r/Mindfulness • u/No_Sandwich1231 • 3d ago

Question Do you think this is a good explanation of what mindfulness is?

IMO, mindfulness is the process of suppressing your CONSCIOUS THOUGHTS in order for your UNCONSCIOUS THOUGHTS to take place

In this state your mind becomes more intuitive and automatic so that it is able to perform normal mental processes that have been tampered with by conscious thinking.

Also UNCONSCIOUS MIND will naturally replace your useless thoughts with more natural and more accurate thoughts in order for you to observe them and get more insightful thoughts

So suppressing your thoughts won't stop the thoughts, but give more deterministic and more natural informations to you mind

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u/subtlevibes219 2d ago

No, I think it’s more about being aware of thoughts, feeling and sensations and observing them appear and disappear. Nothing to do with the conscious-unconscious distinction or with suppressing anything imo.

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u/Greelys 2d ago edited 2d ago

Nope. Mindfulness is simply noticing and observing thoughts. The ability to do this enables a lot of other things like redirecting one’s attention, focusing one’s attention at will, etc. But the basic tool is noticing your thoughts rather than being so immersed in thoughts that it feels like thoughts are reality.

Compare

A fully immersed non-mindful thought: “Life sucks, I am a loser and that is just how it is.”

Mindful: “I am having that negative thought that tells me I am a loser. I don’t like that thought and I have learned it is not true, so let me use one of the techniques I’ve learned to stop dwelling inside this thought.”

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u/mrbbrj 2d ago

No. It's being in the present moment with your thoughts.

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u/pathlesswalker 2d ago

No. It’s not about suppressing or being forceful. Although traditions of that method is very common.

It’s about acknowledging your thoughts. But not giving in to them. Just be with them without thinking. That may be a form of suppression. But I don’t think it is.

Because the mind is only seeking to calm itself and it tries to do it in the most opposite and paradoxical way. Instead of just being and letting go. It seeks out solutions etc.

But in general noting and observing the thought process instead of the narrative. As well as everything else. As in complete awareness. Which can be anything not just thought. Anything via the sensors. And not doing the thinking itself. That is mindfulness.

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u/vmsear 2d ago

I don't think of mindfulness in this way. To me, what you are describing sounds more like Jungian psyhoanalysis or Cognitive Behavioural Therapy of some sort. From what you are describing, it sounds like there is a lot of judgement about thoughts ie: words like "tampered, normal, useless," all carry a lot of value judgements. To me, mindfulness is observing all of your thoughts in the moment, without judgement.