The Spaces Between: How The Mindfulness Movement Might Be Telling Us Something
Written by: Kristen Bilodeau, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Meditation and mindfulness practices, listening to our intuition, and getting in touch with our inner self are all noble and extremely beneficial practices. From therapist offices to major corporations, the movement towards getting “in touch” with the health of oneself in a spiritual sense seems more commonplace than ever before.
Are these movements telling us that we are too busy to just BE?
I remember one very late night, writing a white paper for a thesis for my graduate program on digital literacy and the human brain and referencing the cognitive neuroscientist, developmental psycholinguist, and bestselling author Maryanne Wolfe on her term “ cognitive patience”, or the capacity to process information and think deeply. In a world of skimming and TL;DR (too long, didn’t read) it dawned on me that this was, in itself, its own epidemic in our culture. Two weeks later, life as we knew it came to a hault. It was March 13, 2020 and COVID had arrived. Our world went to screens in epic proportions globally. I pondered, “Now what will come of our lack of cognitive patience?”
Over the past two years I have sat deeply with this; and put into practice in my own life moments to enjoy what I like to call “the spaces between”; those moments to stop and be aware and think deeply. Life truly is busy, there is no denying that. We juggle managing families, friendships, marriages, partnerships, full time jobs, and side-hustles, commitments and even fitting in down time. We feel obligated in so many directions that at times it is dizzying. Many feel that the only way to disconnect or relax is to take a vacation. We have a myriad of distractions to pull us away from those moments of thinking, feeling, and being that it is no wonder we have apps that try to “teach” us how to be present and mindful.
I decided that, in addition to my meditative practice, I would commit to taking several moments out of every day (one an hour to be precise) to just stop and appreciate an aspect of myself or my life that I know, in my busy days, I don’t truly don’t dedicate time to thinking about. I began feeling the gratitude of being alive, healthy; or truly seeing those I love around me healthy and present. I would imagine a place or person that matters to me and what it feels like to be in that place or with that person. The simplicity of these moments at first seemed almost too simple. Then, I started not only seeing, but feeling how the practice of slowing down and taking the time to process and experience life was showing me that although life may seem to be always fast-paced we have an even greater capacity as humans to think and feel in our space if we choose.
I sometimes laugh at the irony of how my notifications on my phone and watch signal me to take a step away from technology to enjoy these “spaces in between” the busy moments of my day. I honor these moments for the gratitude of inner wealth they give.
Kristen Bilodeau, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine As a Personal Development and Marriage Coach, Kristen Bilodeau leads women through their own personal journey of finding their voice, healing their marriage, and releasing their inner wild woman. As a woman who struggled in her own journey to self-awareness and truth in her life and marriage, Kristen uses the power of a woman’s story as the tool and catalyst for change, healing, and growth. She helps women uncover their truth through questioning and reflection so that they can be the creator of their experiences and thrive as the woman they were meant to be.
