05 Jul How to practice mindfulness every day in a busy world
We live in a very stimulating world. Input and distraction is everywhere. We are constantly checking our devices or doing something on our computers, or multi tasking and crunching through those algorithms, and it can get very overwhelming. You don’t notice it, until it is 10 pm and you are wound up like a spring from the constant electronic input of machines and devices and other creative and intellectual endeavours, but it can have a negative effect on your well being.
There is something of an antidote to all this stimulation though, and it comes in the form of mindfulness. It can be helpful for more than your busy, distracted mind too. It can help you to ignore some of those ‘loopy’ thoughts that come around and wind you up and lead you absolutely nowhere but down.
Even if you are not noticing that you have some of those types of thoughts in your life at the moment, mindfulness is a great way to unwind after a busy day of intellectual stimulation. It only takes five to ten minutes, and you don’t need any equipment other that a comfortable chair and yourself, so it is easy to do!
How to practice mindfulness
Find a comfortable spot in a chair, on the couch, or you can do this lying down too. You can actually practice mindfulness during any kind of activity, but for the purposes of this exercise, I am suggesting that you find a comfortable position on the couch.
Close your eyes, and begin to focus your attention on your breath, coming in and out of your chest, mouth and nose. Here, you can choose to focus on the rise and fall of your chest, or the feeling of the breath coming in and out of your nose or mouth, and simply hold your focus on that one sensation.
Every time your mind begins to drift and worry, or think about what you are planning to do tomorrow, or about what you saw on your phone tonight, simply bring your focus back to your breath, and the rise and fall of your chest or the feeling of it coming in and out of your nose or mouth.
Enjoy the peace that starts to come over you as you focus only on your breath and continue to focus on your breath for five to ten minutes in total. At the end of your practice, open your eyes, and enjoy the feeling of calm that has come over you.
Practice mindfulness every day in an over stimulating world
Suddenly, the distraction of your mobile phone has receded into the background and you are calm and in control.
If you practice mindfulness every day, you will get better and better at it, and you will find that you are more able to let unworkable thoughts float past you on a river. You can watch your feelings and thoughts come and watch them go, without ever becoming involved in them, but simply being an observer.
You can’t control your thoughts and you can’t control your feelings, but you can get better at not getting caught up in your thoughts and feelings through the practice of mindfulness every day.
It is even more important in a world where we are constantly distracted and overstimulated by technology, and what’s more, is that it feels good, and it can have significant long term benefits to your psychology.
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