Therese George is a Vajrayana practitioner, wife, and mother of two living in Boise, Idaho. She enjoys teaching mindfulness to children and teens, swimming, nature, and gardening. When she is not on the meditation cushion, she enjoys embracing life as her dharma practice, singing mantras, and looking after small sentient beings who inhabit her backyard.
When we all are more aware of these innate principles or qualities in us, we are able to benefit ourselves and others through a deeper understanding and a more cooperative, non-dualistic way of being in the world. When we isolate or separate the two, there is division, tension and competition. This duality can create anger, aggression, hatred, fear, dishonesty and many other mental and emotional disturbances.
Take the breath as an example of daily awareness. We breathe all day long without hardly ever noticing. Unless we are being physically active or if our body is under stress we rarely recognize the breath. Mindfulness is the practice of bringing our awareness to the present moment intentionally and without judgment.