I don’t remember the exact words they used, but I recently heard someone describe mindfulness as being mind and body in the same place. For me, the idea is the same, but I like to think of mind and body being in the same space.
I notice that the more I have been able to experience mind and body as being in the same space, the more I have a deep feeling of something I regard as mindfulness. When I am mindful, my body becomes full of my mind and my mind radiates throughout my whole body.
Becoming aware of my body in a deep and intimate way has allowed me to experience my mind in a way that is both deep and clear. I experience how my body and mind occupy the same space. I remember how I once considered my mind to be in my head, and there it seemed to be contained. Then I thought of my heart being the seat of awareness.
It has been true that this concept of my heart seemed to expand the realm of awareness. However, it is only since I have learned to think with my whole body that my mind and awareness seem to push away limits that confine awareness. By extending my awareness in the whole space of my body, I actually touch the realm of no-limits, no-boundaries.
My experience with Jhana practice, a practice of deep concentration, has changed how I see mindfulness. This practice of deep concentration has totally been in the space shared by mind and body. The experience of concentration is not solely an exercise of the mind. It not is an adventure, an experience of clarity and vibrancy that extends through my whole body. Body and mind share the same space. My whole body is aware.
With this kind of mindfulness, the sensory limits and input of my body diminish. I experience an awareness throughout my body that seems beyond the sensory limits and the space filled by my body. Body and mind are experienced as the same, they are are experienced in the same space.
I notice a similar thing when I am aware of others. There is an initial awareness that focuses on the physicality of their presence. I am aware of their body in space. Then that awareness quickly changes, when I am mindful, into an awareness of a deeper entity that is much more than bodily limits.
I don’t think I experience that more focused, mindful awareness of others without first encountering their physical appearance and presence. That first body awareness, that first physical encounter can be either a hindrance or an invitation to deeper awareness. Mindfulness of others does not always come automatically or habitually for me.
However, I am more inclined to routinely be aware that my mind and body occupy the same space. This is becoming a growing way of deepening awareness. It is also a way that I can experience deep pleasure and joy. It is an experience of mind and body in the same space.