Mindfulness
Pema Chödrön
Meditation practice isn’t about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It’s about befriending who we already are.
Thích Nhất Hạnh
Live the actual moment. Only this actual moment is life.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is the ability to place your conscious attention on the present moment. Those who are skilled at it say it’s a feeling of lightness. For them, it has become a way of life, a way to feel interconnected to the divine consciousness.
Spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle used to wake up at night with racing thoughts that he just couldn’t stop. It was agony. After practicing mindfulness, he explained that waking up in the middle of the night became so beautiful he would just say, “Aaahhh.” There was no thinking, just a feeling of being intensely alive.
I want to get to that state. I know many others who want to, as well. The first step, which I’ve taken, is acknowledging that my mind is racing. It’s hard to believe, but some people aren’t even aware that it’s a problem, that allowing your thoughts to race is futile and, most assuredly, a tremendous hindrance.
The second step is breathing—slowly and deeply. In and out, just like the waves on a beach. Focusing on proper breathing keeps you centered on the present moment, which is exactly where you want to be. An hour every day at the gym has taught me the power of deep breathing, so when practicing mindfulness, I know to breathe from the belly.
Third, I get in touch with my body. I want to become acutely aware of the tingling in my hands and feet, the pillow supporting my back, the breath flowing through my nostrils, warmth, coolness, aching, throbbing—any sensation my body is experiencing.
I practice all of this throughout the day, for a minute or so at a time. Of course, I have a long way to go to achieve that deep, sustained interconnectedness I hear about and yearn for.
But if I achieve mindfulness for 20 minutes a day, it’s 20 minutes less of useless worry. Long journey, small steps, but I’m learning to be patient with myself.
~ kimberly
Psychology Today
What Exactly Is Mindfulneses? It’s Not What You Think.
Mindfulness is, quite simply, full conscious awareness. It is paying full conscious attention to whatever thoughts, feelings, and emotions are flowing through your mind, body, and breath without judging or criticising them in any way. It is being fully aware of whatever is happening in the present moment without being trapped in the past or worrying about the future. It is living in the moment, not for the moment.
Mindfulness can also be understood by what it is not. It is not a religion. Nor is it inherently mystical or spiritual. Prominent atheists, such as Sam Harris, are quite happy to meditate because of the clarity of mind it engenders. It is simply a tool for reconnecting with life, for embracing the ebb and flow of the world, and for coming to a greater understanding and acceptance of life’s eternal flux.
Eckhart Tolle Meditation: How to Achieve Mindfulness
Being aware of your inner body—your mental and emotional state and the energy it creates within you—keeps you present in the Now.
Getting Started With mindfulness
Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us..
5 Graceful Ways to Live a Mindful 2023
Here are five ways to bring about a more mindful and graceful life in 2023.
Guerrillas Of Grace
by Ted Loder
Guide Me Into an Unclenched Moment
Gentle me,
Holy One,
into an unclenched moment,
a deep breath,
a letting go
of heavy expectancies,
of shriveling anxieties,
of dead certainties,
that, softened by the silence,
surrounded by the light
and open to the mystery,
I may be found by wholeness,
upheld by the unfathomable,
entranced by the simple,
and filled wih the joy
that is you.
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