- I thought I would Share some Tools in my Mindfulness Journey-
Some tools to bring the mind back to focus, to remind you to be mindful;
I have a serene Buddha that I love, the odd crystal, aesthetically I enjoy them and I also can find they change my energy. It sits next to my bed, seeing it reminds me to be mindful.
Mindfulness is not something we just learn, it is an ongoing learning as it is a way of being with ourselves of knowing ourselves and the way we work, the way we think, feel or chose to not feel.
Mindfulness when used well can help us with resilience and gaining more equanimity in our lives.
“Knowing that you are able to build this internal source of strength, you can practice just sensing your breath or imagine your peaceful place each day.” (Daniel J. Siegel 2010)
breath is a very important aspect of mindfulness, helping to bring the focus in and feeding the brain with oxygen that it needs to do the extra work of keeping focused.
Like many things in life mindfulness takes daily practice to become effective, an important aspect of practice is to be gentle on yourself, noticing your inner critic and being able to mindfully change this if it is negative, brining in more positivity and beginning to watch your mind helping to understand and retrain the brain to work more efficiently and in a calmer and kinder way.
Curious Mind;
Bring in a 'curious mind', almost as if there is a separate mind floating above watching.... hm what's going on right now, in my body in my mind, what am I feeling and why, what am I thinking and why, bringing in real curiosity and then compassion, oh ok thats why I feel that or think that, I'm ok right now in this moment though.
Breath;
Yes seems obvious, you will notice as you breath more consciously, slightly deeper, that in fact you probably were not breathing enough. Anxiety is very much associated with lack of breath when it takes hold, the brain is starved of oxygen due to the fear response of holding your breath or breathing shallowly. Lack of oxygen leads to feelings of lightheadedness, lack of clarity, a feeling like you might pass out and at its worst like you might die! So breath more! notice how it feels, notice if your mind is less foggy.
It Should be so Easy!
The strange thing is that Mindfulness is not easy, we are mindless or mindful... and yet when we go to really focus on being mindful, noticing things as they are rather than how we imagine them to be, so really observing, listening, feeling, tasting etc, something you think should be easy, suddenly you realise is not so easy. At this point you might begin to realise how mindlessly you have walked through life and this I have found has left people feeling a bit disillusioned, but actually it is a good thing, this is what awareness is all about, to see things as they truly are, not just taking things for granted.
It can be hard initially and can feel disheartening when you try and fail, but see it as , not failing but interesting, not annoying but interesting, bring interest and fascination into your mindset.
Don't give up, keep practicing , momentarily, daily, regularly, finding ways that work for you to remember to be present, to breath and to notice the habits of the mind, notice the body, ask with this curious mind... "how am I feeling and what do I need?" then be kind to yourself, if you don't, who will!?
“There is more wisdom in your body than in your deepest philosophy”.
“Friedrich Nietzsche (1969)
Step into a new way of seeing life,be mindful with interest and intrigue, step through the door to mindful awareness, we actually are rather fascinating as humans, if we bother to really look, there is depth and potential for endless growth and the chance to better ourselves, leading to better relationships, happier lives and more engagement in a life of feeling and honesty, with yourself and others.
Mindfulness can help but make you more authentic if done correctly, more congruence will be the out come .