Mindfulness

Mindfulness is keeping track of the components and sub-components of the thinking process. Whether you are focused or unfocused is irrelevant. Mindfulness encompasses any state that your mind is in at any given time. It is the wheels working in the background to make the clock go around. It does not concern itself if the needle is going clockwise or counter clockwise.

The question now is, how to experience that sensation of complete engagement when we are in a focused state of mind ?. Simply enough, when you want to achieve a focused state your mind will naturally wander. In such case, you use mindfulness to identify when that is occurring and then you gently bring back your attention to the task at hand. You keep doing that until you hit momentum. Once momentum is achieved the mind will automatically engage; but you have to set up the right pace. The mind wanders, you gently bring it back; the mind wanders you gently bring it back. That's the first step. The second step is how to create the momentum so you get into state and you remain focused. For this step you require to have a constant feedback from whatever you are doing. When you get feedback (a positive one) from the task at hand, the mind will tend to wander less and less and your momentum will increment accordingly until you pass the threshold of engagement. You have achieved flow at this point and you become practically unstoppable in such state. The key here is learning how to break down the process into its smallest denominator as to debunk it, understand it, internalize it and eventually perform it as to get the positive feedback that the mind needs to get momentum and subsequently "focus". The mind needs completion, a runaway to achieve and do things. Mindfulness is the paving for the road.