From Mindful Minutes to Meaningful Life: Your Journey to Deeper Presence
From Mindful Minutes to Meaningful Life:
Your Journey to Deeper Presence
Mindfulness
Life is full of unforeseen changes, challenges, and chaotic times. It is easy
to be swept away by the seemingly endless list of chores, tasks, and
deadlines that seem to pile up without you even realizing it. This can cause
you to feel rundown in your body, mind, and spirit.
Once you find yourself feeling this way, it can seem nearly impossible to
wake yourself back up to the beauty and benefits of life. This can then
cause you to feel completely hopeless and tired of your own life, and your
health, both physically and mentally, may suffer.
Luckily, there is a way to improve your life even during the most chaotic or
stressful of times. Studies have shown that mindfulness is a key technique
for improving your body, mind, and spirit no matter the situation, even times
of chaos.
In short, mindfulness is the act of being in the present, but there is more to
it than that. In this book, we will learn what mindfulness is and key
techniques for becoming more mindful. As a result, you will learn how to
improve your entire essence during these chaotic and challenging times.
What Is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is the ability to be completely in the present, as opposed to
thinking about the past, future, or any other event that takes us away from
the present time. Being mindful includes being aware of where we are,
what we are doing, and how we feel. More so, it includes being in touch
with ourselves, knowing our limits, and understanding our goals and
desires for life.
As humans, it is easy to get swept away by other thoughts and events than
the present. This causes us to be the opposite of mindful, wreaking havoc
on our physical, mental, and emotional health. For example, stress in the
workplace can distract us from appreciating our family, causing problems in
the home. Mindfulness can help.
All people are capable of mindfulness, even if it seems hard. Our brains are
completely capable of focusing on the present and honing out the
distractions of life. With that being said, it can be incredibly difficult to do
this, which is why mindfulness practices are so helpful. Practicing
mindfulness can teach us and train us to better focus on the present,
allowing us to ignore anything else that may be a distraction.
Understanding The Point Of Mindfulness
Before starting your mindfulness journey, it is important to understand what
mindfulness can and cannot do for you. If you have unrealistic expectations
about mindfulness, it can be incredibly easy to feel like mindfulness is not
working and give up on the practice completely.
Many people believe that mindfulness is about attaining some state of bliss.
Bliss is often described as some state of perfect happiness that is oblivious
to other factors surrounding it. It is important to recognize that mindfulness
is not about reaching a state of bliss. This state is impossible to reach
because there will always be challenges and difficulties in life that disrupt
this so-called state. In other words, bliss does not exist.
With that being said, mindfulness can and should make you feel happier
and more content with your overall life, but it is more realistic about it. This
allows mindfulness to be geared towards appreciating your life and self
better. It helps you see past short-term struggles and appreciate the life
you have, even in the bad times.
For this reason, the point of mindfulness is to help you live a better life.
Living a better life includes being more content in your situation, responding
more compassionately and rationally in difficult situations, and being more
compassionate with yourself and others. Mindfulness is not about creating
a perfect life, but it is about creating the life you want and are excited to
live.
If you understand that this is the point of mindfulness, you can more easily
set realistic goals for your mindfulness training. These goals should reflect
your current abilities and future wants so you are actively pursuing your
ideal life.
It is important to note that mindfulness is not about being in the present all
the time. As humans, we would become completely overwhelmed and
overloaded if we stayed in the present all day, every day. There are times
in our lives when we should think about the past, future, or nothing at all.
Benefits Of Mindfulness
The effects of mindfulness have been studied by several clinical trials,
allowing us to confidently know that mindfulness improves our overall
health and wellbeing. For example, mindfulness can improve the following
conditions:
● Stress
● Anxiety
● Pain
● Depression
● Blood pressure
● Insomnia
● Diabetes
● Cardiovascular diseases
Mindfulness also helps to increase attention, regulate emotions, and
increase motivation and overall life satisfaction. Together, these benefits
allow you to experience a healthier and happier life.
Recap
Mindfulness is the act of being in the present so that you can live a
healthier and happier life. As you become more mindful, you will
experience a number of benefits for your emotional, mental, and physical
health.
Tomorrow we will explore Mindfulness In Times of Chaos.
Gerald Pilcher
Excerpt from my latest ebook Mindfulness Made Simple
