Mindfulness

What does it mean to be mindful?

It may seem unusual to talk about a word like “mindfulness”. What does it mean? Where did it come from? These are good questions and I believe we can have fun learning about them. To put it simply, being mindful is simply being aware. Aware of everything going on in your life; aware of your thoughts, your feelings, and of yourself. When I talk about being aware of yourself, this means aware of your actions or your non-actions.6 The word “mindfulness” really got its start 400 to 500 years B.C. in the Far East. It was used somewhat differently then, and has progressed to where we are today. Mindfulness has been defined as “skillful attention.” In being mindful, we look at being focused on the present, we look at being non-judgmental. Mindfulness can be cultivated through meditation, through nature, and through exercise such as yoga. Anything that makes you stop and breathe and take stock of yourself and your surroundings helps you in the goal of mindfulness.

It is important to mention some things that mindfulness IS NOT.  Relaxing is not the same as mindfulness. Paying close attention to your responsibilities is not mindfulness. Sleeping is not mindfulness. Just sitting and staring and having nothing on your mind is not mindfulness. And lastly, reaching a goal is not mindfulness.

A great benefit of practicing mindfulness is being more in control of your thoughts. Now I know that seems I’m reaching, but what I mean is being able to slow down your respiration when you are anxious or overly concerned. There have been studies demonstrating mindfulness can help you with pain.  This doesn’t just happen because you decide you’re going to be mindful. If this is a goal, a serious goal, meaning that you are willing to put the work in and the time into it to learn the process through mindful meditation you can learn strategies, how to control your moods, appraise how you’re thinking, and focus on your emotional reaction to the world around you.

Have you ever stopped to think about who you are, what you believe, why you believe it, and how you express that belief?  Sometimes we don’t want to go there, so we focus on other things. And those of us who have had children know that is important to know what we believe to pass it on. Or not.

When Lost Creek Bluebird begins having retreats at our farmhouse, meditation is an activity that can be part of that experience. Of course, nothing at retreats will be mandatory. Women get to choose what they want to do and when they want to do it. The purpose will be to laugh, breathe, and enjoy oneself. But during mindfulness training, we will become aware of how we breathe. That is very simple. Breathing is simple. We’re going to go deeper into an awareness of ourselves and how we think. We’ll be looking at how we can help relieve pain. Learning mindfulness techniques will be something to take away from a two-day retreat. You’ll have those skills for your life if you want to use them. If you want it to become a lifestyle, it can.

It is important at Lost Creek Bluebird, and of course when I say this it means important to me, is a focus on joy. Joy is why bluebird is included in the business title. Difficult not to smile or take a deep breath of appreciation when you see a bluebird. Their coloring is so stunning you have to look. Many of us have joy around us much of the time. The sad thing is that we’re too busy to notice it or to appreciate it. An area of focus since my counselor training is positive psychology. It’s been given some attention, though not as much as many other areas of psychology. It’s a practice that encourages people to drive, grow, and be the best they can be. For me, it means sharing my joy with others. One of the most obvious joys I have is my flower gardening and being outside watching the change. Another one happens to be the kittens and the cats I have had in my life. At this point in my life, as a single person, I have Minnie Pearl, who is a black and white female, and Maybelline, who is a black female.  Their antics are fun to watch and teach a great deal about human behavior we could emulate. Of course, not all!

I’ll leave you with a couple of examples (from Growing Happy deck of mindful card created by M. Abblett & C. Willard, published by PESI Publishing & Media) for training yourself in mindfulness.

1.) Name one of your strengths.

– – Then, do something that exercises and builds on that strength.

2.) What was one healthy choice, either physically or emotionally that you made this week?

– – Is there another one you can make today?   You can talk out loud yourself or you can talk in your head wherever you feel most comfortable.

Enjoy contemplating and enjoy breathing.