Giving Yourself Space

Mindfulness is an act of self-care that gives us the space to feel what we are feeling and to know clearly how we are. The practice of mindfulness is simple, but it is far from easy. What we often discover when we pay attention in the present moment is our own pain and sadness and anxiety, our unhealthy habits of thinking and reacting, and our mind’s tendency to revert to auto-pilot mode. But as our practice deepens, we discover ways to be more fully present and awake for all our experiences, even the painful ones, in a way that puts us in alignment with life instead of in opposition to it. Even in the midst of a serious crisis, in the midst of heartbreak and fear, practicing mindfulness can help us live our life with more ease, flexibility, responsiveness, and wisdom.

Take Time to Be This Holiday Season

This is the time of the year when everything seems to get intensified. Our work schedules are usually extra busy with end of year or seasonal deadlines. Add to that all the events and pressures of the holiday season, whether it’s your office party or planning for the holiday dinner you committed to make or sending out cards or shopping for gifts. There’s a certain joyous frenzy to it all. It can be a fun time of year. But it’s just as likely to be a very stressful time of year when we find ourselves going through the motions of the season without any presence of mind, in a kind of dissociative trance. We become so wrapped up in doing things that we forget our being completely. We become completely unbalanced.12-28-09 ornaments083.jpg

Paradoxically, this is a great time of year to just let yourself be. Taking some time each day to sit and breathe is critically important especially during high stress periods like the holidays. Even ten minutes a day of breathing can make a huge difference. Who has time for that? you might ask. How sad that we so often neglect to connect to ourselves. What does all the giving of the holiday season mean if you’re not able to give yourself the gift of your own attention? You’re not being selfish. You’re honoring your own mental and physical health by taking time out to breathe. To become still, silent, and simple. In that silence and stillness we can reflect on what’s important to us, about the kind of year we’ve had, about our successes and failures and our aspirations for next year. Even during a busy day you can remember to practice STOP whenever you feel you need it — just noticing your breath, your body sensations, and acknowledging whatever thoughts or emotions happen to be present, without needing to change how things are but simply opening to how things are.

So please, give yourself the greatest gift in the world this holiday season – the power of your own attention and self-care.

Please

A Nice Poem from Ed Brown

Ed Brown, No Measuring Up

Now I take the time to peel potatoes,
wash lettuce and boil beets,
to scrub floors, clean sinks, and empty trash.

Absorbed in the everyday,
I find time to unbind, unwind,
to invite the whole body, mind,
breath, thought, and wild impulse to join,
to bask in the task.

No time lost thinking that somewhere else is better.
No time lost imagining getting more elsewhere.
No way to tell this moment does not measure up.
Hand me the spatula: now is the time to taste what is.

8 Ways to Practice Mindfulness in Daily Life

  1. Remember to notice your breath throughout the day, as often as possible. If the breath feels tense, acknowledge it. The simple act of acknowledging often has a healing effect. If your breath is feeling stressed, chances are that you are too.
  2. Notice the touch points and felt sense of your body as often as you can. When your awareness is grounded in the body it is easier to rest in present-moment awareness and life is much easier as a result.
  3. Learn to acknowledge how things are right now. Practice self-compassion and do not judge yourself for feeling a certain way or for being imperfect.
  4. Be aware of the effect what you consume has on your stress level. Too much coffee or TV or E-mail can create a sense of being disembodied and cause stress.
  5. Use moments of down time – like walking down a hall to see a colleague or down the street to catch a bus – to cultivate present-moment awareness.
  6. Re-learn the art of doing one thing at a time. Think “single-tasking” instead of multi-tasking.
  7. Practice mindful eating. Enjoy the sensations of the food without watching TV, going online, texting, having a conversation, or reading. Just eat & know that you’re eating.
  8. When you get home from work, get out of your work clothes and into more comfortable clothing as soon as you can.

Mindfulness Raisin Exercise

Demystifying Mindfulness: The Raisin Exercise
Take a raisin and look at it closely like you’ve never seen one before. Notice its shape, texture, color, smell, sound, the light reflecting off it, the feel of it as you roll it between your fingers. Take your time. Linger as you inspect the raisin. Reflect on all the conditions that brought you this raisin today – conditions of light and water and earth and time, of all the people that touched it in some way. Then, place it in your mouth, feel it rest on your tongue for a moment, then slowly, with awareness, chew, notice, taste. Savor.