Showing posts with label self. Show all posts
Showing posts with label self. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Sunday, April 28, 2013
** thank you for speaking to me today **
Being true to yourself is what completes you.
These messages about what we're "supposed to do" create a ton of anxiety for us because they make us to believe we're doing something wrong! We've missed the boat if we don't follow the path, or if we follow it and aren't happy. Either way, we're screwed.
Luckily, this isn't the ultimate reality.
Happiness is listening to your truth and following through. It's saying "F-it!" to The Path, and deciding to make your own road. Happiness is definitely a little renegade. It's not always what others want for you; it's not always the most popular route.
But hear this: it is the ONLY route.
You can't find happiness by living someone else's dream. Including the general dream of society. Happiness is finding your own dream.
Seek your own version of happiness. Drop into your heart, listen to what it has to say, be brave, and go for it. You'll find your way. I promise.
These messages about what we're "supposed to do" create a ton of anxiety for us because they make us to believe we're doing something wrong! We've missed the boat if we don't follow the path, or if we follow it and aren't happy. Either way, we're screwed.
Luckily, this isn't the ultimate reality.
Happiness is listening to your truth and following through. It's saying "F-it!" to The Path, and deciding to make your own road. Happiness is definitely a little renegade. It's not always what others want for you; it's not always the most popular route.
But hear this: it is the ONLY route.
You can't find happiness by living someone else's dream. Including the general dream of society. Happiness is finding your own dream.
Seek your own version of happiness. Drop into your heart, listen to what it has to say, be brave, and go for it. You'll find your way. I promise.
Monday, April 22, 2013
4/22/13
“People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them.”
~ George Bernard Shaw
It's so easy to fall into the "whoa-is-me" trap. Look at all this shit happening TO me. Successful people aren't those who never have hardship. Successful people see that hardship as an obstacle... something to surmount... not something that defines who they are. You circumstances will come and go... but who do you want to BE in the process? Rain or shine, shitty or amazing... who do you consciously choose to BE?
-Joy Junkie
~ George Bernard Shaw
It's so easy to fall into the "whoa-is-me" trap. Look at all this shit happening TO me. Successful people aren't those who never have hardship. Successful people see that hardship as an obstacle... something to surmount... not something that defines who they are. You circumstances will come and go... but who do you want to BE in the process? Rain or shine, shitty or amazing... who do you consciously choose to BE?
-Joy Junkie
Saturday, April 20, 2013
7 Steps to Hear Your Own Inner Wisdom
7 Steps for Hearing Your Own Inner Wisdom
1. Start small.
Begin with simply noticing physical sensations. Check in with your body from time to time. What physical sensations are you noticing right now?
2. Fine tune.
Once you start to check in with your body, you’ll probably also notice emotions, and associations with whether or not the emotions you’re feeling are good or bad. It’s normal—but in this case it’s not all that helpful. Keep on fine-tuning your radar until you’re paying attention to only physical sensations.
3. Benchmark your “yes.”
Make a list of times that you knew things were right for you, or felt that things were exactly as they were meant to be, really great, going well, etc. Then do a body scan: What physical sensations do you feel? Write ‘em down and then label them.
4. Benchmark your “no.”
Make a list of times that you knew things were not right for you, or felt that things were not as they were meant to be, not going great or well, etc. Then do a body scan: What physical sensations do you feel? Write ‘em down and then label them.
5. Practice.
You’ve just created your body compass. Using it is fun. Orange or apple? Imagine making each choice and then see what physical sensations come up—closer to “yes” or closer to “no”?
6. Trust.
The verbal part of your brain might come up with all sorts of reasons why you shouldn’t trust your body compass. Practicing on the little things helps to build up enough trust to use it on the big decisions.
7. Live it in the moment.
Once you’ve got your compass down pat, keep on using it. Living it in the moment is about remembering your innate talent for knowing, and using it with reckless abandon and firm intention.
What’s your inner wisdom telling you?
http://tinybuddha.com/blog/making-tough-decisions-7-steps-to-hear-your-own-inner-wisdom/
1. Start small.
Begin with simply noticing physical sensations. Check in with your body from time to time. What physical sensations are you noticing right now?
2. Fine tune.
Once you start to check in with your body, you’ll probably also notice emotions, and associations with whether or not the emotions you’re feeling are good or bad. It’s normal—but in this case it’s not all that helpful. Keep on fine-tuning your radar until you’re paying attention to only physical sensations.
3. Benchmark your “yes.”
Make a list of times that you knew things were right for you, or felt that things were exactly as they were meant to be, really great, going well, etc. Then do a body scan: What physical sensations do you feel? Write ‘em down and then label them.
4. Benchmark your “no.”
Make a list of times that you knew things were not right for you, or felt that things were not as they were meant to be, not going great or well, etc. Then do a body scan: What physical sensations do you feel? Write ‘em down and then label them.
5. Practice.
You’ve just created your body compass. Using it is fun. Orange or apple? Imagine making each choice and then see what physical sensations come up—closer to “yes” or closer to “no”?
6. Trust.
The verbal part of your brain might come up with all sorts of reasons why you shouldn’t trust your body compass. Practicing on the little things helps to build up enough trust to use it on the big decisions.
7. Live it in the moment.
Once you’ve got your compass down pat, keep on using it. Living it in the moment is about remembering your innate talent for knowing, and using it with reckless abandon and firm intention.
What’s your inner wisdom telling you?
http://tinybuddha.com/blog/making-tough-decisions-7-steps-to-hear-your-own-inner-wisdom/
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Monday, March 25, 2013
Dealing with pain
1. Developing emotional intelligence.
2. Learning to sit with negative feelings.
3. Creating situations for positive feelings.
Pain is part of life, and we can’t avoid it by resisting it. We can only minimize it by accepting it and dealing with it well.
That means feeling the pain and knowing it will pass. No feeling lasts forever. It means sitting in the discomfort and waiting before acting. There will come a time when you feel healed and empowered.
Our power comes from realizing we don’t need to act on pain; and if we need to diffuse it, we can channel it into something healthy and productive, like writing, painting, or doing something physical.
Pain is sometimes an indication we need to set boundaries, learn to say no more often, or take better care of ourselves; but sometimes it just means that it’s human to hurt, and we need to let ourselves go through it.
We tend to be more reactive than active, but that’s a decision to let the outside world dictate how we feel.
We don’t need to sit around waiting for other people to evoke our feelings. Instead, we can take responsibility to create our own inner world.
We can identify what we want to say yes to in life and choose that before struggling with whether or not to say no to someone else. If you love dancing, take a class. If your greatest passion is writing, start a blog. If you daydream about being a musician, start recording.
Don’t worry about where it’s leading. Do it just because you love it.
***
Negative feelings are only negative if they’re excessive and enduring. We won’t hurt ourselves into eternal misery if we let ourselves feel what we need to.
Still, we don’t have to feel bad nearly as often as we think.
If we choose to foster a sense of inner peace, challenge our perceptions and interpretations when our emotions could use some schooling, and learn to take responsibility for our joy, we can not only minimize pain—we can choose to be a source of pleasure, for ourselves and the people around us.
http://tinybuddha.com/blog/how-to-deal-with-uncomfortable-feelings/
2. Learning to sit with negative feelings.
3. Creating situations for positive feelings.
Pain is part of life, and we can’t avoid it by resisting it. We can only minimize it by accepting it and dealing with it well.
That means feeling the pain and knowing it will pass. No feeling lasts forever. It means sitting in the discomfort and waiting before acting. There will come a time when you feel healed and empowered.
Our power comes from realizing we don’t need to act on pain; and if we need to diffuse it, we can channel it into something healthy and productive, like writing, painting, or doing something physical.
Pain is sometimes an indication we need to set boundaries, learn to say no more often, or take better care of ourselves; but sometimes it just means that it’s human to hurt, and we need to let ourselves go through it.
We tend to be more reactive than active, but that’s a decision to let the outside world dictate how we feel.
We don’t need to sit around waiting for other people to evoke our feelings. Instead, we can take responsibility to create our own inner world.
We can identify what we want to say yes to in life and choose that before struggling with whether or not to say no to someone else. If you love dancing, take a class. If your greatest passion is writing, start a blog. If you daydream about being a musician, start recording.
Don’t worry about where it’s leading. Do it just because you love it.
***
Negative feelings are only negative if they’re excessive and enduring. We won’t hurt ourselves into eternal misery if we let ourselves feel what we need to.
Still, we don’t have to feel bad nearly as often as we think.
If we choose to foster a sense of inner peace, challenge our perceptions and interpretations when our emotions could use some schooling, and learn to take responsibility for our joy, we can not only minimize pain—we can choose to be a source of pleasure, for ourselves and the people around us.
http://tinybuddha.com/blog/how-to-deal-with-uncomfortable-feelings/
Thursday, March 21, 2013
“We don’t need to create bridges to climb over chasms, or do battle with dragons and monsters, though this paints an epic and exciting story for us, which we can get lost in for a time, healing is much simpler… Healing can be as simple as recognizing that who we are underneath the physical garment is so incredibly beautiful as it is and as such the human self is too, and any resistance or tension is only held there because we resist this understanding in one way or another.” – Elias Davis
amazin'
"My life is filled with so much love and goodness that is trying to permeate my cells and I have been stalwart in not letting it pass through. Because each and every time that happens, it brings up a sense of melancholy that I never got this before. It reminds me of how deep the pit was that I had fallen into in the past, how far I have had to claw my way out of darkness to begin to feel the tendrils of the light.
This is where I am. When I feel like the world gets to be too much, I shut down my phone, close my laptop, hole up. I'm actively aiming to do the opposite, because an old friend of mine had once said, "If you want things to change, do the opposite of what you would normally do."
So, I'm leaning into the discomfort, allowing the fear to come in but choosing love instead. We'll see where this goes. Either way, I'm thankful for the opportunity to develop myself into a greater version of me, even if the steps along the way are cracked, uneven, and quaking."
http://hawkandlily.blogspot.com/
This is where I am. When I feel like the world gets to be too much, I shut down my phone, close my laptop, hole up. I'm actively aiming to do the opposite, because an old friend of mine had once said, "If you want things to change, do the opposite of what you would normally do."
So, I'm leaning into the discomfort, allowing the fear to come in but choosing love instead. We'll see where this goes. Either way, I'm thankful for the opportunity to develop myself into a greater version of me, even if the steps along the way are cracked, uneven, and quaking."
http://hawkandlily.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Feeling of safety within my own hands
"Finding that feeling of safety within my own two hands."
In Chinese culture, it's customary to tamp down your feelings, to press them so far back into your consciousness that you create a backlog of emotions you'll likely have to deal with later on. I was always very sensitive when I was younger, but I created a thick demeanor around it, so that I could handle what was happening in my household.
Then, when I began dating, I would attract men who seemed to not feel much of anything at all except for what was practical and rational and predictable. It made me feel like I was crazy, that I was going up and down and all around, when in actuality, I was simply being a human being. And, a beautiful woman at that.
Lately, I've been yearning to feel safe in the world, to be able to shed any presumptions or preconceived notions of how I need to be in order to receive love. Instead, I want to just be, and be loved for being me. While I've been seeking this feeling of security within and around others, like everything else in life, it always has to begin with ourselves first.
That realization can be both a blessing and a curse.
Because there are indeed times when you need to open up and surrender your palms, so that someone else can hold it for you. To pull you up when you feel you've stumbled, to hold tight when you get scared and want to run away, to remind you that you're not alone in the world. Then, there are other occasions when the only person who can make any sort of change is yourself — from what you think to what you believe to how you act, the spark must be ignited within you and then the flame can illuminate the rest of the world.
Every morning, before I get out of bed, I say a little mantra to protect my energy. I thank the Universe that I'm alive and gifted another day with my heart beating and my lungs breathing. And then, I place my hands on myself to offer Reiki healing energy. Today, after a night of odd dreams filled with fears, I awoke and did the same as I do every other morning.
The difference is, I felt filled with a sense of safety. I felt that my hands were offering loving energy to myself in a way that conveyed how worthy I am. I was giving myself what I've been looking for outside of me for so long. It was so serene and, while it was brief, it was an awakening of potential for greater self-care and self-respect in this moment and every other in the world.
It takes loads of work to change the patterns that exist in your brain. It takes effort and practice to overlay a new story on the one that was written before. It takes discipline to catch the approach you're using on yourself and others, to co-create a different type of experience, one that suits your soul much better.
Sometimes, it happens in an instant. Sometimes, it happens over years or even decades. And sometimes, it happens so subtly that you may not even realize you've arrived where you've always wanted to be. For all those other times in between, that's where faith that things are happening just as they're meant to comes into play.
Feel whatever you're feeling. Feelings are information and if you can be discerning and observing with the ones you choose to pursue, then you are growing wiser with every moment.
Today, I feel a bit safer. And that is lovely.
http://hawkandlily.blogspot.com/2013/02/finding-that-feeling-of-safety-within.html
In Chinese culture, it's customary to tamp down your feelings, to press them so far back into your consciousness that you create a backlog of emotions you'll likely have to deal with later on. I was always very sensitive when I was younger, but I created a thick demeanor around it, so that I could handle what was happening in my household.
Then, when I began dating, I would attract men who seemed to not feel much of anything at all except for what was practical and rational and predictable. It made me feel like I was crazy, that I was going up and down and all around, when in actuality, I was simply being a human being. And, a beautiful woman at that.
Lately, I've been yearning to feel safe in the world, to be able to shed any presumptions or preconceived notions of how I need to be in order to receive love. Instead, I want to just be, and be loved for being me. While I've been seeking this feeling of security within and around others, like everything else in life, it always has to begin with ourselves first.
That realization can be both a blessing and a curse.
Because there are indeed times when you need to open up and surrender your palms, so that someone else can hold it for you. To pull you up when you feel you've stumbled, to hold tight when you get scared and want to run away, to remind you that you're not alone in the world. Then, there are other occasions when the only person who can make any sort of change is yourself — from what you think to what you believe to how you act, the spark must be ignited within you and then the flame can illuminate the rest of the world.
Every morning, before I get out of bed, I say a little mantra to protect my energy. I thank the Universe that I'm alive and gifted another day with my heart beating and my lungs breathing. And then, I place my hands on myself to offer Reiki healing energy. Today, after a night of odd dreams filled with fears, I awoke and did the same as I do every other morning.
The difference is, I felt filled with a sense of safety. I felt that my hands were offering loving energy to myself in a way that conveyed how worthy I am. I was giving myself what I've been looking for outside of me for so long. It was so serene and, while it was brief, it was an awakening of potential for greater self-care and self-respect in this moment and every other in the world.
It takes loads of work to change the patterns that exist in your brain. It takes effort and practice to overlay a new story on the one that was written before. It takes discipline to catch the approach you're using on yourself and others, to co-create a different type of experience, one that suits your soul much better.
Sometimes, it happens in an instant. Sometimes, it happens over years or even decades. And sometimes, it happens so subtly that you may not even realize you've arrived where you've always wanted to be. For all those other times in between, that's where faith that things are happening just as they're meant to comes into play.
Feel whatever you're feeling. Feelings are information and if you can be discerning and observing with the ones you choose to pursue, then you are growing wiser with every moment.
Today, I feel a bit safer. And that is lovely.
http://hawkandlily.blogspot.com/2013/02/finding-that-feeling-of-safety-within.html
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
DEAL WITH SELF-DOUBT AND TRUST YOUR SELF AGAIN
Muting the voices of self-doubt gremlins can be quite a feat. Here are some things that can help you trust yourself again when feeling defeated:
1. Ground yourself.
If you find yourself being pulled into negative thoughts stemming from past experiences or comments from others, staying present is key to being able to focus on the positive.
Sometimes it’s as simple as getting outside in nature. For others, meditating may help. I love walking meditations out in nature where I notice the details of my surroundings without judgment.
2. Balance the negative.
If you find that voices of the critical gremlins (both inner and outer) are way too loud, drown them out (or at least balance them) with your own chants of self-praise.
This can be hard when you’re in a real funk and find it difficult to access encouraging words for your self. To counter these voices you may find it helpful to write down 5 to 10 positive things about yourself in a handy mini notepad.
Whenever the gremlins strike with their undermining comments of “You’re not good enough,” whip out your book and read out loud words of praise for your self.
3. Take a break.
If you are feeling overwhelmed by what you perceive as not going so well, take some time away from that project and focus on something totally different. Sometimes shifting our focus away from what we are stuck on helps us take a new perspective when we come back to it.
Doodle, scribble, paint with your hands. Put on your favorite music and move around.
4. Nurture yourself.
It’s easy to get lost in the sea of self-doubt when we forget to take care of or own needs.
Make sure you have enough play time (away from work to balance the work and play). Be sure to stay hydrated with plenty of water throughout the day (not all at once), get enough sleep, and eat healthily.
Keep a gratitude art journal where you pick a picture out of a magazine or from online and choose one to three things a day that you are thankful for.
5. Connect with others.
While it is important to strengthen your self-love muscles, it is just as important to get the support you need from others. Whether this is from friends, family, or a professional therapist or coach, getting reassurance or help from others can make a big difference.
Sometimes just the reassurance that you are not the only one who gets stuck or has moments of self doubt can be help you shift a “why me” attitude.
What helps you overcome doubt in your abilities?
http://tinybuddha.com/blog/5-steps-to-deal-with-self-doubt-and-trust-your-self-again/
1. Ground yourself.
If you find yourself being pulled into negative thoughts stemming from past experiences or comments from others, staying present is key to being able to focus on the positive.
Sometimes it’s as simple as getting outside in nature. For others, meditating may help. I love walking meditations out in nature where I notice the details of my surroundings without judgment.
2. Balance the negative.
If you find that voices of the critical gremlins (both inner and outer) are way too loud, drown them out (or at least balance them) with your own chants of self-praise.
This can be hard when you’re in a real funk and find it difficult to access encouraging words for your self. To counter these voices you may find it helpful to write down 5 to 10 positive things about yourself in a handy mini notepad.
Whenever the gremlins strike with their undermining comments of “You’re not good enough,” whip out your book and read out loud words of praise for your self.
3. Take a break.
If you are feeling overwhelmed by what you perceive as not going so well, take some time away from that project and focus on something totally different. Sometimes shifting our focus away from what we are stuck on helps us take a new perspective when we come back to it.
Doodle, scribble, paint with your hands. Put on your favorite music and move around.
4. Nurture yourself.
It’s easy to get lost in the sea of self-doubt when we forget to take care of or own needs.
Make sure you have enough play time (away from work to balance the work and play). Be sure to stay hydrated with plenty of water throughout the day (not all at once), get enough sleep, and eat healthily.
Keep a gratitude art journal where you pick a picture out of a magazine or from online and choose one to three things a day that you are thankful for.
5. Connect with others.
While it is important to strengthen your self-love muscles, it is just as important to get the support you need from others. Whether this is from friends, family, or a professional therapist or coach, getting reassurance or help from others can make a big difference.
Sometimes just the reassurance that you are not the only one who gets stuck or has moments of self doubt can be help you shift a “why me” attitude.
What helps you overcome doubt in your abilities?
http://tinybuddha.com/blog/5-steps-to-deal-with-self-doubt-and-trust-your-self-again/
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Learning more about myself
I have been learning more about myself.
Last night I realized what a defensive and exclusive air I can give off.
I saw a taste of that attitude, and I took out my bad mood wrongly on a friend.
He has forgiven me and I have forgiven myself, I'm just understanding why this happened.
And I think it's cuz sometimes I just want to be alone and can't be so I get feisty at the people I can't avoid.
That's not fair. Especially when this person took me in.
SO,
I resolve to be mindful of my defensive spirit to be more open, soft, and kind even when I don't want to be.
In love and learning,
Jess!
Last night I realized what a defensive and exclusive air I can give off.
I saw a taste of that attitude, and I took out my bad mood wrongly on a friend.
He has forgiven me and I have forgiven myself, I'm just understanding why this happened.
And I think it's cuz sometimes I just want to be alone and can't be so I get feisty at the people I can't avoid.
That's not fair. Especially when this person took me in.
SO,
I resolve to be mindful of my defensive spirit to be more open, soft, and kind even when I don't want to be.
In love and learning,
Jess!
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Monday, February 18, 2013
Elizabeth Gilbert: Your elusive creative genius
Someone's comment:
" I recognize pain as the essential part of my creative being. I see through It, I can taste it and use it, so I know how the grandiosity of joy feels like. Because you will never understand sweetness of the morning dew without tasting the bitterness of the vespertine rain"
Sunday, February 17, 2013
The Space Between Self-Esteem and Self Compassion
Self-esteem
-Global judgment of self-esteem: Am I good person or a bad person?
If you hate yourself, you're going to be depressed and hate yourself, will have anxiety and psychological problems
To have high self-esteem, you have to feel special and above average
To all feel above average, we have to put ourselves up and put others down to feel better by comparison
--Epidemic of narcissism in this culture
--Epidemic of bullying by kids who are forming their sense of self-esteem to feel stronger and more powerful
--People are prejudice in order to enhance their own self-esteem by feeling their group is better
--Will only feel good about oneself when one succeeds and will feel lousy and like a failure when fails
--Women invest in their self-esteem in how attractive they are
Self-compassion not about judging ourselves kindly but about relating to ourselves kindly.
Self-compassion has three core components:
1. Treating ourselves with kindness instead of harsh self-judgment: Patience, kindness, gentleness, compassion
2. Common humanity: How am I the same as others (instead of asking how we are different). To be human means to be imperfect as people and in our lives - that is the shared human experience. When we struggle in lives, we can feel abnormal and that we shouldn't be failing. The feeling of abnormality that is so psychologically damaging.
3. Mindfulness: Being with what is in the present moment. turn toward, validate, and accept that we are suffering in order to give ourselves self-compassion.
Treat ourselves with the same kindness, care, and concern we treat our friends
Intentionally try to be more compassionate to myself - it will make an immediate difference
Self-compassion offers a lot of benefits other people don't
Making ourselves feel isolated makes things so much worse when in reality that is what connects us to others.
When we criticize ourselves, we tap into threat defense system - our bodies prepare for the fight or flight response, releasing cortisol and adrenaline.
Threat not to our actual selves, but to our perception.
We feel threatened by problem so we attack ourselves - we are attacker and attacked.
If you are a constant self-critic, you will have constantly have high levels of stress and for the body to protect itself, it will shut down and become depressed to deal with all the stress.
We can think we need to criticize ourselves to be motivated but the opposite has found to be true.
TO FEEL SAFE:
Tap into mammalian care-giving system: oxytocin and opiates
Our bodies are programmed to respond to warmth, gentle touch, and soft vocalizations
When we give ourselves compassion, we actually reduce our cortisol levels and release oxytocin and opiates
When we feel safe and comfortable, we are in our optimal state to do our best
Self-compassion strongly related to mental health, life satisfaction, connectedness with others (interpersonal relationships), better lifestyle choices
Self-compassion offers benefits of self-esteem without the pitfalls - not associated with narcissism or constant social comparison
When self-esteem deserts you, self-compassion steps in and gives you a sense of being valuable because you are a human being worthy of love in that moment - Be a friend to yourself in that moment
Practicing self-compassion will open your heart to be compassionate to others
Amazing... Mindfulness
Mindfulness is defined as cultivating exquisite attention to the present moment—with openness and without judgment.
Since mindfulness first was studied over 30 years ago, it has become increasingly recognized as a therapeutic remedy to stress and anxiety, and studies have shown many mental and physical health benefits, including chronic pain relief, increased learning potential, greater compassion and happiness. Mindfulness brings about mental clarity, concentration and calmness.
And the practice of mindfulness allows us to become fully alive. Here’s how:
By paying attention to the smallest of detail in our existence, we learn to stay with our experiences, positive or negative, without attachment or struggle. And by staying with our experiences, we find peace, as we release ourselves from the need to control how we experience life.
By engaging fully with the present moment, we deeply experience life – its love, joy, contentment, even the pain and sadness. Our awareness evolves and softens, and we learn to enjoy the entire experience of being alive. Not lost in the past, or in the future, but truly alive in this moment.
By recognizing our thoughts and emotions, we see their transient nature. We realize we do not have to be captive to thoughts and emotions, that we simply can hold an awareness of them. The inner landscape becomes peaceful, allowing us to access our inherent wisdom and intuition.
While the world around us is constantly changing, mindfulness gives us the opportunity to be present with ourselves just as we are. We find stillness, no matter what is going on inside or outside of us. We let go of judgments, and we find wisdom, compassion and equanimity that result from letting go of emotional reactivity.
You can begin to experience mindfulness right now in this moment. Read through the following paragraph and try this simple exercise:
Close your eyes for a few minutes. Bring awareness to your breath. Observe the breath and the body. When the mind wanders, bring it back again to the breath, without judgment. Enjoy the spaciousness of resting in this place of awareness with your breath, and enjoy the stillness of the mind.
Notice what is happening in the moment: any sounds, smells or sensations, and let the breath be the anchor of your attention. Just breathe and be for a few minutes.
When you open your eyes, notice the calmness of body and mind, and note any shift in perception of the things around you.
With practice, mindfulness truly will change your experience of life.
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-7735/why-mindfulness-will-change-your-life.html
Since mindfulness first was studied over 30 years ago, it has become increasingly recognized as a therapeutic remedy to stress and anxiety, and studies have shown many mental and physical health benefits, including chronic pain relief, increased learning potential, greater compassion and happiness. Mindfulness brings about mental clarity, concentration and calmness.
And the practice of mindfulness allows us to become fully alive. Here’s how:
By paying attention to the smallest of detail in our existence, we learn to stay with our experiences, positive or negative, without attachment or struggle. And by staying with our experiences, we find peace, as we release ourselves from the need to control how we experience life.
By engaging fully with the present moment, we deeply experience life – its love, joy, contentment, even the pain and sadness. Our awareness evolves and softens, and we learn to enjoy the entire experience of being alive. Not lost in the past, or in the future, but truly alive in this moment.
By recognizing our thoughts and emotions, we see their transient nature. We realize we do not have to be captive to thoughts and emotions, that we simply can hold an awareness of them. The inner landscape becomes peaceful, allowing us to access our inherent wisdom and intuition.
While the world around us is constantly changing, mindfulness gives us the opportunity to be present with ourselves just as we are. We find stillness, no matter what is going on inside or outside of us. We let go of judgments, and we find wisdom, compassion and equanimity that result from letting go of emotional reactivity.
You can begin to experience mindfulness right now in this moment. Read through the following paragraph and try this simple exercise:
Close your eyes for a few minutes. Bring awareness to your breath. Observe the breath and the body. When the mind wanders, bring it back again to the breath, without judgment. Enjoy the spaciousness of resting in this place of awareness with your breath, and enjoy the stillness of the mind.
Notice what is happening in the moment: any sounds, smells or sensations, and let the breath be the anchor of your attention. Just breathe and be for a few minutes.
When you open your eyes, notice the calmness of body and mind, and note any shift in perception of the things around you.
With practice, mindfulness truly will change your experience of life.
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-7735/why-mindfulness-will-change-your-life.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)