Mindfulness is a practical way to live. For many who are just beginning to embrace some of the concepts the following are suggestions to enable you to make it a reality.
1. One Day At A Time The idea of this can be baffling to some initially. It is not a new concept… sometimes you have to be able to live one minute at a time. Problems tend to arise when we are getting too far ahead of ourselves into the future, or thinking too much about the past. It is the only sensible way to live. But it takes practice.
2. Do One Thing at a Time Multitasking is toggling between one task and another. When you are cooking a meal, just try to cook the meal. The same goes for when you are eating the meal, just try to concentrate on the one task, eating. Keep it simple! The image that comes to mind when I am multitasking is the women who looks like an octopus with the eight arms all doing different things at once. Did you know that your brain can actually only handle one cognitive function at a time? Multitasking gives the appearance of efficiency but in essence slows down our thinking, and messes with our attention. In addition it causes stress, depression and limits our ability to connect with others on a meaningful level.
3. Be Mindful of Your Thoughts and Feelings From time to time we all have negative thoughts or feelings of anger or resentment. The trick is not to identify with them. Think of them like thoughts that run through a passing stream, you are merely observing them. That is all they are… thoughts and feelings, nothing more, nothing less. Try to discover what is going on and gain some insight into what is really happening. When you impersonalize both the thoughts and the feelings you destroy the power that they have over you and you begin to gain awareness.
4. Relax At Intervals Throughout the Day Learn to be still by taking periods of calm and quiet throughout the day. Take note of any tensions that have arisen in your mind and body. Imagine it passing down through your body, through your feet and right into the ground. Learn the art of how to prefer quietness to noise. Inhale and exhale three long, deep breaths at regular intervals throughout the day.
5. Empty Your Mind to Let Go Of Negative Thoughts And Feelings Something I have learned how to say is “I am now emptying my mind of all anxiety [or fear/anger/resentment].”
Try Not to Carry The Day Into Night, or identify with anything. Suffering stops when you refuse to identify with anything negative. A combination of insight and understanding, coupled with a sincere desire for positive change, will destroy painful negatives.
6. Meditate for at least 15 minutes once a day. Some prefer to meditate in the morning and others in the evening. Only you know what works best for you. Let experience be your guide.
7. Accept the inevitable. Challenges will arise in your life, and life itself can be hard at times, not to mention unfair. Those who have learned how to overcome adversity are the ones who tend to lead a happier life.
8. Happiness is a choice. “we manufacture either our own happiness or our own unhappiness by the thoughts we habitually think ... regardless of what happens to us! ” Norman Vincent Peale. One spiritual truth states – it is impossible to be unhappy in the present moment, for all unhappiness is rooted in either the past (in the form of memories) or the future (in the form of anticipations and fears). Clearly, mindfulness is the way to freedom.
9. Get Your Mind Off Yourself. Do you ever find that many problems disappear when we focus on others rather than ourselves? It’s everywhere you look: self-centredness, self-obsession, self-absorption. These are the maladies of mind and our body results from all of these things! Get out of your way! It will do you a world of good.
10. This Too Shall Pass. Things are constantly changing and evolving. Many spend too much time working and not enough living. Life is short. So, go ahead, seize the moment!
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