Hello and welcome, dear readers! We want to present you this new blog about mindful living and how to practice it. We are firm believers of the philosophy of mindful living and we wanted to reach other people who might be interested in adopting this healthy lifestyle.
We will use our first blog post to tell you more about mindful living such as what it is, how and when it was created, and why is it becoming so popular all around the world. Enjoy reading and enjoy living!
What is Mindful Living
Mindful living is a complex philosophy that intertwines aspects from many schools of thought around the world, but we will try to explain it as simply as possible. Mindful living is a synonym for conscious living, being conscious of yourself, your surroundings, and your life choices.
The goal of mindful living is to create individuals who are aware of themselves and their world in order to live a more happy and sustainable life that brings as much joy as possible to themselves and those around them.
Mindful Living: History of the Philosophy
It could be said that mindful living has always existed since we are a reasonable species, but let’s not get caught up in unnecessary semantics. The mindful living movement has somewhat clear beginnings. Many of the teachings of mindful living come from the east and more specifically religious movements like Buddhism and Hinduism, as well as secular sects.
Buddhism and Hinduism have existed for millennia, but their teachings were only popularised in the west in the latter half of the 19th century. Continental European philosophy started becoming more influenced by these ancient teachings (e.g., Friedrich Nietzsche, Carl Jung etc) and this resulted in their popularisation among upper-class communities.
However, mindful living as an international movement for self-betterment and sustainability did not occur until the latter part of the 20th century. It was the summer of love and music bands seemed to consciously adopt yet again eastern teachings and express them in their music which led to the common man adopting these teachings and practices as well.
That’s precisely when mindful living practices emerged and they quickly turned into a whole movement that was appreciated by people of all socio-economic classes. In the next decade, these principles were coded into language and turned into applicable practices.
Perhaps the most significant single person for the movement is Jon Kabat-Zinn. He’s an American-born professor of medicine who studied meditation with Buddhist monks, which inspired him to bring mindful practices to the West, such as yoga. He stripped the religious connotations of many of these practices and instead tried to connect them to science and common knowledge.
Kabat-Zinn established the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and the Oasis Institute for Mindfulness-Based Professional Education and Training. He created courses that could show you what mindful living is and inspire you to try it.
Since the populace was already interested in eastern practices for betterment, Kabat-Zinn became famous almost overnight. His courses inspired many people to adopt the principles of mindful living and led to the existence of a whole global movement, of which we are part as well.
Thank You
Thank you for taking the time and reading our first blog post. We hope we aroused your interest and that you now want to learn more about mindful living and how to practice it.
