Mindfulness Is Radical Self-Care

Mindfulness, at its core, is the act of loving ourselves through deliberate awareness and acceptance. It’s the practice of turning inward and shining a clear, compassionate light on our own experience. This week, we’ve explored the big-picture view of mindfulness, breaking it down to its practical applications and transformative effects across the key layers of our being. Today, let's revisit these ideas with an emphasis on what mindfulness does and how it rehabilitates and restores balance in our lives.

Awareness and Acceptance as Tools of Transformation

The two wings of mindfulness—awareness and acceptance—are not just skills but deeply healing forces. Awareness enables us to see clearly what is happening within us, while acceptance allows us to meet what we find without resistance. Together, they create a space where transformation can occur naturally.

1. Awareness of Awareness

The first layer we address is awareness itself. This is the foundation of mindfulness. Awareness often goes AWOL (absent without leave), as our thoughts and emotions hijack our attention. It’s like a throne meant for a wise ruler, but the chatter of monkeys (thoughts) and the dramatics of mammals (emotions) take over.

Bringing deliberate awareness back to its rightful place is the first act of mindfulness. If we don’t intentionally claim this space, it’s safe to assume that awareness is not operating fully. Simply by making one conscious, deliberate move to observe ourselves, we ignite this critical faculty and begin the process of transformation.

2. Awareness of Thoughts (The Monkey Mind)

Once awareness is active, it naturally begins to observe our thoughts. Thoughts often resemble a chaotic classroom without supervision—noisy, reactive, and directionless. Mindfulness steps in like a calm and steady teacher.

By observing our thoughts without judgment, we instill a sense of order. Over time, the monkeys (our thinking patterns) quiet down. This doesn't happen through force or suppression but through the steady gaze of awareness and the warmth of acceptance. Discipline grows naturally, and with it, clarity and focus.

3. Awareness of Emotions (The Mammal Mind)

At the emotional level, mindfulness addresses the dramatic highs and lows that often characterize our inner experience. Emotions are like waves—they rise, peak, and crash. Without awareness, these waves can dominate us, dragging us into reactivity and imbalance.

Awareness observes these emotional waves, while acceptance provides the safety and permission for them to exist. Gradually, the emotional rollercoasters smooth out. Highs and lows find equilibrium, and we regain a sense of emotional stability. This is where the wisdom of balance begins to emerge.

4. Awareness of the Body

Finally, mindfulness turns its attention to the body. The body is a storehouse of past experiences, tensions, and traumas, much of which resides beneath our conscious awareness. These accumulated patterns can manifest as chronic tension, discomfort, or even physical pain.

Through mindfulness, we reconnect with the body in a compassionate and nonjudgmental way. We feel its sensations, notice its tensions, and allow it to release what it has been holding. This gentle attention rehabilitates the body, restoring it to a state of harmony and connecting us with its innate wisdom.

What Does Mindfulness Achieve?

Mindfulness is a process of loving ourselves back to wholeness. It’s not about forcing change but about creating the conditions for natural healing and growth. At every level—awareness, thoughts, emotions, and body—mindfulness:

• Restores balance: By bringing light to the shadows and equilibrium to what was chaotic.
• Heals wounds: By allowing past tensions and traumas to be seen, felt, and released.
• Builds resilience: By cultivating a stable foundation of awareness that can withstand life’s challenges.

A Practice of Radical Care

Mindfulness is not just a practice—it’s a form of radical care for ourselves. By learning to see and accept ourselves fully, we create a fertile ground for peace, happiness, and well-being. And as we rehabilitate our inner world, we naturally bring more kindness, clarity, and compassion to the outer world.

So today, as you move through your day, consider this question: What would it look like to extend awareness and acceptance to yourself in this moment? Let that be your practice, one breath at a time.