Throughout this week, I have heard a lot about mindfulness and being present from several people in different scenarios. All of them share something in common, which is to be mindful. As I heard in a leadership workshop the other day, being mindful is the action of being aware and present. When they are given the suggestion or tip to practice mindfulness, many people tend to say that they don’t know what it is and when given the definition, they assume they do it daily. However, they are not aware that being present and mindful does not mean being alive. Being in that state means being in all your senses, observing and noticing what is around you or your thoughts. It is also a way to give time for yourself to notice how you truly are, give yourself time to do nothing, and simply focus on your breath and calm your thoughts. There are different ways to do this; as I heard in the workshop I took, there is a direct and indirect way one can practice mindfulness. For instance, an indirect method is when you are walking, and you literally notice or remind yourself that you are walking, or when you are crying, or when you are smiling. This form of mindfulness is more of a spontaneous way of practicing it.
On the other hand, a direct way to practice mindfulness is during meditation or journaling. These are more planned and deliberate actions that tend to be more habitual or chronic. Nonetheless, just like everything else, they become better at doing so as one practices. But, for mindfulness, it is different. When one starts with mindfulness, some may find that it is boring with these direct practices, such as meditation. It is entirely understandable because it is something that we are not accustomed to. When we wake up, we go directly to our phone or push ourselves to start our day, and we don’t give ourselves the chance to get out of that state of being asleep and suddenly waking up. We have to give ourselves permission to slow down and do things at ease and more calmly. So, as I was saying, when we start to meditate, it may seem tedious, but we can immediately feel a difference after one session of five or ten minutes. However, the difference from every other practice is that whenever we go back to a new meditation, to a new mindful practice, we have to be as curious as a child and allow things to flow like a river to feel the benefits. Because, just like anything, if we force ourselves to do something, we won’t always get the result we want. So, I invite you to take some time for yourself to meditate, to be mindful and to start noticing and observing all that is around you. Become aware of your thoughts, and as you do so, you will become aware of your actions and reactions. You will see instant benefits, and you will find yourself more at ease and at peace with yourself.
NAMASTE
Z.
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