Constant Mindfulness

The constant practice of mindfulness is necessary in order to maintain focus on the spiritual life. For most people mindfulness does not come naturally. 

To be mindful does not necessarily mean to be focused, nor does it mean to be distracted.  Life is replete with potential distractions, and the mindful life even more so. I would define a distraction as something that draws your consciousness away from whatever it is centered on at a given moment. Since mindfulness involves being aware of what is happening around you as well as within your own mind, it is easy to see how the mindful person must be especially on guard against distracting influences. There is a practice of noting the distracting event without focusing on it – merely allowing it to pass through one’s awareness without being evaluated or judged – that can help us maintain centered equanimity, either to focus on a subject of our own choosing, or to remain in the passive, unfocused state that invites the guidance of Spirit to enter in.