Starting A Mindfulness Practice - Part II

10 Activities To Get You Started - Part II

So were you able to incorporate or try any of the first five activities?
Wonderful!

Now, lets continue with the remaining five.

6 - Eating

As you may have guessed now we’ll add eating to our practice. When you eat, eat at a slow, deliberate pace, mindfully appreciating each bite. 

We’ll continue with the green pepper from before.

How does a cooked pepper taste different from a raw pepper? Are there similarities or differences?

What about the aroma? How does it feel as you slowly chew? 

Are there areas that are still crisp and others softer?

As you swallow does it leave an aftertaste?

And as you eat this pepper know that it is giving you life sustaining nutrition, feeding your
body with all of the essential vitamins you need to live and help others.
This cycle is normal and is repeated every day.
I told you there’s a lot to a green pepper.

7 - Journaling

Journaling is a wonderful way to review and recount our day. Where you can write about a particular incident or your day as a whole. Did you work on a specific goal?

How were you feeling? Sad? Excited? Anxious? Happy? Did a particular thought or memory enter your head?

Journaling also provides you a record so that at the end of the year when you self-reflect you can see where you've improved and where you may need additional growth.

 
You don't need to write in it every day. Three or four times a week is enough if you like.

8 - Move Slowly

As you’ve probably experienced many times in your life already, it can be fast paced. This fast pace results in the disconnection from ourselves, to others, our surroundings, and life in general.

There oftentimes seems to be such a rush to get to the next destination or complete the next project.

That’s not to say that some destinations are not important, you certainly want to get to the hospital quickly if you’re having a medical emergency. 

But rushing to get to the store, not so much. Your items will still be there.

When we rush we tend to miss what is important and tend to make mistakes.

Remember, each moment is very precious as it will never happen again.


And that is a beautiful realization.

9 - Pause

Pause between thoughts and actions. Much like there is a pause between each inhale and exhale, both actions that require a transition between two ‘doings’.

Consider a time where you might have said something you should not have. Perhaps it was an argument with a friend or spouse. Perhaps you got a little too excited and ‘Let the Cat Out of the Bag’ too early for a surprise.

Learning to develop the sacred pause will take time but you can begin to work on this by relaying one response per breath.

For example: John doesn't know his office mates are giving him a surprise birthday party during their afternoon break and that you volunteered to get his cake during your lunch.

John asks you to go to lunch with him but you quickly respond that you need to go to the bakery to get a cake. John knows his birthday is coming up and puts two and two together.

Instead of the quick, knee jerk response, breathe in, pause, exhale (this gives you the sacred pause) and you could reply ‘thank you but I have other plans for lunch today’.

Being mindful in our conversations is a very effective way to communicate as well as considerate of others feelings.

10 - Meditation

Of course meditation would make the list.

I once heard someone say that meditation isn't for everyone. I disagree with that conclusion because it is.

A calm mind is just as necessary as eating, drinking, breathing, sleeping, and loving. Without a calm mind we are subject to what’s called ‘monkey mind’ all of the unnecessary chatter and distractions that detract us from living a connected life.

Some are hesitant to start meditation out of fear they don't know how to meditate. My friends, if you are breathing you already know how to. The breath is the basis of meditation. 

Are there different breathing techniques, yes, and I cover some of them in our video on our YouTube channel.

As mentioned earlier Western science is now beginning to understand what Eastern knowledge has been promoting for 2000 years at this point.

Mental clarity, positive social and emotional maturity, stronger and more meaningful relationships with yourself and others, caring and empathy towards yourself and others, health benefits too. 

All of these are manifested through a meditation practice of 20-30 minutes a day.

So there you have it my friends, 10 ways to begin your mindfulness practice. Remember, mindfulness is a positive lifestyle choice that you’ll find rewarding as you go along. 

You’ll find out that you might forget to be mindful during one of these activities and that’s OK. It is fine to catch yourself, and say, I forgot this time, but next time I won't. Self-compassion is very important.

Remember this is new to you, you’re going against many years of societal conventions. It took me several weeks for the simple tasks to stick but now they come second nature. I hear that little voice inside me saying ‘slow down, observe’.


Wishing you peace and ease,

Vladimir

Blue Lotus Mindfulness and Meditation Center is a registered 501(c)(3) religious organization.

Starting A Mindfulness Practice - Part I

10 Activities To Get You Started

One of the most frequently asked questions I receive from people interested in starting a mindfulness practice is ‘How do I start? Wanting to improve your mental wellbeing and physical health is such a wonderful and rewarding intent.

Mindfulness has received a lot of attention lately as Western science has finally caught up to what's been known about the practice for well over 2000 years, ever since Siddhartha Gautama, more commonly referred to as Buddha, sat underneath the Bodhi tree so long ago.

Mindfulness is a practice like yoga, golf, painting and anyone can practice it no matter their religion. 

Mindfulness is all about the present moment, that’s the only moment that exists. The past has left, never to return again, and the future doesn't exist either. Everything that occurs in life, eating, laughing, crying, joy, fear, reading….whatever it is, happens only in that very special moment. That’s why it’s very precious.

I warmly invite you along so I can show you 10 very simple ways and activities that you’re probably already doing and incorporate them into your mindfulness practice.

1 - Laundry

We all do laundry and this is a perfect way to begin your mindfulness practice. As you take each item out of the dryer, one by one, with no rush, remember to be in the moment. 

Look at each article of clothing - look at the colors and patterns. Are they solid colors, stripes, or maybe a particular design on it? 

How do they feel? Are they still warm from the dryer? Is it a terry cloth towel? Or linen? Perhaps denim. 

Are there buttons or snaps to fasten them? Maybe a zipper?

Are they pants? Or shorts? A t-shirt? 

What do they smell like? Can you smell the laundry soap or fabric softener? 

As you begin to fold each item do so with deliberate care. Notice your hand movements too. Are the corners even? Is the fold symmetrical? 

Remember, take care of your clothing because they take care of you and your precious family in the wind, sun, rain, cold, heat.    

2 - Cleaning

Cleaning is a way we can show care for the items in our home as well as for our loved ones. From vacuuming the floors, to mopping the kitchen or bathroom, to dusting our furniture. This is another wonderful example of how you can include mindfulness into your daily routine.

When you spray furniture polish on the coffee or end tables do you follow a particular pattern? What is the aroma of the polish? Lemon maybe? Does it fill the room with freshness? 

Are you using a paper towel or cloth towel? What hand do you remove the dust with and what hand are you applying the spray?

Is the item made of wood? Can you see the grain of the wood? What kind of wood is it? Pine? Oak? Cherry? Or perhaps it’s glass.

Do you see the streaks as you move the cloth across the surface?

Notice that you’re cleaning with great care and not rushing to completion. You’re removing dust that has fallen from the air and rejuvenating this important item that provides a useful function in your home.

If you’re mopping, what fragrance do you notice? Pine? Lemon? Lavender? Or maybe something else? Know that as you mop you’re removing dirt and bacteria from your home protecting you and your family from illness. 

Cleaning is another way to show yourself and your family that you love them.

3 - Walking

Walking is another way to start a mindfulness practice. Whether it’s on your lunch break, from your car to your door at home or work, a walk in the park or beach, or even grocery shopping. 

The important consideration here is pace. Don’t rush to get to your destination or from item to item or aisle to aisle. Slow deliberate steps. This may be challenging at first but you’ll get used to it. Breath with each step you take. 

And with each step look around you, what do you see? Birds flying? Trees swaying in a breeze? Or perhaps other people like yourself going to or from a store or on the trail? Whatever they’re doing it’s just as important as what you’re doing.

Are there any particular smells? Did it recently rain? Or maybe there's a hint of rain in the air.

What about sounds?

Go ahead and pick up something you see, anything, and study it with open curiosity. Even if you’ve seen 100s of them before - you’ve never seen this very one. This item is as unique as you are and it has a place here just as you do.

4 - Pets

Your pet, a loving and caring being, has been there for you. Do they greet you at the door when you return home with excitement? Maybe as you lay on the couch after a hard day they sit with you. Both of you are enjoying each other's company.

But now, let’s add mindfulness to this. As you stroke them, how does their fur feel? Or maybe they have feathers? Birds like to be caressed too.

Do you notice any grey hairs on them if they’re older? Or maybe they have spots or are multicolored.

Do you see these changes nearer the root of the follicle?

Do different parts of your friend's fur have different textures?

Do they need a bath?

If you don't have a pet, that’s OK too. Think back to a time when you last were around an animal. How did it make you feel? What do you recall about this encounter? You’re invited to explore this more and see where it may lead you.

5 - Cooking

During the lockdowns in the early part of the pandemic many people started cooking more often. And cooking can be very intricate which means this too is an excellent way to incorporate mindfulness into an important activity. We’ll use a green pepper as our example but of course you can use anything you want.

As you hold the green pepper look at the rich color it has. Are there any color variations over its surface? Are there three or four knobs at the bottom?

How does the stem look?

How does it smell? Sweet? Earthy?

Think about its journey to your hand. All the way from a seed planted in the field, to sprouting, to harvesting, to shipping, to being stocked at the store, to your selection. Imagine details along each step of the way.

As you cut the green pepper, feel the knife slice through. How much pressure did you need to use? Was there a new fragrance as a result of opening it up? How are the seeds positioned?

Take a bite from a piece you cut. Explore the taste.

Begin to cook slowly and notice the change in textures from crisp to soft.

How about the aroma? Does it excite your senses as you deeply inhale?

There’s a lot to a green pepper when we observe mindfully.

These are the first five activities you can incorporate into your mindfulness practice.

Give them a try if you're not already doing them and let me know what you think of them in the comments below.

Wishing you peace and ease,

Vladimir

Blue Lotus Mindfulness and Meditation Center is a registered 501(c)(3) religious organization.