Mindfulness means paying attention in a particulay way:
On purpose:
In the present moment:
And nonjudgmentally.
-Jon Kabat-Zinn
In plain english Mindfulness is the practice of being completely engaged in the present moment. The idea is to clear your mind of every thought, every judgment, every reflection and every decision so that you are simply experiencing the present. This enables us to see the moment for what it is, without any pre-concieved notions or thoughts.
Have you ever lay awake in bed for hours thinking about things going on around you and found that all kinds of scenarios and thoughts raced through your mind? Often times we get caught in a spiral of unhelpful, stress-inducing thoughts and before we know it we are so stressed out that sleep is the last thing on our minds.
This is where Mindfulness can help and I don’t mean just at bedtime! In any situation where there is anxiety, stress or even depression, practicing Mindfulness can help to stop the negative spiral of our thoughts and let us see the moment for how it really is. Anxiety is a classic example where people get so stressed by the thoughts that are going around in their mind that they fail to see the situation for what it is, all they can see is the picture that they have in their minds and it is usually not good! Mindfulness can help with that.
Long practiced in a wide range of Eastern philosophies including Taoism, Buddhism and Yoga, mindfulness has only recently emerged as a useful tool in western society and is being used to treat many different psychological issues such as chronic pain, anxiety and depression.
To quote Jon Kabat-Zinn once more, mindfulness is “The Art of Conscious Living” and once mastered can greatly improve your health, happiness and can change your outlook on life very quickly. To see Jon Kabat-Zinn in action take a look at the Video of Jon Leading a Mindfulness Session for employees of Google.
Feeling a bit stressed or is anxiety ruling your life? Unfortunately a lot of people will answer yes to both of those. Whether it be a product of our busy lives and the pressures from living in this crazy world or something that has bugged us for years there is a way that I think can help to bring things under control.
Ever since listening to a Mindfulness CD that was given to us as part of the pain management course that I did I have a lot of faith in the ability of our mind to overcome almost anything that stands in our way of living a full, happy life.
I sincerly hope that what you are about to listen to will have a positive effect on your life and help you to relax and be able to focus on the good things that you have around you. Stress and anxiety can often cloud our vision and I found this through this course I was able to concentrate on the positive influences in my life once again.
Anyway, please take the time to listen to the demo track in a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed and take it all in. I think it is a great way of dealing with your thoughts when things aren’t going so great and if you like the demo I am sure you will find the rest of the course very beneficial.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could have a switch that let us turn off from everything that is happening around us and take a minute to ourselves? A switch that rendered us invisible to everyone and everything that is causing us stress?
You don’t have to be Einstein to realise that we are living in a world that is increasingly becoming more stressful. The pressures of achieving both on a personal and work-related level have never been higher. I can still remember how laid back my grandparents were and when they talked about their lives you came to understand that life was a lot simpler back then and people were more relaxed and their lives were not as complicated.
Fast forward to our generation and things are moving along at an alarming pace. The number one priority these days seems to be how much can we accomplish in one lifetime, even if we fail to stop and take a look at what we have done. There is no time to stop and smell the roses when there are more rose bushes to grow!
The downside is that we don’t have a chance to look after ourselves, both physically and emotionally. This is where we need to have that switch installed so that we can take a moment to ourselves to chill out and relax. I for one know what it is like to be caught up in the rat-race and how quickly and easily burn-out creeps up on you. I put my chronic back pain not only down to an injury but also to the fact that I was so totally exhausted that my body was unable to repair itself when the initial damage was done.
The good news is that there is a way of keeping our stress levels in check. In essence it involves not only ‘flipping the switch’ and taking time out for ourselves but also making the most of the time while the switch is flipped. Many people say that they just don’t have the time available to chill out or relax and with the lifestyles that the majority of people live these days that is hardly surprising but I know that even ten minutes when using this method does make a big difference to the way I feel and hopefully it will help you also.
The method that I am talking about is a little bit more than the old ‘relaxation tapes’ that put you to sleep with a droning voice and it also feels like it is more than just relaxing music playing in your ears. Don’t ask me how it works, I just know that even ten minutes will have you feeling so relaxed it’s not funny! What I suggest you do is give the free demo a go to see what results you get and if you find it helps I am sure you will benefit from the rest of the course as well.