Attempting To Be Mindful

“Mindful:

Focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, especially as part of a therapeutic or meditative technique.”

I'm one of the first people to put my hand up and say I'm a little bit chaotic in mind, body and spirit.

I am ignoring my messy room and messier way of life (that's getting addressed soon though, don't worry). I'm a bit of a go-getter by my standards. I work hard, and I put my goals in front of anything else, including my self-health. Take my blogging, for example, on Sundays, I sit down and write a week's worth of blog posts, take enough pictures to last the week and think up topics for the following week ahead. The way things are currently working out, I'm about three weeks ahead of myself, and I like that level of strict organisation, it makes me comfortable. But looking at the bigger picture, I'm 'working' six days a week, with one day off to nurse the hangover left from my weekly Zoom quiz. There's little to no chance to be mindful here, and I want to change that.

Over the past few months, I've looked into ways to be more mindful and take time for myself. But I have also used this research as blogging research too. So does that defeat the object of it all?

Regardless, I'm back at work now, although I'm working from home, the change of routine has meant I have less time to devote to my blog and my self-care routine. So I thought now is as good a time as any for me to look into new ways to relax, prevent a mental burnout yet still be a productive little bee. If you decide to try any of these methods for yourself do let me know!

Allow Your Mind To Wander

I feel like I'm already a pro at this one! Don't be upset at yourself if you have difficulty focusing and don't overexert yourself trying to complete a task. It's okay to lean back, take a moment and breathe. Allowing yourself to take a moment to relax and focus on your breathing is a fabulous way to start focusing on self-care.

Don't Be Too Hard On Yourself.

This is one that I still struggle to implement into my own life. When you're struggling in life, it can be so easy to punish yourself for your failures. Negativity never yields positive results, in my opinion, so I am an avid user of the Positivity Loop. See this kind of judgment as just another kind of thinking, and gently return awareness to the breath.

Embrace Relaxation

There should always be time to relax; it’s just as important as eating breakfast or drinking water. Your ‘relaxation time’ could be anything from a few mindful breaths, to journaling or meditation. This relaxed feeling is an ally. It helps us to be more present, more conscious. Relaxation alone is not what mindfulness is about, however! It is about being present with awareness.

Expect To Notice More Things

Anyone else feeling this one during a lockdown? It’s not just happy things; it’s painful things too. This is progress. You are not doing anything wrong! Quite the opposite, you are increasing mindfulness for all items. When you begin to notice the painful things, see if you can hold yourself with compassion and kindness, and continue to bring open-hearted awareness to the experience that is unfolding.

Practise Staying Present

I saw a TikTok the other day about “romanticising your life and viewing yourself as the main character”. I doubt I’ll be able to find the audio or an okay clip to use before this blog goes live. But I bloody love that outlook on life and want to take the time to bring it into my lifestyle.

By not turning away from the painful things in our lives, we can learn to remain open to all the possibilities in each situation. This increases our chances for healing and transformation in meeting the pain we face. And it also gives us a way to be with those situations when there is nothing more we can do to “get away from the pain” but must find a way to be with it. We can discover that the quality of mindfulness is not destroyed or damaged by contact with the pain, that it can know pain as completely and thoroughly as it knows any other experience.

Be Careful Not To Try Too Hard

Don’t try to make anything happen, or to achieve any particular states or any special effects! Relax and pay as much attention as you can to just what is here now. Whatever form that takes. Allow yourself to experience life directly as it unfolds, paying careful and open-hearted attention.

When Should We Practise Mindfulness?

Ideally, we’d practise mindfulness whenever we can. But there are a few critical points in the day where practising mindfulness can have a little more impact;

When starting a new activity-

(beginning a Zoom meeting or social activity with 2 minutes of silence and attention on the breath, or taking a few mindful breaths before entering a patient’s room, or a focus on the breath before starting your exercise routine, are some possibilities).

During an on-going situation-

(bringing attention to the breath, or to the sensations arising while washing dishes, eating a meal, walking the dog, doing a job, etc.)

Or when you’re waiting-

This could be gently bringing attention to the breath and focusing on sounds or the sensations or the sights. 

In these situations, use the sensation of the breath as the “anchor” for awareness in the present moment. Establish mindfulness on the narrow focus of just the breath sensation. Allow yourself to feel the breath as it goes in, and goes out. 

Do not try to control the breath. 

Let it come and go. Bring as much attention, as and continuously as you can to the direct sensation of the breath.

After a while, if you wish, when you have established awareness on the breath sensation, you could widen the focus to include all body sensations along with the breath sensation. Again, not trying to change anything at all. Allow yourself to feel and be aware of the changing feelings in the body.

I admire the idea that this outlook on life can be an anchor to help deal with difficult or stressful situations. Like I said at the start of this blog, I’m a bit of a stressy-bessy and work more than I probably should. I like the idea that mindfulness can be practised at any time of day or night and doesn’t have a specific list of tasks or actions.

What do you think, are you mindful? If not, are you willing to give it a go?