Mindfulness is not just another word for meditation. I mean, meditation is a mindfulness practice, but it’s not the only one. And having a traditional mindful practice is not the only way to be mindful.
Our understanding of mindfulness need not be limited to Buddhist traditions, however valuable they are. For me, it is also informed by the practice of psychotherapy, i.e., the fostering of mindful change. And it is grounded in the insights of contemporary neuroscience.
Neuroscience gives us a new context for mindfulness
The Polyvagal Theory postulates that the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) evolved to help us manage the interactions of life. It has different circuits to respond appropriately to safety and danger.
Just like traditional neuroscience, it describes the Fight-or-Flight circuit as our natural response to major threat. Fight-or-Flight mode generates enormous energy and single-minded focus on survival. This is our reactive mode.
Unlike traditional neuroscience, the Polyvagal Theory describes a circuit that evolved to allow us to process the complexities and subtle nuances of interacting with others. It is our operating system when the situation is safe enough (i.e., it may be very challenging but is not an existential danger.)
Stephen Porges calls it the Social Engagement circuit. It does not just come into play in social situations. For instance, think of disentangling a tangled cord. You couldn’t do it in Fight-or-Flight mode, but Social Engagement mode makes it possible to be patient, mindful, and proactive enough for such a task.
In other words, there is a nervous system circuit for mindfulness in everyday life. The more we engage it, the more mindful we are.
Proactive mindfulness means being engaged in what we do
Being present, in the moment, is not some esoteric quality. It is the opposite of being reactive, mindless, or disengaged from what we are doing. And so, it feels more alive and more satisfying.
For people who don’t meditate, it is liberating to realize that there is a contemporary perspective on mindfulness that does not require “sitting still, doing nothing” as a precondition to wisdom. Something that can be part of everyday life, not outside of it.
For people who like to meditate (I am one of them), proactive mindfulness is a very satisfying way to feel the quality of presence and engagement we experience in meditation while the midst of everyday life, including in difficult moments.
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