The Art Of Mindfulness: Practices For Cultivating Presence And Well-Being
Sitting in your motionless car, staring blankly at the traffic lights flickering from red to yellow and then yellow to green. While slowly reaching your hand towards the gear, you think to yourself, ‘Are we all stuck in a real-life matrix?’
We know where this is rooting from exactly. Humans tend to feel this way after a long time of living the same tedious life. From bed to car seat, from car seat to office chair and then back to car seat and bed. The five weekdays pass by like a turtle while all corporate workers mindlessly wait for Saturday to have fun.
However, when the weekend finally arrives, they spend it sleeping like a baby all day. Experts suggest this laziness and reluctance to step out of bed because the mind has gone numb. All thanks to the glued-to-chair-and-screen nature of our jobs, but we have a solution.
Therefore, we bring you the utmost solution for escaping this mind numbness. The following bits of advice are going to wake you up from the subconscious into the real world.
Alerting Human Consciousness – A Guide
If you reach the office this morning and a colleague asks you whether you saw a red Lamborghini on your way here or not. Would you have an answer? Do you pay attention to the roads, places, and things around you while driving?
We probably know the answer, and it is no. It is not only you, majority of us do not practice mindfulness in our daily chores. As soon as we sit in our cars, an auto-driving mode turns on, and like robots, we drive to places.
We see so many publications from top children’s Book Publishers Canada about mindfulness as this skill is something that should be taught to everyone from their childhood. It is pretty clear that most of us are always either thinking about the bygone or the forthcoming. It is as if we do not have a present and only our bodies hang around, not our complete being. Hence, we made our point. Everyone is in dire need of practices that cultivate their presence and well-being, making them publically aware.
There are plenty of techniques that you might try for this, but we have shortlisted a few. Below are the tried and tested remedies, so have a look:
Band-Aid Relief – Short Term
Suppose that you are 10 minutes away from your interview destination, and your mind feels clogged. What do you do to freshen it up on such short notice? You follow these instructions for cultivating presence and well-being:
- Wherever you are, find a quiet place first and then settle down for a moment.
- If there is no place to sit, you can start walking or stand in a corner.
- Then, start narrowing your thoughts until there is none left.
- Once your mind traffic is clear, ask yourself, ‘What am I doing here?’
- Answer it by counting whatever is around you.
- You could name plants, fellow interviewees, receptionists, etc.
Repeat the process until you remind yourself that you are here for an interview and reach a perfect level of mindfulness.
Deep-Rooted Relief – Everlasting
If you think there is, let me correct you; there is no shortcut to being thoughtfully present in the moment overnight. This is a far-stretched process and takes consistency to be successful.
Although psychiatrists have tested these methods of cultivating presence, we still urge you to perform the trial-and-error method. There might be practices that suit you better than the most. So give it a thorough read and work out what brings you peace.
- No matter what, never begin your day without a fulfilling morning meal that gives you energy for the day. It is essential for awakening and improving the well-being of your mind.
- Next up are two other dawn rituals that you can do. First, do breathing exercises and meditation before breakfast. Alternatively, do your regular chores and side by side just keep repeating positive affirmations about things you have to do today.
- Other than that, whenever you feel slightly fatigued during the day, drop everything right away. Take a break before your body starts to shut down itself. Moreover, you can also take a short walk or have a snack.
- Now that we are talking food, we must avoid sugary intakes as they reduce our ability to concentrate. Besides that, make sure you think about food and chew only while you eat. Take every bite slowly and mindfully to ensure physical and mental strength.
- In addition, ghostwriting there must be occasions when you spend your breaks without any digital interaction. This means you have to have some me-time to engage in self-evaluation.
- Then, every night before bed, you must write at least a page-long journal about your day. Summon up whatever you have done since you woke up and record it. Moreover, also write down your achievements and regrets for the day. Hence, you will sleep better when you have poured your heart out.
- Building on the list, you will also feel better if you spend time close to nature, such as practising concentration exercises in a park or around the sea, similar to the one from the interview example. For example, count things around that you can feel, see, hear, smell and taste.
- Lastly, you could use a therapist to talk to about your emotions and thoughts. Communicating helps you efficiently organise your cognisance. Thus, when you talk to them, they will guide you in your response formulation, too.
- On the other hand, you may also call or meet a friend. Listening to them and practising mindfulness and mental presence with them will be the most convenient way.
What is the power of mental presence?
The art of being actively there in the moment is a great help for patients with depression. It lets you regulate your emotions, makes you strong on the inside and boosts productivity.
Do you think mindfulness relates to self-love?
As said, mindfulness stops a person from being anxious and aids in minimising negative thoughts. This leads to better self-esteem and the person starting to feel good about himself.
What are some good reads about this notion?
Two very good books are ‘Full Catastrophe Living’ by Jon Kabat-Zinn and ‘The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself’ by Michael Alan Singer. You must give them a read.
Does practising make a difference?
Apart from emotional support, practising it makes you manage your overthinking and improves focus. In addition, it benefits you by saving both personal and professional relations.
Bring to a Conclusion
Overall, we know that at the end of the day, you have to take care of yourself. No one else is going to bat an eye on your mental well-being. Therefore, you better gear up and start taking things seriously.
Mindfulness is as important as physical welfare, and if you narrowly comprehend, then a few strings relate them both too. You need to maintain a strategic balance between both to excel in life. Thus, this guide was prepared for people who are struggling with this issue. They can follow the instructions, and we guarantee a visible difference in their health over time.