Declutter Your Mind

3/4/2013

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Spring flowers are beginning to bloom, the sun is shining more often and the days are getting longer - the spring cleaning season has arrived! Not only is this a time to declutter our spaces, we can also declutter our mind by clearing our minds, reducing negative thoughts and finding space among the mental chatter.

We can easily declutter the mind by using the concept of clean-slate simplicity in four easy steps.

The idea of clean-slate simplicity is rather simple. You take everything away and only return the items that are needed, as they're needed. Then anything left over can be donated, recycled or tossed.

To use the idea for the mind and our thoughts, set aside some quiet time where you won't be interrupted to allow yourself to go through this process of decluttering:

Write everything down
Start by clearing your mind of any "to-do" lists by writing everything down. You can do a full brain-dump here and write about anything that is on your mind; conversations that you want to have or ideas you want to retain. You may even wish to take time to journal, write an article or a quick email if that is what is needed to help you settle and let things go. Just be cautious not to get stuck here. You may wish to give yourself a time limit to ensure you move on to the next steps.

Identify any unwanted thoughts or behaviors
Next, do a quick inventory of any repetitive or negative thoughts and/or behaviors that you may want to let go. Then make a mental note or promise to yourself that you will not allow those types of thoughts or behaviors to return. Tell yourself that you will let them go and will only bring something back if it will be a positive addition to your life.

Enjoy the space and relax
Then, sit in silence or meditation for 10 - 20 minutes or longer if you wish. Knowing that you have written down anything you wanted to remember so now you can really relax. Letting go any thoughts or feelings that arise. Allowing the body to soften and the mind to settle, quietly observe any sounds, feelings or thoughts if they arise. Allowing the mind to calm and become quiet, enjoy the space you've created.

Only return thoughts that serve you
After you have sat in silence or meditation, deliberately set an intention to only allow thoughts, feelings or behaviors to return if they will be a positive addition to your life. Otherwise, let them go and enjoy the calm, clear mind you have created.

Just as any space in our home or work can build up clutter over time, the mind can become cluttered again especially if we have not created systems or habits to deal with our mental clutter on a regular basis. To sustain a decluttered mind, incorporate a meditation or mindfulness practice into your daily routine so you can regularly let go of unwanted thoughts or behaviors to keep the mind calm and clear.

Enjoy taking the time to declutter your thoughts to start off the spring season with a calm and clear mind.

Namasté,
Sarah
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11 Ways to Be Mindful Beyond Meditation

2/20/2013

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Here are some more mindfulness tips from Zen Habits to help you expand your mindfulness practice to other your daily activities.

1. Do one thing at a time. Single-task, don’t multi-task. When you’re pouring water, just pour water. When you’re eating, just eat. When you’re bathing, just bathe. Don’t try to knock off a few tasks while eating or bathing or driving. Zen proverb: “When walking, walk. When eating, eat.”

2. Do it slowly and deliberately. You can do one task at a time, but also rush that task. Instead, take your time, and move slowly. Make your actions deliberate, not rushed and random. It takes practice, but it helps you focus on the task.

3. Do less. If you do less, you can do those things more slowly, more completely and with more concentration. If you fill your day with tasks, you will be rushing from one thing to the next without stopping to think about what you do. But you’re busy and you can’t possibly do less, right? You can. I’ve done it, and so have many busy people. It’s a matter of figuring out what’s important, and letting go of what’s not.

4. Put space between things. Related to the “Do less” rule, but it’s a way of managing your schedule so that you always have time to complete each task. Don’t schedule things close together — instead, leave room between things on your schedule. That gives you a more relaxed schedule, and leaves space in case one task takes longer than you planned.

5. Spend at least 5 minutes each day doing nothing. Just sit in silence. Become aware of your thoughts. Focus on your breathing. Notice the world around you. Become comfortable with the silence and stillness. It’ll do you a world of good — and just takes 5 minutes!

6. Stop worrying about the future – focus on the present. Become more aware of your thinking — are you constantly worrying about the future? Learn to recognize when you’re doing this, and then practice bringing yourself back to the present. Just focus on what you’re doing, right now. Enjoy the present moment.

7. When you’re talking to someone, be present. How many of us have spent time with someone but have been thinking about what we need to do in the future? Or thinking about what we want to say next, instead of really listening to that person? Instead, focus on being present, on really listening, on really enjoying your time with that person.

8. Eat slowly and savor your food. Food can be crammed down our throats in a rush, but where’s the joy in that? Savor each bite, slowly, and really get the most out of your food. Interestingly, you’ll eat less this way, and digest your food better as well.

9. Live slowly and savor your life. Just as you would savor your food by eating it more slowly, do everything this way — slow down and savor each and every moment.

10. Make cleaning and cooking become meditation. Cooking and cleaning are often seen as drudgery, but actually they are both great ways to practice mindfulness, and can be great rituals performed each day. If cooking and cleaning seem like boring chores to you, try doing them as a form of meditation. Put your entire mind into those tasks, concentrate, and do them slowly and completely. It could change your entire day (as well as leave you with a cleaner house).

11. Keep practicing. When you get frustrated, just take a deep breath. When you ask yourself, “What should I do now, Self?”, the answer is “keep practicing”.

Hope you enjoyed these tips and are able to integrate them into your day to add more mindfulness to your life.

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What is Meditation?

12/29/2012

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Meditation can be described as calm, compassionate attention.

Straightforward and simple, meditation is essentially training our attention so that we can be more aware – not only of our own inner workings but also of what’s happening around us in the here and now. Once we see clearly what’s going on in the moment, we can then choose whether and how to act on what we’re seeing.

Insight meditation is the simple and direct practice of moment-to-moment awareness. By focusing our attention a single chosen object like the breath, and repeatedly letting go of distractions in order to return our attention to that object. Over time, you can move your attention to whatever thoughts, feelings, or sensations arise in the moment.

People have been transforming their minds through meditation for thousands of years. Every major world religion includes some form of contemplative exercise, though today meditation is often practiced apart from any belief system. Depending on the type, meditation can be done in silence and stillness, by using voice and sound, or by engaging the body in movement. All forms emphasize the training of attention.

How Meditation trains attention:
The three Key skills

All forms of meditation strengthen and direct our attention through the cultivation of three key skills: concentration, mindfulness and compassion or loving kindness.

  • Concentration: steadies and focuses our attention so that we can let go of distractions.
  • Mindfulness: refines our attention so that we can connect fully and directly with whatever life brings.
  • Compassion or loving kindness: is compassionate awareness that opens our attention and makes it more inclusive.
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An Introduction to Mindfulness

1/12/2012

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The art of living mindfully seems to be a life-long practice but the basics are simple. Anyone can be mindful, anywhere, at any time. One doesn't require years of training, lots of money or a
specific belief system to be able to get it. You can be mindful right now, today, at this moment.

Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way:
  • on purpose
  • in the present moment
  • without judgement

That's it! Pretty simple, right?

The challenge comes in when we try to apply this to every area of our life. That's where a meditation practice can be beneficial. By practicing mindfulness through meditation, you learn to watch your thoughts and feelings as an observer. But you don't need to have a meditation practice to be able to be more mindful.

Paying attention to what you're experiencing and allowing whatever is happening to be there exactly as it is, can be done at any time. It's just observing without judgement, without trying to control your experience, without getting lost in your thoughts so you can experience what is happening right here, right now.

Imagine your awareness is like an ocean and you are looking up from under the surface of the water. Your thoughts, emotions, physical sensations and experiences are like the surface - choppy at times, calm at others. But your awareness is way beneath the surface looking up, watching the waves as they go by without judging, without trying to control the movement of the water. Just watching, observing, being mindful.

I challenge you to take a moment right now to touch mindfulness, to see what it feels like if you haven't experienced it before, or to remind yourself of the feeling if you're familiar with it. (it seems we can never get enough reminders to be present)

All you need to do to find mindfulness is to focus on your breath. Feel it coming into your lungs and then leaving your body, follow it, experience it. Allow any thoughts or physical tension to fade away with every breath.

Take a moment or two to do that now...

Just breathe.



How did that feel? What was your experience like? How do you feel now compared to before, is there any change in your experience?

Try doing this small exercise of bringing your attention to your breath once a day. It can be done at any time, anywhere. All you need to do is remember to breathe and let everything be exactly as it is.

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