If Mindfulness Meditation Isn’t A Miracle Cure…Why Do It?
Self help books fill the shelves of remaining bookstores and a search of Mindfulness Meditation, produces over 82 million results on Google. Now, not all of these results are celebrating Mindfulness Meditation. There are packs of people that think it’s boring and ineffective.
Yet there are tribes of billions who love it because it helps them grow in the direction they want to in life. You might even be doing it and not realize it.
As you may know, it’s easy to learn and the time it takes is up to you. Practicing won't fully heal you from anxieties that twist your stomach, but it can help you understand why negative emotions exist. And knowing the reasons behind how your emotions affect your mind can turn into feelings of temporary - and sometimes - long lasting relief.
We all know deep down feelings of calm won’t last forever. And they shouldn’t. It’s an essential part of maturity to understand and control your emotions. Mindfulness Meditation is the route to getting there.
Mindfulness Meditation the combination of two ancient concepts.
Mindfulness - focusing on you senses and feelings in the moment.
Meditation - mental exercises for the purpose of self awareness.
One way to begin practicing Mindfulness Meditation is to ask yourself:
“Where am I?”
“What am I doing?”
“How do I feel right now?”
Also, as you check on yourself, go through all your senses. What do you smell, taste, ….
The one challenge most meet with Mindfulness Meditation is forgetting to do it. Life moves faster than the speed of a click. So stopping the world to take time for you might not come naturally right away.
But once Mindfulness Meditation becomes a habit, you’ll be able to take a break for yourself without thinking about it. Here’s another great place to start so that you don’t forget to practice:
“Wait….STOP. If I do this, it’ll be good for me.”
Then back to…
“Where am I?”
Here’s one of my recent examples:
Where am I?….I’m at my house…What am I doing…eating a cookie.
How does it taste?…It's crunchy, there’s a hint of salt that makes my tongue twitch gleefully, and wait, I just got some crumbs on me. I smile.
How did that cookie make me feel?
The first words that come to mind are warm and reflective. This cookie happens to be from my Grandma who makes them every Fall. It’s nostalgic and it makes me happy to eat this wedding cookie with a crisp breeze running through my hair.
Without meditation that precious moment might have passed by, possibly never to be remembered again. Without stopping to think and focus on the here and now, that cookie would be gone in 60 seconds the memory of Grandma and cookie lasting a fleeting millisecond.
There’s no honor in that.
This example captures what Mindful Meditation is, really - honoring yourself with the most valuable thing in the universe: TIME.
The time to reflect. You are the lead character in your life and at the same time, your most intimate, supportive friend.
Mindfulness Meditation combined is you supporting yourself in your chosen time of practice. Plus, the rewards are limitless. Oh, to gain control and stop yourself from doing something you’d rather not do. To feel relief from knowing that deep breathing can slow down your heart rate when you start to feel terror. Creating the perfect snapshot in your head, at the climax of that eagerly anticipated event.
You remember this snapshot long term.
And to fully embrace every physical feeling and rush of emotion from the most soulful kiss on a warm, pitch black night. Truly, the best part of Mindfulness Meditation is the limitless ways it can be practiced. In every Mindfulness Meditation scenario, you have the power of choice.
Isn’t that special? No one can do Mindfulness Meditation for you.
Here are some more Mindfulness Meditation ideas:
Awaken your inner child and get artsy. Paint how you feel.
Listen to music that evokes an emotion of your choice.
Align your inner and outer body. (Chakras anyone?)
Stare at a tapestry in wonder and connect its shapes to significant objects in your life.
Connect with yourself during a morning routine.
Match your outfit with your intention for the day. Ooh you look GOOD. Say that to yourself!
Making your living space more balanced with Feng Shui.
There are guided meditations on almost every subject under the sun. If you are anxious there are guided meditations to relieving overthinking. Those are my favorite.
What’s best about this strategy is you can do it anywhere, any time, and for however long. With a treasure chest of tools on every medium, you’ll see how convenient and rewarding it is to invest time and focus on yourself.
Check out Empath Design’s custom Meditation Kits to begin or expand your mindfulness journey!