The briefest of thoughts.

Mindfulness provides a sense of self in the world, it is grounding. Here I am.

Mindfulness leads to empathy, it becomes easier to “be in someone’s shoes” if you better understand your mind state and reactions to experience.

I spent an obnoxious amount of time in rehab from alcohol practicing mindfulness. Just paying attention to everything, from sensations to movement.

There are levels of mindfulness.

Mindfulness of Body

Understand our bodies internal and external interactions.

This starts with externalities. The wind on your face. Cold water. Foot hitting ground.

The world is alive around you, witness it.

Then there are internal aspects. Pay atten%tion to your bodies response to food or beverages. Try and find your pulse on your wrist with four fingers of your hand, changing the pressure of all and individual fingers, feeling the blood pulsing.

Mindfulness of Mind

This is a tough one. Take a lot of practice. It’s about considering how and why you feel about things. It’s about trying to understand emotion. Warning, this is a path strewn with trauma.

Mindfulness of Nature

Understand the lives of animals and the world around us. Consider how ecosystems are impacted by various things. Play with ants.

Mindfulness of Society

This is about understanding why groups behave as they do. It’s mostly an exercise of finding the source of people’s shared pain.