According to Wikipedia, the definition of mindfulness is…
“… the psychological process of purposely bringing one’s attention to experiences occurring in the present moment without judgment”
In other words, it’s the conscious act of living in the now. It’s all about being aware of what is happening in the present moment.
Too many of us live our lives on autopilot. We glide along life not giving much thought as to what we are doing.
We blankly stare at screens, engage in conversations that don’t lead anywhere, work in jobs that we hate and do anything we can to distract ourselves from living life.
The sad thing about this behaviour is that before you know it, hours become days, days become months and months become years.
We spend our time reacting to what life throws at us. We lament about the past and worry about the future not realising that we have no control over what has happened or what will happen to us.
When you think about it… The only thing that we have some control over is what happens to us in the present moment.
Greek philosopher Socrates once said that “the unexamined life is not worth living” meaning that to truly live your life you must be fully aware of your life.
This is the essence of mindfulness.
Examining one’s life and becoming fully aware of what one is doing is one of the best things you can do to stop living your life on autopilot.
To be fully attentive to your experiences one moment at a time will enrich your life and will go a long way to allowing you to live your life rather than just existing.
“So how do we start?” I hear you ask…
Do this… Close your eyes, take three deep breaths and just sit with yourself and do nothing. Well, nothing physical but start noticing things like…
- The sounds around you (birds singing, cars driving, etc)
- The sounds within you (your breathing, your pulse etc)
Take a few moments to centre yourself and just “be” for a moment. Don’t give yourself anything to do, just sit and be a human “being” rather than a human “doing.”
Allow yourself five minutes of breathing, noticing and being.
Once your done, take stock of how you’re feeling. I bet you’re a bit calmer than what you were when you first started the exercise.
You can do this exercise once, twice or as many times as you like throughout the day. Centring yourself to the now is the start of your mindfulness journey.
Give it a go and see what happens and let me know what you experience.
