Mindfulness

Mindfulness means knowing directly what is going on inside and outside ourselves, moment by moment. It’s about reconnecting with our bodies and the sensations they experience, having an awareness of our thoughts and feelings as they happen moment to moment. When we become more aware of the present moment, we begin to experience afresh things that we have been taking for granted.

Most of us have issues that we find hard to let go and mindfulness can help us deal with them more productively. We can ask, is trying to solve this by worrying about it helpful, or am I just getting caught up in my thoughts? It might be useful to remember that mindfulness isn’t about making these thoughts go away, but rather about seeing them as mental events.

Even as we go about our daily lives, we can notice the sensations of things, the food we eat, the air moving past the body as we walk. This may sound very small, but it has huge power to interrupt the ‘autopilot’ mode we often engage day to day, and to give us new perspectives on life.

Being mindful is very important to help us to connect with ourselves and helps us to relax.  With the many thoughts that flood through our minds on a daily basis, perhaps thoughts that are driving feelings of worry, anxiety, even hopelessness there are always two constants, our breath and our body.  If we sit on a comfortable chair, become more aware of our breathing and our body, how we are breathing, how we are sitting, this focus brings our attention into the present moment and as we sit in the present moment, if our thoughts continue to drift, that’s okay, bring your focus back to your breathing and your body.  Acknowledge your thoughts and don’t try to change anything, focus and be present – be in the moment.