I think that the word mindfulness is being used simply because all of the others already have their meaning, so it's easy for people to misunderstand if you use those. And mindfulness is not used for just saying that someone is being mindful. I guess it doesn't look like a good word because there's mind in it. But let's look at it from the other side: the mind is full... of something else ; )
True, they do have their meanings, but I think that the sense we get from those words is the sense I like to cultivate when practicing mind"full"ness. Would you say it's full of something or nothing?
Most of the teachers I like to read and listen to like to use phrases like empty-minded and the nothing-ness of ourselves, which I don't see as meaning that we have no thoughts or are fools or are actually not here, I think they are referring to something else that words can never really explain properly.
Thanks for the comment, glad to see you back!
Contrary to the common explanation, I would say that even though the mind is empty of thoughts, it is not because it would be empty. It's because its capacity was redirected toward something else: experiencing the presence.
You cannot simply switch off your brain. Even if you close your eyes, they don't stop working, you just block the incoming light. In similar way, the brain never stops working. not even when you fall asleep. The brain function stops only when you're dead.
That's why many people recommend concentrating on your breath as the easiest way to meditate. It teaches you how to redirect your attention from your train of thought towards something that's happening now.
Speaking about trains, one of my earliest experiences of now happend when I was going somewhere by train (I love travelling by train because the railway usually leads through beautiful nature) and I was looking out of the window while listening to music. And I suddenly realized that the music perfectly fits the scenery behind the window. My mind was full of being amazed by those sensory inputs and there was no more space for any thought and analysis.
By the way, I really love coming back to read your posts. They are really well-written and full of inspiring ideas. Keep it up!
Wow, I've never been on a train but I need to do a train trip asap! I love nature and road trips and that's like the perfect combo. Now in regards to the topic haha:
I agree, you can't turn off your senses, only remove your attention. When they are talking about emptiness they don't mean it literally in the way we think. Thoughts and senses are still registering. It's more of an emptiness of striving towards or avoiding them. Like you said at the end, you weren't analyzing. Once we look backwards and say "that just happened to me" and we try to understand and own the experience we fall out of the now. I think we are on the same page, just with different terminology that makes sense to us individually.
What I'm trying to understand now is how I'm not actually my body or brain, I'm just experiencing them. I've had moments where I felt completely clear in understanding how to move and act spontaneously and it was so freeing and amazing. Moments where the world spoke to me in an intuitive way. Those types of moments spur me to learn and dig into myself to find out what I really am.
Looking forward to more conversations with you!