Being Mindful
Have you noticed the sound of the Fall leaves crunching underfoot today? Did you experience your morning coffee, or did you simply gulp it down to get the caffeine going? Did you notice what your spouse, children or loved one was wearing today? How about in this moment...what noises do you hear, any smells in the air, how does the chair feel that you are sitting in? If you are anything like me, so much of your day might be spent in auto-pilot, going through the motions, without actually experiencing them.
I have often found myself arriving at the grocery store so wrapped up in my thoughts that I do not recall the steps or path I took to get there. How about you? Or have you ever wondered if you could have missed a red light or a stop sign because of the worries running through your mind?
Anxiety often occurs simultaneously with a lack of awareness of our surroundings. Experiencing anxiety can cause one to be overwhelmed by thoughts and fears. A popular concept for aiding in the relief of anxiety is to practice “mindfulness”. This concept can be defined simply as being present in the moment, with attention to thoughts and sensory experiences without judgment. More and more information and resources are becoming available about this practice. So I wondered, what is your experience with practicing mindfulness? Are people discussing the benefits of this practice within your community? Do you practice it? How has it helped?
The uses for mindfulness practice are far reaching from stress, chronic pain and anxiety to eating disorders and addictions, as well as aiding in everyday life. One resource I found gives practices to even help children use this technique, which in my opinion would give any child a “leg up” on coping mechanisms and practices for their mental health. The research is proving that mindfulness skills and high anxiety levels have a relationship. What have you see in your community? Of the people coping with anxiety in your community, how many are regularly practicing mindfulness techniques?
Today, I will be reminding myself of this practice, working to accept my thoughts as they come, not to judge them and then to let them pass on. I will taste my food a little longer, listen to the sounds in my surroundings more attentively, and enjoy the sensory experiences of my life so much more as I focus on practicing mindfulness. What about you?
Some other articles and resources you might find helpful:
“Mindfulness Improves Quality of Life”
“How to Bring More Mindfulness into Your Life”
“Are You Practicing Mindfulness"
I have often found myself arriving at the grocery store so wrapped up in my thoughts that I do not recall the steps or path I took to get there. How about you? Or have you ever wondered if you could have missed a red light or a stop sign because of the worries running through your mind?
Anxiety often occurs simultaneously with a lack of awareness of our surroundings. Experiencing anxiety can cause one to be overwhelmed by thoughts and fears. A popular concept for aiding in the relief of anxiety is to practice “mindfulness”. This concept can be defined simply as being present in the moment, with attention to thoughts and sensory experiences without judgment. More and more information and resources are becoming available about this practice. So I wondered, what is your experience with practicing mindfulness? Are people discussing the benefits of this practice within your community? Do you practice it? How has it helped?
The uses for mindfulness practice are far reaching from stress, chronic pain and anxiety to eating disorders and addictions, as well as aiding in everyday life. One resource I found gives practices to even help children use this technique, which in my opinion would give any child a “leg up” on coping mechanisms and practices for their mental health. The research is proving that mindfulness skills and high anxiety levels have a relationship. What have you see in your community? Of the people coping with anxiety in your community, how many are regularly practicing mindfulness techniques?
Today, I will be reminding myself of this practice, working to accept my thoughts as they come, not to judge them and then to let them pass on. I will taste my food a little longer, listen to the sounds in my surroundings more attentively, and enjoy the sensory experiences of my life so much more as I focus on practicing mindfulness. What about you?
Some other articles and resources you might find helpful:
“Mindfulness Improves Quality of Life”
“How to Bring More Mindfulness into Your Life”
“Are You Practicing Mindfulness"
Tags: anxiety, chronic, coping, depression, mechanisms, mindfulness, pain, practicing, stress
Add a Comment
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Comment by Amy K on November 6, 2009 at 8:29pm -
Great points... 1) Children do seem to be naturals at this, watch a child and you are more likely to understand "mindfulness"! 2) It ain't easy...or at least it doesn't feel natural to us as adults, we have to work at it, to get it back; the demands of life are many, and it takes effort.
One reason why it might be of interest to help children "learn" mindfulness is so that they can become aware of it and continue to take it on with them into the future. When others are telling them to hurry up, they can stop and "smell the roses" because they have had it reinforced.
I am so happy to hear that you practice this regularly Ellen. I have found myself slightly challenged with it this week. One easy way for me to practice being mindful, is to turn all the "things" off in my house and lay on the couch and close my eyes and take in all the "sounds" of silence. I also enjoy turning on music and sitting on the floor, eyes closed, and listening with all of me to the music, letting thoughts come and go, but returning my focus to the music...it is so soothing and I feel like I have traveled away for a while, away from worries, pain, distractions.
I began a discussion in the Depression and Anxiety group for people to list resources, I hope anyone that reads this will as any that they know of there, too!
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Comment by ImmuneDude on November 5, 2009 at 2:22pm - So tough to "live in the moment" when multiple deadlines and demands, high school kids, etc. I went through 3 sessions of hypnosis training earlier this year. I think that can be very effective. It's still a matter of taking time each day to actually do the process and not skip days, weeks or months.
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Comment by Ellen S on November 5, 2009 at 12:56pm -
Good topic! My children seemed naturals at practicing mindfulness, until I accidentally taught them to hurry, hurry, hurry through life. We splashed in mudpuddles and listened to songbirds, but only when we had extra time or time had been planned. Thankfully I saw what I was teaching them and stopped early on as well.
Now, I'm so mindful my family shakes their heads at me. They tolerate me getting them up at 1am to watch millions of fireflies in the field, or see the Northern Lights slowly dance above the trees. They even encourage me drop everything to smell fresh cut grass, or the sounds of my grazing horses because they know these things do more than distract me from pain, but they give me strength. They help me look forward to the next hour, or day. They give me JOY! I wish my family would practice more mindfulness, and thanks to you Amy, I now have some links to send them!
What did you do to practice your own mindfulness this week? Do you think it helped you?... on a physical, mental or emotional level? How do you help your own family practice mindfulness?
I'm curious, do you know of any specific communities dedicated to practicing mindfulness?
© 2009 Created by Marie
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