"Go inside and listen to your body because your body will never lie to you. Your mind will play tricks,
but the way you feel in your heart and in your guts, is the truth." Don Miguel Ruiz
Living Mindfully means being aware, aware and fully present in our life. Rather than being on 'autopilot' body in one place and mind in another, we are fully and authentically present in the moment, just as it is. What we say and what we do are in alignment with our true nature.
Mindfulness and Meditation practices allow us to:
Sandcastles
If you've ever watched a young child build a sandcastle, they are in the moment, senses alive and focussed on the task at hand. One moment overjoyed at their masterpiece, the next wailing when someone knocks their sandcastle over, and then, they're on to the next thing. Children are authentic and life is a natural flow.
As we grow older it seems this natural flow gets interrupted. We forget, as Sharon McDowell says 'how we were before the world got its hands on us." At times we are reminded of this natural flow, perhaps when taking a walk in the forest, when we're engaged in an interesting work project, playing sport, listening to music, times when we feel fully engaged and connected.
As we grow older we have to retrain our brain to be more mindful on a daily basis. Instead of living on automatic pilot where the body is in one place (driving the car) and the mind in another (next weeks commitments) we learn to be in the moment attending to the task at hand, body and mind in one place.
The good news is, retraining is possible. It just takes practice, commitment, and a little time to attend to yourself. Then, rather than the tendency to be on automatic pilot or running on a hamster wheel, we know how to self-calm, self-regulate and how express ourselves with ease and authenticity. Some people describe it as 'coming home'
Link: Centre for Mindfulness.
but the way you feel in your heart and in your guts, is the truth." Don Miguel Ruiz
Living Mindfully means being aware, aware and fully present in our life. Rather than being on 'autopilot' body in one place and mind in another, we are fully and authentically present in the moment, just as it is. What we say and what we do are in alignment with our true nature.
Mindfulness and Meditation practices allow us to:
- Regulate emotions
- Reduce stress
- Foster inner calm and a strong sense of who we are
- Maintain our health and well-being at all levels.
- Focus and make wise life choices decision
- Improve our sleep
- Have authentic relationships in our life, especially the relationship with ourself.
Sandcastles
If you've ever watched a young child build a sandcastle, they are in the moment, senses alive and focussed on the task at hand. One moment overjoyed at their masterpiece, the next wailing when someone knocks their sandcastle over, and then, they're on to the next thing. Children are authentic and life is a natural flow.
As we grow older it seems this natural flow gets interrupted. We forget, as Sharon McDowell says 'how we were before the world got its hands on us." At times we are reminded of this natural flow, perhaps when taking a walk in the forest, when we're engaged in an interesting work project, playing sport, listening to music, times when we feel fully engaged and connected.
As we grow older we have to retrain our brain to be more mindful on a daily basis. Instead of living on automatic pilot where the body is in one place (driving the car) and the mind in another (next weeks commitments) we learn to be in the moment attending to the task at hand, body and mind in one place.
The good news is, retraining is possible. It just takes practice, commitment, and a little time to attend to yourself. Then, rather than the tendency to be on automatic pilot or running on a hamster wheel, we know how to self-calm, self-regulate and how express ourselves with ease and authenticity. Some people describe it as 'coming home'
Link: Centre for Mindfulness.
The Science.
Imagine, with a little daily discipline we can positively change the structure of our brain. Science has shown that after eight weeks of Mindful Meditation, grey matter in areas of the brain associated with stress, fight and flight reduces and in areas of the brain associated with calm, ease, focus, well-being, and decision-making grey matter is increased.
It's pretty amazing that we have it within us to change the structure of our own brain. That with Mindfulness and Meditation we can empower ourselves to better mental and physical health, that we can breathe and live a little more lightly.
This short animated link below a great explanation of how this works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw71zanwMnY&t=62s
Imagine, with a little daily discipline we can positively change the structure of our brain. Science has shown that after eight weeks of Mindful Meditation, grey matter in areas of the brain associated with stress, fight and flight reduces and in areas of the brain associated with calm, ease, focus, well-being, and decision-making grey matter is increased.
It's pretty amazing that we have it within us to change the structure of our own brain. That with Mindfulness and Meditation we can empower ourselves to better mental and physical health, that we can breathe and live a little more lightly.
This short animated link below a great explanation of how this works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw71zanwMnY&t=62s
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