Proactive mindfulness means being engaged in what we do. It is a state of relaxed alertness, i.e., neither oblivious nor hypervigilant.
Innate mindfulness
Neuroscience gives us a new context for mindfulness. It is not some otherworldly state that is a break from ordinary reality. Life is interaction, and mindfulness is our natural ability to manage the interactions of life.
Mindfulness is a trait that we all come equipped with. A simple thought experiment shows its evolutionary value. Let’s go back in time to our remote ancestors when they were evolving into humans.
Imagine them roaming in nature, looking for food, and looking out for potential dangers. They are alert and ready to take advantage of any opportunity or action if danger arises. The challenges of life require mindfulness. They are alert but not hyper-vigilant, except when specifically needed.
Mindful vs. Mindless
Fast-forward to contemporary life as we walk in a state park. The trails are well marked, there are no predators, and we are not looking for food. There is not much of a need to pay attention, and so we don’t.
Is it bad to be mindless? No, actually, there is an evolutionary advantage to being mindless when we don’t need to be mindful. It frees up mind resources. It is more efficient that way, and we simply do not have the bandwidth to be aware of everything we do.
Proactive mindfulness experiments
Taking a proactive approach means engaging in mindfulness when our default mode is to be mindless. This does not mean trying to be mindful of everything we do, which would be impossible and useless. So, by trial and error, through experiments, we explore areas where engaging in a more mindful approach would be helpful and satisfying.
Embodied experiments
Being proactive takes intentionality, but intentionality alone is not enough. Neuroscience has shown us that willpower is mostly ineffective, as so much of our functioning happens below awareness.
Change can be effective when it starts at the embodied level where the action is. It is effective when it is based on an understanding of the human operating system, specifically how our muscles and our nervous system work.
See: Get a grip: an embodied mindfulness exercise.
See also
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