“The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.”
~~~Thich Nhat Hanh
I came across this the other day and thought it might be interesting to put it in the blog and see what sort of reactions there will be. I can tell you I did not do well at all. It’s obvious I’m way too absent-minded. Out of the 15 questions, I only answered 3 of them the way a truly mindful person should have.
This questionnaire, the “Mindful Attention Awareness Scale,” appears in an interesting paper by Kirk Warren Brown and Richard M. Ryan, The Benefits of Being Present: Mindfulness and its Role in Psychological Well-Being.
The more often you answer “ no,” the more mindfully you live. How do you score?
1. I could be experiencing some emotion and not be conscious of it until some time later.
2. I break or spill things because of carelessness, not paying attention, or thinking of something else.
3. I find it difficult to stay focused on what’s happening in the present.
4. I tend to walk quickly to get where I’m going without paying attention to what I experience along the way.
5. I tend not to notice feelings of physical tension or discomfort until they really grab my attention.
6. I forget a person’s name almost as soon as I’ve been told it for the first time.
7. It seems I am “running on automatic” without much awareness of what I’m doing.
8. I rush through activities without being really attentive to them.
9. I get so focused on the goal I want to achieve that I lose touch with what I am doing right now to get there.
10. I do jobs or tasks automatically, without being aware of what I’m doing.
11. I find myself listening to someone with one ear, doing something else at the same time.
12. I drive places on “automatic pilot” and then wonder why I went there.
13. I find myself preoccupied with the future or the past.
14. I find myself doing things without paying attention.
15. I snack without being aware that I’m eating.
Mindfulnss can bring many benefits. It brings clarity and vividness to present experience. It may help people end unhealthy habits and patterns. It can enhance a sense of well-being and calm troubled spirits.
This questionnaire is also useful because its questions suggest specific areas for improvement. I’m going to try to do more of the things I keep saying I’ll do — things like walk more mindfully; eat more mindfully; really listen to the folks I’m sharing time with, and learn to slow down more.
Be well — be in peace,
Ron Rink
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Always remember this wonderful quote from Buddha ….
“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.”
~~~ Buddha
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“Those who really seek the path to Enlightenment dictate terms to their mind. Then they proceed with strong determination.”
~~~ Buddha
Namaste!
You are special — and you are loved. You are the greatest gift you can be.
Shanti … (A sanscrit word meaning, “Let there be Peace. Peace, beautiful Peace. Peace within, Peace without. Peace in this world. Peace for all beings.”)
“Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.”
~~~ Buddha
http://www.buddhistbelief.com
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Ron Rink
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