Going Beyond the Limits of Mindfulness

“Be here now.” The ultimate mindfulness mantra. 

In mindfulness, we’re commonly taught to ignore the past, ignore the future, and just focus on the present. Focus on the breath, or the amazing view of the sea, or the sand beneath your toes, and everything will be fine.

Maybe it will feel fine at that moment, but we are missing the larger reality.

We often take mindfulness as encouragement to leave the big picture behind because it’s too much, too stressful, or seemingly unimportant as compared with the current happening. Just be present. 

If we follow this directive to leave the past and future behind, our actions will not have much meaning in the broader scheme. We never want to ignore the bigger picture. We want long-range thinking. In fact, we want the longest-range thinking – seeing the grand spectrum of things. From the perspective of the real self, it becomes so clarifying to get out of the minutiae of a single moment. We must see beyond the blinders of the present. That is losing the forest for the trees. That is our myopia.

The real self, the soul, does not belong to a moment in time. It does not even die when the body dies. This is my deepest understanding from my years of studying wisdom texts and living as a monk. The self belongs to eternity. As my guru says: We are children of eternity.

Only when we act as the self, the deepest and most authentic core of who we are, and have the perspective of eternity, do we begin to do justice to reality.

Mindfulness advocates will typically acknowledge that we would profit to take each moment as if it is our last. That may sound like preaching to the choir because if it’s our last moment, we will certainly be only in the now. But if we really understand this practically, it means we are projecting into the future that we could die at any moment. We are not dead at this moment. And we’re using that future projection as a guide for the present.

Likewise, mindfulness advocates will typically acknowledge it’s good to learn from the past. Learn from our mistakes. Don’t just keep repeating them.

So it’s clear that we can’t afford to kiss off the past or the future. That will never serve us.

We must always look for the context of who we are in the spectrum of reality, which includes past, present, and future. This is wisdom. The self is never isolated from these dimensions.

As an example of how mindfulness falls short, I regularly go through my day feeling like I didn't do enough to earn my worth. I have too many undone items and everything feels too chaotic. I feel out of control with a to-do list that never ends. If I just absorb myself in the here and now, trying to live in the material reality of an isolated moment while convincing myself that I am enough, it’s flimsy. I miss the bigger picture. I lose the meaning of past and future with their direct connection to the present. Moreover, I cut the vision of the self who exists not only in this moment, but always, which is the greatest shelter. I must remember amidst the myriad trials and tribulations that this too shall pass. I will make it to the future and better for it. And what I need then is to zoom out for the bigger picture and zoom into the real self. I do this zoom out and zoom in every day, without fail. It keeps me going and keeps me growing.

So are we against mindfulness? Does it collapse onto itself under scrutiny? Not so. Rather, we need a more holistic understanding of mindfulness. We need to be mindful of the past, the present, and the future. We need to absorb ourselves in the present from the vantage point of what the past has taught us and what future we intentionally are called toward.

We need to be mindful of how to use mindfulness for its maximum impact. Mindfulness is extremely beneficial for the mind and body. We need to nourish our minds and bodies with what serves them. However, mindfulness does not touch the self. 

The self is mindful, but being mindful does not mean we are being our selves. It means we feel a little closer to who we are because we’re developing a trait of the self. And that is indeed wonderful. That’s why it’s so attractive. We want this! But we don’t want to conflate that with being who we are.

Many of us will stop at mindfulness and consider it as our spirituality or our being the real self. That is a travesty. Good being the enemy of great to the infinite degree…

To illustrate the principle further, let’s look at mindfulness in a higher and in an average state of consciousness:

In a higher state of consciousness, I can be mindful in meditation, trying to clear the mind and be peaceful, free of stress, gaining in presence, gaining in awareness. That is the best we can possibly do with mindfulness from a worldly perspective. Make no mistake, it is still not spiritual. Yet it’s grounding, healthy, and good.

At an average state of consciousness, I can eat an ice cream with incredible focus. That’s nice. You’ll get more enjoyment that way. It’s better than scarfing it down or fueling a flamboyant addiction to sweets (though a proper addict will know this is actually the best way to indulge…). But what does that do for the world? What does that do for the self? Mindfully getting what I want is actually what most of mindfulness entails today. It has nothing to do with the self.

This is not what mindfulness is meant for. Mindfulness is meant for bringing us closer and closer to reality, which includes the self and the world. The higher the consciousness, the more our mindfulness takes us closer to reality and the self. The lower, the further away. 

To be best suited to serve others, we want to be mindful, but as our selves, not refracted through our ego identifications. We want to make sure we work on being who we are, and not mistake mindfulness as doing that. That is how mindfulness sells us short.

The increasing mainstream embrace and commercialization of mindfulness are helpful for simulating one of the wonderful qualities of the self. However, this simultaneously removes most of us from any impetus to experience the actual self. We think mindfulness is where it’s at. And we stop there. That’s the immeasurable loss!

What we need is to take mindfulness in context, not out of context. Mindfulness is one part of the journey, and not the most important one – unless and until we channel it internally toward perceiving the self and what’s getting in the way.

We’ve exposed three things here:

1. The lack of clarity on what mindfulness actually means

2. The lack of completeness in the way mindfulness is commonly taught

3. The misconception that mindfulness is spirituality

Again, the purpose of this piece is not to discourage mindfulness but to clarify what it actually is, what it isn’t, and how it can be used for the best benefit. And to go beyond its limits to experience our fullest self.

I started my own journey at NYU Film in 2006 experimenting with mindfulness and meditation. I found it so helpful to be more present and more attuned! I’ve never stopped feeling that way. But if I only sought this, I would never know what more is at stake from the spectrum of eternity. 

Working to remove the layers of ego that cover us and cultivate connection to the soul via spiritual practice has taken me light-years beyond my prior conceptions of mere mindfulness. I still have many more light-years to go. And so I rely on spiritualized mindfulness to propel me through – all the way to self-realization.