What is mindfulness? In a word, it is presence. It is to live (or rest your mind) in the present moment. That means letting go of the suffering judgements of past and future. And it is where clear thinking can occur, which I find critical for life, relationships, and business.
I'm not always mindful. Honestly, I'm rarely mindful. I move fast. I think ahead. And my thoughts lead to emotions, leads to thoughts, lead to emotions. Quickly.
One day I was practicing a 360 stunt in one of our Texas Drift Academy cars and the camera fell off. It captured what it 'feels' like to struggle with the acceleration of thoughts and emotions and to break way for a moment and just sit with the present. What do you think?
Taking the metaphor further, the camera is that unique human part of the brain, the frontal cortex, observing things from the outside. Getting perspective. Letting go of the thrashing of the amygdala (the car).
Creating this video was helpful for me to get a handle on my thinking in the midst of fast pace. The magic is in that pause. In that moment before an emotion leads to a thought and you find yourself spinning. Unlike this video, mindfulness is not an accident. It's a choice -- awareness and discernment -- to separate the camera from the spinning car.
Note: the first 10 seconds is getting there. The remaining 1:50 is for resting the mind :-) Until the end... wait for it (or fast forward).