It gets scary for many as time goes by because reality sets in. And in the middle of the chaos in the world right now, mindfulness is such an important practice to help take care of ourselves.
For those who may not know, mindfulness is a type of meditation in which you focus on being intensely aware of what you’re sensing and feeling in the moment without interpretation or judgment.
Practising mindfulness involves breathing methods, guided imagery, and other practices to relax the body and mind and help reduce stress — something that has great benefits to our beings.
It helps us to be more at peace. Struggle less. Be more in touch with whatever difficulties come up for us. We can better deal with our urges to be constantly busy to run to distraction, to give in to our cravings for food, shopping, drink, TV, games and more.
AVERSIONS
We can deal with our aversions to situations, things people do, things about ourselves with some mindfulness, not letting ourselves shy away from or lash out at those aversions. Not letting ourselves procrastinate just because we think something is unpleasant. In fact, we can see that the aversions are not a big deal.
We can be more compassionate with other people and ourselves. When someone is acting badly, we can see that they are in pain, and cultivate a genuine wish for them to not have that pain for them to be happy even if we don’t agree with their actions.
We can do the same for ourselves when we don’t act as we wished we would, and we feel pain about letting ourselves and others down.
We appreciate the moment more, and are more fully present and grateful for each day, knowing that the days are fleeting and precious, slipping away from us and not to be taken for granted. Here are a handful of simple mindfulness practices that can be helpful.
Breathe deeply into the belly. This is one to start with no matter where you are or what you’re doing. We get caught up in our heads, stuck in a cycle of thoughts that are rarely very helpful.
To get out of our heads and into our bodies, we can do deep breathes, into the deepest part of our bellies. Do this several times, maybe for 30-60 seconds if you have time. It not only calms you down, but helps you to be more present with your body and surroundings.
FEELINGS
Check on your feelings, give yourself compassion. Turn your attention to the sensations in your body, and notice how uncertainty and fear/anxiety might feel for you right now as a bodily experience.
This, again, helps get you out of your thoughts, but also, it’s important to notice how you’re feeling. Practise giving these feelings some space, letting them be. Then see if you can give them some compassion, to take care of yourself when you’re feeling uncertainty or frustration.
Find calm in the middle of a storm. When the world is full of chaos, can we find calm? Find your breath. Let the swirl of thoughts calm down. Notice the light around you, notice sound. Notice the beauty of the moment. Widen your awareness beyond yourself, and feel the peace of a moment of stillness. You can still take action, but from a place of calmness.
Send compassion to others. Once you’ve practised compassion for your own uncertainty and fears, and once you’ve found a moment of calm and centeredness, you can open your heart to others right now. They’re afraid, they’re feeling anxious. Open your awareness beyond your home to the others in your neighbourhood and city, to others around the world, to your loved ones and strangers.
Feel the worry they’re feeling. Send them compassion from the deepest place in your heart. Let it flow out as a healing salve to everyone. Stay safe.