Mindfulness, Meditation and the Art of Chess

By Francine Steadman Krulak, Founder of BuddhaBooth 

Mindfulness can be thought of as the practice of filling our mind with the present, moment by moment. Pushing out all of the other external forces of daily life that would seek to control our conscious thought process.

Meditation is the process by which we use mindfulness to help center our thoughts, often by focusing on one specific object, thought or activity to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state.

These are two concepts that can seem foreign to many people in the year 2020 when every moment of every day seems to be in a state of perpetual flux. Yet, the very obstacles that would seek to impede our achievement of this higher level of mental clarity are also the reason they are so important. Meditation and mindfulness have been proven throughout the ages to offer countless benefits to both mental and physical health.

Our team views meditation and mindfulness more as an art form than as an activity. And there is no artist that stands to benefit more from solitude than a chess player. While “game” is the word most commonly used to describe chess, it is more of an artform or sport of the mind. Professional athletes are known for leveraging the power of meditation prior to a major sporting event and then draw from that focus for the duration of the match. The same holds true for writers, painters and sculptors before they sit down at their medium of choice to bring a vision to life.

Chess players are no different. The entire match is won or lost in the mind of the opponents; one wrong move or momentary lapse in focus is all it takes to suffer an insurmountable setback. The more mentally prepared a player is prior to sitting down at the board, the better their chances of being victorious. Conversely, the more relaxed and focused a businessperson or student is, the more effective they will be at tackling the tasks at hand.

Alone, BuddhaBooth and chess currently offer countless users ways to focus and tap the inner power of the mind. But the combined partnership of the two can open a new world of possibilities.