EXPERIENCING MINDFULNESS
Immerse yourself in the miracle of your life
Do it yourself
A father asked his twelve-year-old son what he wanted for his birthday, and the son replied, "Dad, I want you!" His father worked all the time and was rarely at home. His son was a bell of mindfulness, reminding him that the most precious gift we can give to our loved ones is our real presence.
(Thich Nhat Hanh)
Do you know this too?
You are in the middle of writing an important email. But at the same time your mind is busy with the question of what other things you should do at the same time, what appointments you still have to make, and then perhaps you are also radioed experiences of the past days, which tempt the monkeys in your head to further acrobatic exercises. Your body reports a feeling of hunger and you override its wish for a short walk. You feel increasingly burnt out and overwhelmed.
We spend most of our time running on autopilot, distracted by our carousel of thoughts. We occupy our thoughts with the future or the past instead of living in the only moment we have,
HERE AND NOW.
When we are truly alive, everything we do or feel is a miracle. To practice mindfulness is to return to living in the present moment.
(Thich Nhat Hanh)The practice of mindfulness helps us to develop an awareness of our inner processes/mechanisms and thereby become more calm and loving with ourselves, it makes us react more confidently in stressful situations and strengthens our trust in the intelligence of life.
So how can you start to dive into the miracle of your life?
You can practise the following "tool" whenever you feel like a moment of aliveness in the now:
1.Dedicate 10 minutes to your aliveness
Close your eyes for a moment. Turn the spotlight of your mindfulness inwards. Notice how your body feels right now.
Which parts of your body feel tense? Where does it feel soft and open? If you are sitting, how does the place where your body is lying on your seat feel? How do your feet feel right now? Travel through your body with curiosity. Notice how it changes from moment to moment, feel its vitality. 2.
2.Now focus your attention on the breath that flows through your body without your doing
With each exhalation your diaphragm relaxes. As you observe this, you can invite the tense areas of your body to also relax, to let go.
If the tensions persist, meet them with kindness and love. Kiss it softly with your attention.
3.Now turn your attention to the sounds you can perceive around you
What do you hear close to you? What sounds are coming from further away? Can you hear your breath?
How does your breath sound like when you breathe through your nose?
And what sounds do you hear when you breathe through your mouth?
4.What do you smell right now?
What is the strongest smell you can detect right now? What else do you smell?
5. What do you taste right now?
6. Gently open your eyes. What do you see in front of you?
What colours do you perceive? What shapes? Where does the light hit, where are shadows?
Thoughts will appear on the horizon of your perception. Allow them to move on without clinging to a single one of these thoughts.
When a thought tries to captivate you, turn your attention back to your body, the gift of your breath.
Conclude this exercise with a THANK YOU to your life, thank yourself for allowing yourself a moment in the NOW.
A TIP: You can turn every "banal" action in your everyday life into a small journey of experience if you consciously perform it "sensually":
For example, the next time you wash your hands, consciously feel how the water feels on your skin.
How does the spot feel where the water jet lands on your hand? Turn your hands over. How does the feeling change?
Are there places on your hand that feel caressed? How does the water feel on your fingertips? How does it feel on your palms?
Does your body want cooler or warmer water right now?
Celebrate being in touch with the element that makes up about 70% of your body!
🌸 Enjoy the conscious experience of your sensuality! 🌸