If you’ve missed the overview of mindfulness in a previous article, we recommend going back and checking it out. In that article on mindfulness, we touched briefly on how to practice creating awareness (being mindful) with an emphasis on what mindfulness is. In this article, we will go into much more depth on three great ways to practice mindfulness.
Let’s jump right in. First, there is the most common form of practicing mindfulness, which is meditation. And the great thing about meditation is that it can be done anywhere! You can even practice meditation at home.
With respect to mindfulness, we will be focusing on just three approaches:
- Mindfulness meditation
- Mindfulness in nature
- Mindfulness in everyday life
Mindfulness Meditation
Meditation is typically performed comfortably seated with your back straight, legs crossed, arms forward, and hands draping over your knees. We recommend a dedicated routine and place, but meditation can be done anywhere.
If you have the space to dedicate to meditation and can use a meditation pillow, you’ll be much more likely to make it a part of your daily routine.
Simply letting your hands rest freely over your knees is just fine. You don’t have to touch your index finger to your thumb with the palm facing forward unless that is comfortable for you. It’s also common to close your eyes to assist in quieting your senses and better focus your attention.
During seated meditation, there are many approaches to the focus, such as a mantra or breathing, but for mindfulness meditation, a widespread practice of creating awareness is by focusing on breathing.
Now that you understand your position, let’s discuss what you do.
- As you breathe, give attention to the flow of the air as it moves in and out of your lungs.
- Observe the feeling the air has on your mouth and throat as it enters and exits your body. Don’t think about it; observe.
- As your lungs reach their capacity and your intake ends, observe the slight pause before the exhale begins.
- Similarly, feel the flow of air as it passes from your lungs back into the atmosphere.
- You’ll also become aware of another slight pause at the end of the exhale.
This exercise teaches you to be mindful of what is taking place, not to think about it or judge the event, but to create an awareness of it occurring. Similar to consciousness.
Mindfulness is attention given over to form. The space between you and the form, in this case, the air, sensations, mechanics of the pause, etc., the space between is the consciousness of self independent of form.
Mindfulness in Nature
We are already wholly independent of nature, and yet, at the same time, we are entirely within it. This is why nature provides such a great approach to mindfulness.
Nature isn’t judgmental. Nature is. Nature is governed by instinct and is indiscriminate in the forms that are a part of its dance. In other words, nature doesn’t think!
When was the last time you took a stroll through the park without headphones in your ears or someone to talk to? If it’s been a while, let’s imagine what one similar looks like right here. Imagine you’ve just parked and left your car. Your keys are tucked snugly away in the pocket of your shorts so as not to jingle with your steps.
You begin by observing the loud thud of the car door as you walk towards a nearby trail. We can play with the form a little and say the thud of the car is likened to the end of our engagement with the man-made form. A shot of the track pistol on our lap through the park.
As you begin your walk, you notice the leaves are brown. You don’t think about why or allow yourself to make a judgment of the recent rains. You simply note the form.
The trail is slightly dusty, and as you step, and with some steps, you shuffle your foot as it lands, small clouds of sand burst into the air. You notice your footfall is nearly silent. Not because of the dust or a few pebbles, but it’s simply an observation. You are observing your surroundings as a passerby and independent of why.
Not too long into your walk, you approach a tree whose branches reach over the trail and are close enough for you to see detail in their leaves.
You slow and trace the detail with your eyes, taking note of the thicker veins protruding from the branch stem and how they thin as they extend towards the tips of each leaf. Nothing here is good or bad. Nothing should or shouldn’t be. Nature is.
Nature is subject to its function and does not require agreement or disagreement.
We could continue the walk and observe the many other things you would see along the trail. A small flock of birds that cross ahead of you diagonally.
A patch of blue ruffled flowers growing near a small stream. Each element of nature lives within its essence and is un-corrupted by misinterpretation. In nature, as in mindfulness meditation, you are the observer.
Mindfulness in Everyday Life
Our lives can be hectic. Our societies are increasingly connected through the internet, social media, and mobile devices, which tend to continuously take us out of the present and into a space of attention far away from ourselves. How, then, do we exercise mindfulness in everyday life?
What’s important to know first is that our lives can be hectic, but they don’t have to be. Hectic, by definition, means ‘full of incessant or frantic activity.’ Who is in charge of this frantic chaos? You. Me.
All of us have a choice to make about our reactions. When life hands you lemons, you don’t have to take them at all! Your reaction is a choice. Not taking the lemons is a choice. Acting frantically is a choice. Life is as it is. You can live peacefully, being mindful of your relationship with life without letting it dictate behavior.
Mindfulness in everyday life is no different from mindfulness meditation or mindfulness in nature by practice. It is still about observation and attention.
Let’s use another imaginary story as an example. You’ve just exited your home, locked your door, and made it to your car to drive to work.
As you walk down the steps from your home, you observe maybe your child, or, if you’re younger, perhaps a housemate has left their bicycle lying in the grass near the front porch steps. You have told them before that it will either be stolen or if it stays outside for too long in that place, it could kill the grass and, with rain, the bike with rust.
You have a choice at this moment. As you quickly recall your past conversations with them, you can allow yourself to get angry and let the feeling of the emotional flare play out in your actions. Or, observe the emotion, perhaps allowing it to flare up and letting it pass without reaction.
You can also continue towards your car, imagining (the future) yourself chewing them out for their negligence, or let the idea of confronting them with conversation exist for a moment and then pass.
What can you truly do about the bike now, and what conversation can be held with no one else present? You are mindful of your position in the conversation. You know what can be influenced at that moment and what cannot. You are also aware of your emotions and recognize your inability to act because of where you are in time. This is mindfulness and awareness.
You’ve managed to make it into the office, and before you can set your lunch into the community refrigerator, your boss catches you and asks you to go to their desk.
They are frantically trying to respond to a senior executive’s request for more information on a project, and they project their frustration your way on not having the answer immediately. You observe their tone of voice without letting it create a reaction within yourself. You observe the frantic nature of their interaction and of having caught you before you could settle into your morning routine at work.
You feel a sense of frustration for the interruption. You can express your thoughts and emotions at that moment, but you consider this may only exacerbate your boss’s frustration as this isn’t their concern. Observing, not reacting, and allowing the present moment to take shape are ways to practice mindfulness daily.
Mindfulness is About Creating Awareness
The scenarios above are just the tip of the iceberg in moments in your life where mindfulness will benefit you and the people within your life.
