How can you bring calm and peace to the middle of a stressful, chaotic day?
The answer is simple, though not always so easy to put into practice: learn mindfulness by practicing being present.
No matter how out-of-control your day is, no matter how stressful your job or life becomes, the act of being present can become an oasis. It can change your life, and it’s incredibly simple.
Being in the present moment requires focus and concentration. We let go of thoughts and invite stillness into our lives. We invite a higher power to be the active participant in our lives and allow the mind or ego to disappear.
When we are aware of being present we find that formless space acts as a doorway to Higher Consciousness. At that moment we are a powerful force. We have access to information and our whole being is in a heightened state of awareness. Our mauri (life-force) is at its peak and vibrating at full potential. It is at this moment that our magnetic field is operating at full capacity.
Time is irrelevant in this space. It has no influence over us and we feel this in every part of our cells.
Letting go of thought is not easy and it requires a concerted effort. Of course, thoughts are not totally indispensable, they are necessary to arrange important daily activities but making an effort to sustain mindfulness in our day as much as we can, can become part of our regime.
As we become better at practicing mindfulness we will come to know the activities of what helps us to sustain presentness. A daily routine of small ‘being present’ actions is essential to do until it becomes a regular occurrence and without thought.
How to Practice The Art of Mindfulness
The method for mindfulness is fairly simple, but it’s the practice that matters most.
Most people don’t learn mindfulness because they don’t practice, not because it’s so hard to do.
When you practice something regularly, you become good at it. It becomes more a mode of being rather than a task on your to-do or someday list.
Practice, practice, and being present will become natural.
Here’s how to do it:
Whatever you’re doing, right now, learn to focus completely on doing that one thing. Pay attention: to every aspect of what you’re doing, to your body, to the sensations, to your thoughts.
You will notice your thoughts, if you’re paying attention, jump to other things. That’s OK — you are not trying to force all other thoughts from your mind. But by becoming aware of that jumping around in your thoughts, you have found the tool for gently bringing yourself back to your present task. Just notice the jumping thoughts, and lovingly come back.
Do this once, then do it again. Don’t worry about how many times you must do it. Just do it now.
Practice throughout your day, every day. Little “mindfulness bells” are useful to remind you to come back to the present. Thich Nhat Hanh once recommended that stoplights be your mindfulness bell as you drive. You can find mindfulness bells everywhere: your child’s voice, your co-workers appearing before you, a regular event on your computer, the noise of traffic.
Meditation is a fantastic way to practice, only because it removes much of the complexity of the world and allows you to just learn to be aware of your mind,and to bring yourself back to the present moment. It’s not complicated: meditation can be done anywhere, anytime. A meditation teacher is useful if you can find one.
Practice, repeatedly, in small easy beautiful steps. Each step is a wonder in itself, and each practice helps you to find that calm in the middle of the traffic of your life.
Being able to focus on an object such as a flower or a dog will assist the mind from wondering. When we find our mind wondering just bring the awareness back to the object.
Another suggestion is to have some fragrant herbs on hand so that we can practice being present through smell. When we inhale the scent of fresh rosemary or fresh mint our senses will return to the present moment instantly. While smelling the herbs we might want to follow our breath as we breathe in and out and practice working with the breath. Working with the breath is an excellent activityto do to sustain being present.
When we become good at doing these simple actions, we’ll find everything around us will be amplified. The colours will be brighter, the smells stronger, the sounds louder and sensations more insightful.
One of the ways I work with clients
is by showing them how to practice mindfulness
with nature
Not only does this method guide people to a mindfulness practice but it also teaches them to connect in a deep and meaningful manner in a safe environment. I have worked with hundreds of clients guiding them to reconnect with nature and I have found it to be the most heart-warming experience I have ever seen. I can literally see their guards drop when they reconnect with nature. It opens the door to higher consciousness.