My journey towards mindfulness

I am reading some books right now well out of my normal genre. I think if people who knew me saw my bookshelf right now, they’d think I’d lost my mind. 

In the past week, I have purchased, The Joy of Living, Confessions of an Atheist Buddhist, to name two of eight new books, and I just finished The Miracle of Mindfulness.

To start, no, I am not yet another white dude claiming to be Buddhist and walking around with prayer hands to everyone I see. That said, I am looking to many Buddhist practices around mindfulness, greatly inspired by Dan Harris’s book, 10% Happier. 

Harris, like me is an atheist and a skeptic around a lot of “mindfulness” gurus, self-help practitioners and the like. Yet, in meditation and mindfulness, he found a great deal of happiness and control of his thoughts and emotions. Something I have been in search of for some time.

What has drawn me to much to the Buddhist work on mindfulness is the fact that Buddhists welcome scientific research into these practices and are willing to update their belief and thoughts around the practices based on what science finds. They truly believe that science strengthens their meditations, and that’s a kind of thought I can get behind. I don’t get behind any of the metaphysics in Buddhism (reincarnation, etc), but I think the views on meditation, mindfulness, and others are worth exploring.

There is also more than enough scientific evidence that meditation can lead to great outcomes and some level of increased happiness. At least, as Harris has claimed, he’s 10% happier and that’s a damn good return on an investment, given I meditate 10-30 minutes a day as of right now and that for me, I am noticing a difference.

So if you follow me on Goodreads, you will see me updating a lot of my books and think “is this vocal atheist switching sides?” and the answer is no, but also more complex. 

I am not seeking religion, god, or any other spiritual entity, but I am not so closed off to learning from practices that are rooted in science, or at least not afraid to see their beliefs tested and pushed by science. 

And if closing my eyes and learning to be more present, mindful, and not allow my thoughts to control me, I would say that’s a win for myself and everyone.

I certainly plan to write more on this topic as I continue exploring it.