NEED PROOF OF WHAT MINDFULNESS CAN DO FOR YOU?
Being mindful helps prevent you from all kinds of mindless behaviour. For the little everyday actions we do over and over, there are neural nets in our brains so we don't have to think about how to do those actions- they become automatic. The problem with that is, these automatic behaviours can prevent us from thinking and acting with intention, or spontaneity. When getting older, we can drift more into "mind wandering," and automatically behaving according to cues that arise, instead of acting with intention. Effectively, we can drift into "autopilot" a lot of the time.
TRY A PRACTICE TO PROVE HOW AUTOMATIC YOUR BEHAVIOUR CAN BE ...then try to be more intentional:
--Move something you use all the time, like a garbage can, dishes in the cupboard, where you put your toothbrush, wallet, or car keys. Then see how long it takes you to remember to stop going to the old location first. Challenge yourself to anticipate the new location, instead of automatically reaching toward the old one.
A MAN CIRCUMVENTS WALKING ISSUES FROM PARKINSONS, USING MINDFUL WALKING.
--On the positive side of building habits with new neural nets, check out the first episode in this video on brain healing (at the link below), where a man with Parkinsons trains in mindful walking to build a new neural net in his brain. If he takes every step with focussed attention, he can walk normally, and even run over rough surfaces, but if he slips into "automatic walking" without thinking about it, he goes right back to walking with the typical "Parkinson's Gait."
The place in the brain for intentional walking is a different location from the place where his ability to walk is damaged by Parkinson's.
Ponder the possibilities...
THE NATURE OF THINGS: The Brain's Way of Healing