We have recently been on a
mindfulness workshop. It was a very interesting day indeed and most enjoyable,
although I must admit we didn't learn anything we didn't already know. The
point for us was that we needed reminding to be mindful!
Mindful?
Mindful of what? Well, everything really. Mindful of the very moment you
are living. This moment, right now. Yes. Right now. You are reading
this blog, but what else is happening? What are you sitting on? How does it
feel? What can you hear? What do you feel? Is it light or dark?
Shut
your eyes for a moment. What's going on around you? Clocks ticking?
Traffic noise outside? Birds singing? TV noise in the
background?
There
is always so much happening that we don't often hear or appreciate it. We never
actually connect with ourselves as we are allowing our busy heads to constantly
chatter on even when we think we are at rest. It’s suggested that we have in
excess of 70,000 thoughts per day. Knowing that there are 86,400 seconds in a
day we have plenty of time for all those thoughts. About one every 1.2 seconds.
Phew! That's a lot of thinking. Don't you agree? You realise you have
just had several more thoughts just thinking about answering that last
question? Thoughts are never ending...
And do
you remember most of them? What were you thinking about last Saturday week, about lunchtime? Or last night when you were watching TV, or an hour
ago? You won't remember I'm sure. I certainly don't.
So,
what does all this mean? Does it really matter that we don't remember our
thoughts? Who cares anyway? They are just thoughts?
Well,
our thoughts are living things. (That’s a whole other blog just there!). They
are very precious but in order to recharge, de-stress and be compassionate to
ourselves we need to learn to switch them off and become more mindful. Of the
NOW. This moment. NOW.
That is
much easier said than done for most of us. We lead busy lives, hence the
thousands of thoughts we plough through every second, every minute, every
hour, every day.
Learning
to quieten our minds is more often than not a challenging process but a very
valuable one. Meditating on our breath is a good place to start...
You
will need to find a quiet corner. Put on a little ambient music and maybe a
candle if you want to set the mood. Shut your eyes and concentrate on taking in
a deep breath, through your nose, to the count of four. Let it out to the
count of four but through your mouth Repeat this 5 times. Do not rush it.
Concentrate on your breathing and only your breathing. It’s very important to
concentrate only on your breathing. That way you stay mindful of the moment.
Hopefully you can manage to clear your head from the day’s
thoughts.
We
spend so much time thinking about what has gone on before, i.e. the past and
what is to come, i.e. the future that the present often doesn't get a look in.
Being mindful of the present moment prevents the past and the future from
influencing how we react to situations that are occurring right now. Being
mindful of the present keeps us centred and focussed.
Take
time out every day, if only 5 minutes, to meditate on your breath. Once you
have mastered that and are quite happy that you are achieving mindfulness move
on to guided meditations.
Taking
time out to be compassionate to ourselves, to love and cherish ourselves, to
honour and nurture ourselves will encourage us to be more mindful. Life
is easier when you're mindful. I promise. Give it a try...
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