-get-no.html
