How Do I Get a Mindfulness Mindset?
Mindfulness, a state of being practiced through the discipline meditation, is a form of being with yourself; it is the observation of you. When a practitioner says ”clear your mind” it is more of an invitation to notice the clutter of your mind.
Mindfulness can be learned by practicing meditation. Mediation is the practice of being mindful, they’re often confused because they are interrelated. The more often you meditate, the more often you practice being in a mindfulness mindset.
Mediation gets written off as something “woo-woo” when it reality it is inseparably intertwined with the evolving experience of consciousness. The earliest written records come from the Vedic period in India around 1500BCE. The Latin root of the word means “to ponder” to meditate is to literally think about thinking. There are so many ways to practice mindfulness, it's not always “sit still and silently and think about nothing”. Trying to think about nothing isn’t actually thinking about nothing because then you are still thinking about not thinking.
Mindfulness, a state of being practiced through the discipline meditation, is a form of being with yourself; it is the observation of you. When a practitioner says ”clear your mind” it is more of an invitation to notice the clutter of your mind, what thoughts are lying about? What thoughts arrive and how frequently do they arrive? It is an invitation to take inventory and do some cognitive clean up.
Mindfulness, a state of being practiced through the discipline meditation, is a form of being with yourself; it is the observation of you.
Rather than pressuring yourself to achieve some impossible goal of perfectionism of demeanor try to think about mindfulness as the training of attention, or the training of awareness of attention. The goal of meditation is to simply notice the thoughts that come through your mind for a few minutes. Oftentimes it is focused on observing your breathing, so that there is a focal point to bring you back to center when your mind wanders, cuz oh honey it’s gonna wander! And it’s okayyyy if it does, it would actually be weird if it didn’t. The point of meditation isn’t to be perfect at it, it is a practice. It is a practice in noticing you, the internal you. Mindfulness is a daily practice. You can meditate, or go on mindfulness walks, or use various other tools. What really makes a difference on your mindfulness journey is taking time each day to check in with yourself and ask:
- How often do I think about how my thoughts have been?
- What is the quality of my thoughts?
- Am a talking to myself with kindness or anger?
- Empowering or disempowering?
- Positive or negative?
“The value of my thoughts determines how I feel”Good Morning by Qveen Herby
Starting the practice of pausing often to ask yourself daily guided questions. This is the beginning of learning how to coach yourself through anything with a mindfulness approach to life. The more you practice the better you get, the more you can access that awareness state of mind in those crisis moments you need it most. According to a recent review, meditation has been shown to have beneficial effects including reduced symptoms of anxiety, depression, ptsd, and loneliness; increased focus, quality of sleep, self-esteem, elevated mood; and physical benefits improving cardiovascular health in ways such as lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, reducing intensity of fibromyalgia symptoms, reducing widespread inflammation, and even in one study increased telomere length of chromosomes which correlated to biological age. You can find more information in the publication here:
Who doesn't have just 5 minutes a day to show themselves some compassion? To be honest at times it seemed impossible but it is possible. And also if 5 minutes to take care of your self is too big of an ask, maybe it’s time to readjust those priorities babe!
Mindfulness- aligning thoughts and action- think about what you are doing while you are doing it to practice being in the experience of your presence.
Since 2018 I have been on my own mindfulness journey, with all its ups and downs, it always brings me peace to know myself, all sides of myself, and how to bring it all back to center. In 2021 I decided to level up my practice and enrolled in a Mindfulness and Meditation Teacher Course from The School of Positive Transformation. I’ve practiced, I’ve studied, I am forever a student but now also a teacher. Sharing science backed facts about mindfulness and different types of meditations, is my gift. Until then, keep practicing and remember the goal is to stay in a mindfulness mindset.