Ways to become “mindful”

Learning to focus the mind can be a powerful antidote to the stresses and strains of our on-the-go lives. The ability to pay attention to what you’re experiencing from moment to moment — without drifting into thoughts of the past or concerns about the future, or getting caught up in opinions about what is going on — is called mindfulness.

This basic mindfulness meditation exercise is easy to learn and practice.

1. Sit on a straight-backed chair, or cross-legged on the floor.
2. Focus on an aspect of your breathing, such as the sensations of air flowing into your nostrils and out of your mouth, or your belly rising and falling as you inhale and exhale.
3. Once you’ve narrowed your concentration in this way, begin to widen your focus. Become aware of sounds, sensations, and ideas.
4. Embrace and consider each thought or sensation without judging it as good or bad. If your mind starts to race, return your focus to your breathing. Then expand your awareness again.

The effects of mindfulness meditation tend to be dose-related — the more you practice it, the more benefits you usually experience.

A less formal approach can also help you stay in the present and fully engage in your life. You can practice mindfulness at any time or during any task, whether you are eating, showering, walking, touching a partner, or playing with a child. Here’s how:

• Start by bringing your attention to the sensations in your body.
• Breathe in through your nose, allowing the air to move downward into your lower belly. Let your abdomen expand fully. Then breathe out through your mouth. Notice the sensations of each inhalation and exhalation.
• Proceed with the task at hand slowly and with full deliberation.
• Engage your senses fully. Notice each sight, touch, and sound so that you savour every sensation.
• When you notice that your mind has wandered from the task at hand, gently bring your attention back to the sensations of the moment.

> Find out more: Positive Psychology: Harnessing the power of happiness, mindfulness, and inner strength, a Special Health Report from Harvard Medical School.

Thoughts and reflections taking only a few minutes

How many minutes a day do we not spend on useless things? How many minutes a day are we willing to spend to ourselves and how many minutes are we willing to spend to our Creator?

Many years ago Carl Jung said already

Hand-colored photograph of Carl Jung in USA, published in 1910. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.” {Carl Jung}

Today many people are afraid to look into their own heart. Though we should do that more often. Looking at ourselves we also should reflect how we behave in this universe and how we want to relate to others.

Hermann Hesse said

“Within you there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat any time.” {Hermann Hesse}

Not enough people do take time to retreat and to take some time to look at things, wondering how everything is going good or bad and why certain things evolve a certain way.

The master teacher rabbi Jeshua reminded people how they had to look at life and how also king Solomon was aware that we always had to live as if it is the last day of our life. Every act of our life should be done as though it were our last.

We should

Early picture of Ernest Hemingway with his family. Included in the photograph are Marcelline, Sunny, C. E. Hemingway, Grace Hemingway, Ursula, and Ernest standing at the far right. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Try to learn to breathe deeply, really taste your food when you eat, and when you sleep, really sleep. Try as much as possible to be wholly alive with all your might, and when you laugh, laugh like hell. And when you get angry, get good and angry. Try to be alive. You will dead soon enough.” {Ernest Hemingway}

and

“Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We only have this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand and melting like a snowflake.” {Sir Francis Bacon}

Therefore let us take every moment of the day to make the best out of it.

“You have a treasure within you that is infinitely greater than anything the world can offer.” {Eckhart Tolle}

“The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they bloom like flowers.” {Thich Nhat Hanh}

Helping each other is also made possible by sharing ideas, thoughts of ourselves and others. On “Our World” you may find regularly some thoughts to carry you away or to let your reason or meditate.

From 2016 June 14 some “thoughts“, “meditations” and/or “reflections” shall be published under the tag “reflection text“. With pleasure we recommend you to have regularly a look at those texts.

As such you may find articles like:

1. Don’t let anyone move you off the foundation of your faith
2. Light within
3. Keep positive
4. A cheerful heart filled of hope good medicine
5. Love envieth not
6. Invitation to all who believe

and many others

 

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Find also:

Just One More Minute

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How do you start your day?

Each morning when the sun rises we should be happy when we can still sea the sun coming up and hear the birds sing.

Whatever we might have to do, we can look at it in the positive or in the negative way. Best we do take the day, like it comes and make the best out of it, wishing it shall attribute something extra to our life. We never know when our life shall end, so we better take every new day as a gift, able to add again something extra to our life and giving us once more the chance to make something of it.

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To remember:

Facing the responsibilities of the day ahead = challenge.

Negative thoughts make us feel tired, sick and often stressed-out before we even start our day.

What do you think about when you wake up in the morning?  Are you worrying about something, stressing about all the things you don’t want to do, thinking about how awful the day is going to be?

Greet the day with a rousing, “Hello world.  What an awesome day this is going to be!”

Try to bring some sunshine into your life with positive words.

Keep focusing on positive thoughts, and it will start to make an impact on your mood.

Fill up your brain with positive power, and you will feel more energetic.

Do not wait to develop a new habit, so practice your affirmations daily over and over again until you begin to feel positive.

When you are getting up, dare to say to yourself, your happy and enjoying life. Dare to face yourself and the work you have to accomplish that day.

Do know You can do it.

Don’t compare yourself to others.

Put something on in which you feel at your ease and can be yourself.

Believe in yourself and belief someone believes in you.

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  Although we all encounter a host of neutral situations on any given day, we don’t all look at them in the same way.For instance, if a friend calls to cancel an appointment because she’s not feeling well, or someone you’re chatting to stifles a yawn in the middle of the story you’re telling, you could interpret it in two very different ways, depending on your frame of mind.
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  “Brooders stubbornly hold onto their habits, almost as if they believe that ultimately they will be able to change themselves by concentrating on their own deficiencies.”

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imconfident

Are you a morning person or do you have to drag yourself out of bed in the morning?  Mornings are tough for many of us because we just don’t want to face the responsibilities of the day ahead.   Negative thoughts are already floating around in our heads and it makes us feel tired, sick and often stressed-out before we even start our day.

What do you think about when you wake up in the morning?  Are you worrying about something, stressing about all the things you don’t want to do, thinking about how awful the day is going to be?

Before your feet even hit the floor, your negative thinking has already ruined your day and left you feeling tired and miserable.

Try saying some positive affirmations first things in the morning.  When you wake up, greet the day with a rousing, “Hello world.  What an awesome day this is going to be!” …

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