Even though I practice Mindfulness throughout each and every day and I’m a Certified Mindfulness Teacher, I still sometimes find it difficult to fully explain – with mere words! Of course I know the definition of Mindfulness and I’ve read the research and the many studies on it’s effectiveness and benefits, but to share the powerful effects it has on my life I find a little challenging.
This is possibly because I find Mindfulness one of the most beneficial practices I’ve ever undertaken – which is why I became a Certified Mindfulness Teacher in 2016, even though I’d been teaching Meditation, Relaxation and Tai Chi since the 1980’s.
I used to be a bit of a hot head prone to over emotional flare ups and tempers. In essence, I’ve always been a positive, outgoing and happy person, but underlying that was nervousness, restlessness and often anxiety. Looking back now, I realise I didn’t feel safe and sometimes it all got a bit too much and I felt overwhelmed and reacted with anger, followed by bouts of anxious crying.
Over time, my Meditation and Tai Chi practices helped me to settle and feel calmer and safer but learning Mindfulness took it to a deeper level. Practicing Mindfulness gives me a clearer understanding of my emotions and how I choose to respond to whatever arises. I learnt to respond rather than react and that’s turned out to be an exceptionally good skill to have acquired.
Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be present, fully and consciously aware of what we’re thinking and feeling, where we are and what we’re doing, without judgement and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us. Unpleasant feelings and situations will always arise throughout our lives, that’s a given, but whether we suffer or not is optional.
Imagine a world where no-one reacted, wasn’t out of control and actually responded calmly to each and every other person and situation. Fully and wholeheartedly accepting whatever comes, remaining calm and present in each moment is a momentously valuable skill to develop for yourself and for the benefit of everyone in our world. And even if remaining calm in each moment doesn’t always occur, practicing Mindfulness will help you return to a calm, grounded state more easily and from calmness, we may make better decisions.
Here are some great websites where you’ll find lots of info on how to bring Mindfulness into your life.
The Mindfulness Toolkit by my favourite Teacher, Sean Fargo. Learn more for yourself and for helping others.
https://www.everydaygetsbetter.com/meditate
For anyone who wants to enhance their Mindfulness Practices.
https://www.everydaygetsbetter.com/master
Learn simple practices to help you in your workplace. Mindfulness at Work.
https://www.everydaygetsbetter.com/atwork
Other helpful info:
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/mindfulness/definition
https://www.helpguide.org/harvard/benefits-of-mindfulness.htm
Please reach out and contact me with any queries you may have. 🙂 💛
❤️ With thanks to the unknown person who supplied this image.