Let's talk about mindfulness

Mindfulness

When we say mindfulness what we really mean is to be aware of the present moment without judgement. To just experience the moment as it is.

The thing is that many of us are used to living on auto-pilot, isolating ourselves from whatever is going on at the current moment. This response is usually developed from childhood but is also triggered by stress or other causes.

Now, the way to fix this is through the practice of meditation.

Meditation is usually done by focusing on our body or our breath. By doing this, we give the mind a break and can observe any thoughts that come up. Since we become aware of them we can work on getting rid of them. But thoughts come and go all the time and they’re not us! We are not our thoughts!

Also, feelings come and go, and the beauty of this is that we can CHOOSE to either act on them or to just observe them. We can just choose to accept and sit with them.

Be compassionate with yourself when unhappiness and dark thoughts come to your mind, just be curious and observe.

If you wonder why it's beneficial to catch negative thoughts early, the answer is that once you are aware you can cut them off and take control of your life.

Some benefits of mindfulness:

It positively affects the patterns that are connected to anxiety and irritability and also improves memory, creativity and even your reaction times.

Doing VS Being Mode When we worry about something we activate the fight or flight in our nervous system which then kickstarts the doing mode. This mode is amazing for getting us out of danger, but if it’s activated for the wrong reasons, it can create anxiety. Let's explain how this happens.

So when we are stressed or sad the mind looks for memories to explain why we feel this way. After this the mind creates scenarios that may happen in the future if the sadness, pain, or anxiety don’t go away. Now, we bring old threats and worries up and guess what…. We feel worse! Let’s make something clear, unhappiness, anxiety and sadness are not problems to be solved. They are feelings that reflect where we are physically and emotionally. When you feel those feelings, don’t run away, don’t try to explain them and don’t judge them. Just sit with them and observe them.

So since we talked about the doing mode, let’s talk about the being mode too. The being mode allows us to experience life directly and see things from a different angle. “Being mode” allows us to be present, open, still, and accept things as they are. Mindfulness is the only way to enter this door whenever we need to. Please don't think that “doing mode” is a bad enemy, because it's not if used for its proper purpose. It’s not meant to solve problems so when it comes to this you need to switch to “being mode” So for example, if you are in trouble at 2am in bed thinking and making scenarios, take a deep breath, pause your thoughts, ground yourself and be in the moment. What is the current moment? You are in bed, it's warm, your duvet is snuggling you and all the scenarios you just made are fictional and unhelpful.

But like I said, doing mode is not the enemy, it’s an ally. What matters is how we use it and how aware we are of it. It only becomes a problem when we use it for things it can’t do, like solving a troubling emotion, there is where we need to switch to being mode and this is where mindfulness helps.

Let’s see some benefits of meditation: - people who meditate regularly are happier - decreases irritability and depression. - meditation can be a wonderful tool if you are in process to overcome an addiction and chemical dependency

- improves reaction time

-reduces chronic pain -improves memory and sleep

- it has a positive impact on blood pressure and hypertension

- improves concentration and attention That's all from me today.

Hope you enjoyed reading my blog. Thank you for being here!!

Love and gratitude,

Marianiki x