13th century Japanese Zen master Dogen said

Enlightenment is intimacy with all things.

Mindfulness is intimacy with all things, too, and it is truly transformative. Here’s what it did for me.

Twenty years ago, I was lying alone in excruciating pain. The discs and nerves in my spine were damaged, and I could barely walk. Both shoulders had large lumps of calcium deposited in the tendons, causing pain and severely restricting arm movement. Some days getting out of bed felt like scaling Everest in electrified chain mail. With such immobility my muscles turned to feeble strips of jelly. Sleep was constantly interrupted by pain, to the point where I was so tired I could barely spell my name. And the doctor said it wasn’t going to get any better. Hello depression and anxiety. And a deep feeling of being stuck and blocked in every direction.

This was when my journey with awareness really began. Sure, I had years of feel-good meditation behind me. I’d devoured spiritual books, joined groups, and attended a Taoist temple, but none of it prepared me for such an all-consuming challenge.

Something had to change. There was no instant miracle, but a very slow process of learning what Dogen meant about intimacy with all things. And the things I had to get intimate with at that time were severe pain and depression. It wasn’t fun. Yet doing so changed everything. The pain became more bearable. I developed some awareness of what I could and couldn’t do to support healing body and mind, and made very small, almost imperceptible improvements. That imperceptibility was disheartening at times, to say the least. However, my persistence bore fruit, eventually enabling me to walk several miles, lift weights, delight in long cycle rides, and begin to enjoy life! Things that had seemed utterly impossible.

Now, I don’t mean to suggest that mindful awareness can cure any illness or easily treat trauma, or that I am living in enlightened bliss. Life happens, things come and go, what mindful awareness does is carry us through it all more gracefully, soften pain, and optimize our chances of healing–in an ever deepening process that keeps growing and blooming year after year. The benefits of mindful awareness are truly impressive, helping us to

Enjoy greater happiness and ease
Increase clarity, focus, and intuition
Make healthier and more nourishing choices in life
Soften stress, anxiety, sadness, fatigue, anger, and grief
Optimize weight and health
Soothe pain
Lower cortisol levels and blood pressure
Let go of limiting beliefs
Develop spiritual insight and sense of direction
Improve sleep

If there were a pill that could do all that it would be worth billions, yet we have the ability to do it for ourselves—using very simple mindfulness skills that anyone can learn. Simple doesn’t imply easy, it took me quite some time to free myself from horizontal agony and depression. There were bright days, and there were days when it seemed utterly hopeless. What keeps us moving in the right direction is commitment to practice, and things were so bad that I was highly motivated to maintain such commitment!

So, mindfulness has become a way of life for me—I was in at the deep end and got completely immersed in it. Mindful awareness is like a seed, once it is planted it begins to germinate, and once germinated it keeps growing. That seed may be just one small mindful gesture, or five minutes of meditation daily. What matters is that we plant the seed. The aim of this website, and my work, is to help you plant your own seeds and discover the liberating power of mindful awareness for yourself.

Asha