Mindfulness is basically awakeness.
Think about the things we miss because we are not paying full attention – even things like brushing our teeth, or eating a bowl of cereal, driving…
When we are fully alert, the journey of life becomes a moving meditation.
This is the opposite of multi-tasking! You’re putting your full attention into what you’re doing – awake in that moment.
Mindfulness helps to turn the noise down in our heads, and so feelings of doubt, anger, worries about tomorrow or the future start to dial down.
Simple mindful practices –
Get yourself comfortable lying down, take some big breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth and then allow your mind to become fully absorbed in the sounds of your breath – notice the sound of the inhalation and exhalation – imagine it was as if you were watching ocean waves, let your mind get drawn into the experience.
When you’re eating your dinner, take a moment to think about where all the elements have come from, how long it took for the vegetables to grow and the light and water that was required. Then the preparation you took to put the ingredients together. Fully savour the flavours in your mouth as you chew slowly. This has multiple benefits – not only calming the mind, it helps with digestion and ensures that we don’t over eat.
Next time you’re cleaning your house, think about how you earned the money to pay for this shelter, how the item was created that you are cleaning – this helps to give you full appreciation of everything you have right now, rather than feeling a lack for things you don’t have!