Tag Archives: mindfulness

Mindfulness and Gratitude

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You know when something reaches the cover of TIME magazine, it’s has entered the public collective consciousness.  The February 3rd copy of TIME, featured a cover with TIMEa woman apparently in rapturous meditation.  The headline: The Mindful Revolution. The Science of Finding Focus in a Stressed-Out Multitasking Culture.  

The interesting thing is that Jon Kabat-Zinn (an MIT-educated scientist) developed Mindfulness Based Stress-Reduction (or MBSR) in 1979, and it is only now that it is taking off…and in a big way.   Maybe it’s in response to our overstimulating multitasking, always-on-call, digital culture.  Or, maybe it’s a result of conscious evolution – we’re finally ready for it.  Whatever the reason for its popularity, it’s definitely a good thing.

And while Mindfulness is inherently a Buddhist concept, Kabat-Zinn keeps any reference to spirituality out of it.  This secular approach seems to have helped the movement expand – in particular, some of its biggest proponents, are (ironically) Silicon Valley execs, from Google, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook – yes, the very companies that have created the multitasking, always-on-call digital culture.  Apparently, according to the article, “it helps them free up mental space for creativity and big thinking.”  Who knows, maybe they’ll create something that will actually help us become fully present in the moment and alert to the blessings all around us.  One can hope.

The downside of leaving spirituality out of this approach to Mindfulness is that it limits its transformational ability.  But, that’s where we can choose to add it back in.

Briefly, mindfulness trains our mind to pay exquisite attention to what’s happening in the moment. All our senses become alert to what’s going on in our body, our mind and our environment.

This is great training for living in the present moment and appreciating fully what is in the present moment.  It helps us discover what is, and then accept what is…just as it is.  With the benefits being that we become more peaceful, less stressed people who are more self-aware and more likely to accept ourselves…exactly as we are.  That’s huge!

And, we can take this deeper.  When we connect with our heart, and bring our spiritual awareness into the practice of mindfulness, we can take our practice…and our spiritual growth…to the next level.

For example, once we train ourselves to become aware of all the sounds, and sights around us, we can take the next step and choose to view it as one Divine Life-essence expressing in a myriad of ways.  This helps us develop a deep sense of gratitude for it all.  How miraculous all of nature really is!  How miraculous the world is!  We can choose to see ourselves as “one with it all”….the same Life-essence that “runs through the world, runs through my veins night and day and dances in rhythmic measure,” as Tagore wrote. We can begin to feel the rhythm of our bodies and know that it’s all God.  And if something is out of rhythm we catch it early and follow Divine Guidance to make whatever changes we might need to make to restore that rhythm.

Once we become aware of our thoughts, we can take the next step and begin to distinguish the different between our ego-mind and the voice of our Higher Self…and then encourage the voice of the Divine to speak more substantially than our ego.  When we acknowledge and appreciate all the moments in our lives when our inner wisdom guides us to say the right thing, or take appropriate action, we develop a deep and abiding relationship with the Divine within us.  When we do, our lives radiate harmony and blessings in every area.

Bring your heart to your practice of mindfulness and begin to take it to the next level…and watch your life transform!

 

Gratitude Experiment: Day 67

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A friend of mine, Betsy, sent me a few of her gratitude quotes which she has hanging in the appropriate places around her house.  She is married with two children, one of which has not been the easiest to raise. (I think she’d say that is quite the understatement.)  Betsy’s a positive, loving and caring woman who bubbles over with life.  I’m wondering if quotes like these that she lives by have anything to do with her enthusiastic nature.

This one hangs over her kitchen sink:

Without these dirty dishes to wash I wouldn’t have hungry mouths to feed. I wouldn’t have the hands to hold and the people to love. Thank You Dishes!

This one hangs in the laundry room:

Dirty laundry reminds me that someone has worked, someone has played, someone has eaten, someone has slept, enjoyed their day just as they will tomorrow, if someone like me takes care of what they wear.

Reading these quotes are helping me shift my grumbly attitude about cleaning up messes and doing the laundry….the later I’ve disliked with a passion.  I’m going to think differently about it.  I’m going to look at each piece of kid clothing as I’m putting it in the washer or folding it and try to remember the fun she had in it that day.   I want to feel grateful for the fact that I have children.  And when I cook for my family, rather than thinking, ugh…another meal I have to prepare…who’s going to complain about which part of it?  No, rather than this, I want to begin to be grateful that I have a family to cook for.  Perhaps my attitude will spill over to my family who might begin to feel grateful that someone is preparing yet another meal for them.

If I can do this, I’ll have come a long way to transforming my day-to-day attitude and the energy I’m putting out into the universe. 

I once said to my husband who was complaining about stepping on little toy pieces on the steps, “You know honey, one of these day…and it will be sooner than you know…you’re going to miss seeing and stepping on those little toy pieces, because your children will be grown up and gone.  And you will miss them and the time you had with them when they were little.  So try to enjoy it while it’s here.”

I need to take my own advice.

Thanks Betsy.