Discover the power of mindfulness and how it can transform your life. Apart from being another new buzz word in the mental health world, what exactly is meant by Mindfulness? And why is it such an important key to empowerment (becoming the best version of yourself)?
WHAT IS MEANT BY MINDFULNESS?
It does not mean that your mind is full like the word implies. In the contrary – to live mindfully, you need to empty your mind, and teach it to be still. You need to stop dwelling on the past, and stop worrying about the future. Yes, believe me, I know it’s not as easy as I make it sound. Mindfulness refers to a state of being, a state of intense awareness.
A state also called: Living in the Now, or Living in the Moment. A state where you exchange the autopilot mode of living for a life in abundance. It is a state where you are able to experience life more fully without judgment, criticism, or constant evaluation. Sounds blissful? It is within your reach, but before I give you some practical tips, I just need to briefly touch on the history and the two main types of mindfulness first.
HISTORY OF MINDFULNESS:
Although not known by that name, the practise of mindfulness originated in the Eastern religions around 2500 years ago. The practise received the label, and has moved from religion to a more modern presence in Science in the late 1970’s. At this time, it was introduced to the West mainly by Jon Kabat-Zinn.
He developed and implemented his Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program at the University of Massachusetts in 1979, where he successfully treated his patients for stress relief.
TWO MAIN TYPES OF MINDFULNESS:
Formal mindfulness practise: This consists of formally structured, daily meditation sessions. I’m not going to spend much time here in this article. You can find lots of 10-minute meditation tutorials on YouTube that can help you with this practise if this is for you.
Informal mindfulness practise: This is where it becomes exciting for me – practising mindfulness in your day-to-day life. While you’re making the bed, driving to work, washing the dishes or walking the dog. Mindfulness needs to become one of your successful habits that you practise over and over again, every day.
BENEFITS OF MINDFULNESS:
- It improves your cognitive ability and productivity. You will be able to focus your attention on a specific task for a
longer period of time. You will be able to quickly shift your thoughts from one task to another in spite of
the distractions around you. You can successfully suppress other thoughts that interfere with your focus, completing your tasks with excellence. - It slows brain ageing
- It reduces stress
- It lowers incidence of burn-out
- It reduces the symptoms of depression and anxiety
- It increases job satisfaction
- It improves your memory
- It improves your quality of sleep
- It improves your resilience, helping you to bounce back quicker and stronger after a setback
- It increases mental clarity, aiding in creativity
- It reduces your heart rate
- It manages your weight by controlling emotional eating
- It regulates emotions
- It is a natural remedy for depression and anxiety
- It strengthens your relationships
- For the believers: In your relationship with God, you experience Him on a more personal level, feeling
closer to God in your walk with Him.
Even more awesome benefits are discovered all the time. The reasons not to increase your mindfulness, are disappearing fast!
TIPS ON INCREASING YOUR MINDFULNESS:
If your mind is all over the place, start by focusing on what it is that you’re doing, right now, even if it’s just merely a routine. What’s happening around you, the sensations in your body. What do you see, smell, hear? This requires lots of effort and focus at first, but practise makes perfect. If you find that your mind wanders (yes, of course it will, even after you think you’ve mastered mindfulness!), simply bring your attention gently back to the present moment without judging or criticizing yourself. Repeat it over and over again if necessary.
If you get busy during the day and you find yourself forgetting for hours on end to be mindful, tie a ribbon around your wrist, or make a knot in your ear. Anything that helps to remind you. It is said that something will become a habit when you do it for 30 days in a row. Start adding the next tips one at a time. Be careful not to try all of them at once, you might become overwhelmed and give up all together. Remember, it must become a state of being, not an occasional craze.
Breathing
Whenever I feel overwhelmed, breathing is my first-aid. Take a few deep breaths in through your
nose, hold it for a few seconds, and slowly let it out through your mouth. Focus intently on the
sound in your nose, how first your lungs, and then your tummy expands with the air, focus on your
heart beat in your chest while you hold your breath, and then focus on the sensation as the breath
leaves your body. Breathing with intention. Do this continually throughout the day whenever you
remember. Eventually, this too will become a habit. Breathing exercises are also one of the natural
remedies for depression and anxiety.
Look up
Not only from your computer screen, but look up at the stars, or the clouds, and really see them.
Take breaks
From Social Media. If you have a gentle spirit and you find that watching the news upsets you, stop
watching the news for a while!
Feel feelings
Don’t force happiness, and don’t resist negative feelings. Accept and allow your emotions to be
there. Whatever you resist, will persist. But be mindful of your reaction to them. Don’t let your
emotions overwhelm you. You are in control, not your emotions. You can choose how to react on a
certain emotion, for example slowly counting to 10 instead of throwing a vase against the wall.
Be creative
Paint, write, make or draw something. Be in the moment of creation. Creativity kick starts a
snowball. The more creative you are, the more mindful you become. And the more mindful you become,
the more your creative juices flow. Mindfulness is an excellent cure for any artist’s block!
The more you complete the cycle, the easier and more natural it becomes, until you can use less and less force at nr 1 to reach the desired state.
Exercise
Engage in a healthy activity you enjoy. Take note of your senses while doing this: The sun on your skin, the smells and sounds around you, your breathing. Involving the body and the mind like this increases your mindfulness naturally. If you find it’s impossible, check your fitness levels, ambitions and goals. And, if last-mentioned are too high, it can rob you of enjoying your activity. If you are too unfit, don’t despair and don’t give up! It will become easier as you go along.
Focus
Do one task at a time. It increases your performance. Do not multi-task! Even if you are an employee, housewife and a mom. You actually make more mistakes, and it takes longer to complete tasks.
Values
Allow your mind to dwell on your values such as gratitude, compassion, acceptance, purpose, forgiveness, celebrating life.
The Power of Mindfulness for the believers:
“Whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honourable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them]”. – Phil 4:8 (AMPC)
Struggling to Harness the Power of the Mind?
If you’ve followed the tips in this article for at least 30 days, but still struggle to live in the moment and get the listed benefits, don’t despair! The 20-hour virtual online Transformation Coaching System™ that I use, will automatically increase your mindfulness without any further effort from your side. As soon as you drop your mental and emotional baggage and Travel Lightly through life, you will experience the power of mindfulness in your day-to-day life.
Contact me TODAY for a free 30 min online Session!
I am a certified Transformation Life Coach operating in Riebeek Kasteel, Western Cape of South Africa. I also do virtual online life coaching sessions, so no matter where you are situated, all you need is an internet connection, a mobile phone or computer, and a space where you can meet with me uninterruptedly once a week for two hours.
In this article, I have briefly touched on symptoms of depression and anxiety. Seeing that so many people suffer from these issues lately (even more so after Covid Lockdowns), I feel that I want to park there for the next article. Because mindfulness is one of the natural remedies for depression and anxiety, I want to go a bit deeper into more remedies as well, instead of moving on to the third key.
Or you can jump straight to the 3rd KEY – the power of Gratitude.
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Resources: www.positivepsychology.com/benefits-of-mindfulness, www.wikipedia.org, www.projecthappiness.mykajabi.com/happiness, www.healthline.com/health/mind-body/what-is-mindfulness
