How do I fix myself with mindfulness

This appears to be a common pattern. We do our mindfulness course expecting to be transformed, we feel a bit better on the course, a week after the course we find that nothing has changed. There's also the case of people who have been doing meditation for ages and yet they still feel as depressed and angry as they did when they started.

So then, what is going on?

The mind is a tricky beast. It is used to taking action and seeing immediate results. Mindfulness is more subtle than this. It is about seeing the relationship between body, feelings, mind and thoughts and how they come and go. There is no explicit result to be found, just an on going relationship with the thing that is us. However, the longer we observe ourselves the more likely we are to see wisdom arising. That is to say, we begin to see what is beneficial and what is harmful to us. We begin to take responsibility for ourselves and our own happiness - we are no longer simply victims of circumstance. We know what we need to do.

Occasionally you'll meet someone has has embraced mindfulness and they are generally self reliant and able to take decisions that are assertive and positive. You could argue that they have fixed themselves (as before mindfulness took hold they were plagued with depression and self doubt) but there is no definite moment of change. It's a process that continues.

It is inevitable that mindfulness will lead to changes in our lives. We may have to face painful truths and this may put us off, but once we see deeper into reality we begin to realise that we do have a choice and that we can experience a sense of freedom and peace.