Understanding Mindfulness
“Mindfulness isn’t difficult, and we just have to remember to do it”. The words of Sharon Saltzberg are a true reflection of the importance of mindfulness in the lives of human beings. In simple terms, mindfulness is the state at which a person is fully aware of what is happening at a particular time, the place where he or she is and above all, be in a position to accommodate the events since it is something that he or she is aware of. The present state of mind is an essential aspect of understanding a person. As much as many people find the concept of mindfulness as a common occurrence in their live, it is something that most people fail to realize the magnitude that it comes with. In most modern schools, the concept of mindfulness is taught, and the students also learn the art of applying the idea in their daily lives. As such, evaluation of the concept of mindfulness to establish if there is an understanding of the idea can be useful in understanding humanity.
Different scholars have established different arguments about the aspect of being mindful. For instance, Demers projects the argument that when people fail to see or learn the importance of mindfulness, they are unlikely to tell what is happening to them. Willfully, the author expresses concern to the fact that most people assume that stress is a common aspect in contemporary society and, as such, cannot be the reason why someone is feeling unwell. Demers explains that “When I point out that the symptom is stress-related, the patient seems resigned stress is such a constant in most people’s lives that all the doors seem to have tigers lurking behind them”. From this, the readers of this article get to understand that most people are not aware of stress. As such, they cannot be considered mindful. To further support the argument, the author explains that people fail to understand that once the mind is affected by too much stress, the rest of the body is paralyzed, and that is why most people under stress cannot do anything.
I’m afraid I have to disagree with the ideas of Purser concerning mindfulness. There is no way that the concept of capitalism and the Christian religion can be reconciled. This is because once ideology firmly stands against the other. For instance, capitalism is the state where the economy is ruled strictly by the private sector. These people do not cater to the externalities such as pollution that might impact on the society, and that is when Christianity comes in. Christianity encourages that people should treat others the way they would love to be treated. As such, it is unreasonable to argue that mindfulness can be analyzed on the angle of reconciling religion with capitalism. Purser explains that “Corporate mindfulness has become the new brand of capitalist spirituality, a disciplined but myopic self-help doctrine, that transfers the risk and responsibility for well-being onto the individual” (106). By this statement, purser points to the fact that the art of being mindful is gradually changing the people into a new version of themselves. In other words, the constant attempt of the people to be aware, they are progressively evolving into docile individuals.
Mindful practices for students have different impacts. Research has it that mindfulness contributes both positively and negatively to the emotional well-being of students. For instance, practicing mindfulness help in controlling the emotions of these students, and this is visible in their response to an occurrence. Schneiderman explains that “Exposure to nonresponsive environments has also been described as a stressor leading to learned helplessness” (2). Mindfulness can be useful in countering learned helplessness since the survivor of a traumatic event gets the opportunity to learn how to effectively counter the stress in the different forms that it comes. Ideally, knowing how the body responds when it is under a particular stressor is the first step to controlling the effects that come with it. As the student learns about the response stereotypy, they become bold to face the problem, and, through this process, develop the art of mindfulness. In other words, they become aware of what is happening, and as such, they can handle the situation as well as their emotions. As a result of evolution, human beings have acquired a more natural way, which is more advanced for dealing with stresses, most of which might last for a short period.
Stress and frustration are not the same thing. As such, it is not wise for Purser to argue that stress is the primary cause of poor employee engagement. In support of this, he explains that “a Gallup study that estimates nearly $550 billion in losses are due to a lack of “employee engagement.” (106). In different employment environments, there might be various factors that might bother the employees, such as long working hours, and this may result in actions such as strikes. However, when the employee is frustrated, he or she will lose the will of giving her best at the place of work. These articles complement one another in different aspects. For instance, the article by Carrie Demers looks into the responses that people are likely to depict in the event of stress. The article by Schneiderman et al., on the other hand, dives deeper into the mental disorders that are caused by too much stress. The final article by Purser wraps up by introducing the concept of mindfulness.
Mindfulness is not only beneficial as it can be detrimental to the health of a person. This is because it involves taking an abrupt action of stopping everything once. This means that the mind and the body are not ready for anything of the sort and, as such, can be subjected to distress and severe anxiety that may end up impacting the sanity of the victim. Ideally, mindfulness can only be applied to people after a thorough evaluation of the nature of these people in responding to different stressors. There are people who, by nature, do not give much attention to issues regardless of the magnitude and the cost it is likely to leave on them. However, some people are considered fragile, and receiving traumatic information might affect them significantly. As such, it is essential to note that there are points that when a person reaches that he or she has plunged deep into depression. As such, it is necessary that when applying the concept of mindfulness, it is imperative that the person considers the different people and how they respond to issues.
Taking a look at the way I handle issues, I can conclude that my reception of different messages can be varied from most people. I am a very emotional person who loves to see happiness. Being sad is the worst feeling for me, and as such, I tend to avoid sadness at all costs. I am not sure how I can handle frustrations such as abuse or traumatic experience since I dislike being sad. I believe that my reception to these instances might be shaky since it is something that I dislike from my core. I am also a mindful person, as I can tell when something is bothering me. I am usually restless, and this is the first indication I usually get followed by a sharp headache that, at times, seems to be very hard to read or even stare at the screen of my phone. From the arguments that have been presented by the different authors, I have come to learn that mindfulness is not a concept that many people know about. This is
because some people might be describing the impacts of acute stress, and yet they do not see that it is stress. I, however, can distinguish anxiety from stress.
Works Cited
Demers, Carrie. Chaos Or Calm: Rewiring The Stress Response. 1st ed., 2020, Accessed 5 Mar 2020.
Ronald E. Purser (2018) Critical perspectives on corporate mindfulness, Journal of Management, Spirituality & Religion, 15:2, 105-108, DOI: 10.1080/14766086.2018.1438038
Schneiderman, Neil et al. STRESS AND HEALTH: Psychological, Behavioral, And Biological Determinants. 1st ed., 2020, Accessed 5 Mar 2020.