mindfulness

Mindfulness:

Introduction:
Mindfulness has been shown, clinically, to aid concentration and help with a vast number of health issues. It has been practised in both eastern and western religions for thousands of years. Most commonly attributed with Buddhism and Contemplation Prayer in Abrahamic religions.
With practice, you can cause your mind to focus and become clear of troubled thought, become less anxious and happier without having to go through the whole process of mindful meditation.
I will cover three kinds of mindfulness creating a trio of mindful practice.
Done daily to start with, you can quickly turn around negative thoughts and become more positive and take control of your mind.
Practised properly it soon becomes automatic, and when negativity starts to enter your daily life, as it inevitably will, your mind will become mindful and all the negativity will pass over you leaving you on a serine plateau.
Zoning out and watching television or listening to music is not the same as mindfulness, you will not get the benefits.
All the activities can be practised regardless of your state of well-being. These exercises can lead to a troubled free body and mind. Even if you are fit and healthy, practising will lead to an improved sense self and well-being and bring you further success.

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Part 1:
Mindful meditation in 5 steps.

Introduction:

Mindful meditation is what most people commonly think of as mindfulness. I have been trained in the various aspects of mindful mediation via Autism Awareness, Church and A Dr of Psychology relating to trauma. Practised properly you can quickly have a lot of success with this technique but practised incorrectly your troubles can become worse. Critical to well-being is the fifth step, this was sidestepped when I was given training in church and only likened to waking up in the morning with no real focus on the release.

Step 1:
Find somewhere comfortable to lay or sit down and relax.

Step 2:
Close your eyes, the ocular network that your vision functions upon is related to anxiety. Closing your eyes activates the default mode network in the brain, responsible for introspection. This is the part of the active brain when the brain is at rest.

Step 3:
Focus on your breath, take long deep breaths.
Your breathing is controlled by the brain stem, it is automatic.
Even though you can control it consciously, if you were to hold your breath until you become unconscious, your breathing would start up automatically again. You can breathe without conscious thought and by focusing upon it, you let all your conscious thought drift away, and you can begin to take control of your mind.

Step 4:
There are three choices here, you can:
A: Focus on the outside world and what is going on around you.
B: Focus on your thoughts
C: Repeat a small saying or poem in your head, a short prayer or mantra.


Do this for a few minutes until the thoughts start to pass through your mind. You may start to notice momentary thoughts coming from your subconscious, let them pass.

Step 5, and this is the most important step:
Open your eyes and blow a big breath out.
Let all that you were holding in escape into the outside world, releasing your thoughts and freeing your mind once again.
If you do not do this it can make your problems worse, lead to greater anxiety and depression and you won't train your mind to be mind-full. This is because without this step there is no contrast in your mind for you to experience and learn from. Activating the default mode network without later releasing it can cause introspection to take a grip on your mind turning into worry and anxiety and other negative thoughts.

Start by practising this daily, or even twice daily. You should notice your mind and thoughts becoming more focused and your concentration increasing. Increased happiness and a general persona of calmness are additional benefits. You can also use this activity, especially with a mantra or saying relating to the problem, to help you resolve a problem you may be having that requires some thinking about or to remember something you may have forgotten.

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Part 2:
Mindful activity in 4 steps.

Introduction:

Mindfulness occurs in everyday activities, for example, if you weren't mindful crossing the road you may just step out in front of a car or bus and get run over.
Mindful activities are something you already do, but everyday mindfulness can be improved upon by consider all of your senses, bringing your senses together in focused thought.
You may notice that you start to feel dizzy, disorientated or out of your body in this exercise. If this happens it is perfectly normal, try not to panic or dwell upon it and relax.


For this activity, you will need to be sitting down with a cup or bottle of water. You can use other drinks or foods but plain water at room temperature works best for this activity because it doesn't overload the senses with excessive tastes, smells, textures or heat and cold.

Step 1:
Place the drink on a table in front of you. Sit back and relax then reach out and hold the drink in your hands, leaving it still on the table.
Take note of how the cup or bottle feels in your hands,
Focus on this for a few moments.

Step 2:
Close your eyes and lift the drink to your mouth, you can keep your eyes open if you have difficulty coordinating the cup to your mouth with your eyes shut.
Notice how your muscles feel and move as they lift the cup,
Take a sip or small mouthful from the cup, notice any sensations as the liquid passes your lips. Notice any smells of moisture as the cup passes under your nose on its way to your mouth.

Step 3:
Hold the liquid in your mouth for a few moments, notice any changes in the liquid, how it feels in your mouth.
Then swallow the liquid, notice how your muscles work in a swallowing action, notice how the liquid feels as it passes down your throat, into your oesophagus and stomach, entering your digestive tract.

Step 4:
Open your eyes and place the cup back on the table, notice how your moth and lips feel now there is no longer any liquid in them, notice how your hands and arms muscles relax as they are no longer holding the cup


Repeat this activity occasionally, you should start to feel more in-control of your body and have greater awareness and control of your emotions. Daily activities should begin to seem easier and less worrying and once troubled days should start to fly by.
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Part 3:
Mindful cleansing with random noise, in 4 steps.

Introduction:

Mindful cleansing with random noise helps you to be yourself again and is great if you are suffering from anger, anxiety or depression or otherwise having difficulty being and expressing yourself. Decluttering your body and mind, it aids in self-expression, self-confidence and the confidence to talk to people about things you may have on your mind, coherently giving added benefits in your life, leisure or at work even to healthy individuals.

This activity is best practised in the shower, where the water makes a natural background random noise and your neighbour or spouse can't hear you.
(Alternatively you can find some thunderstorms or other random, natural noises easily on YouTube, Dailymotion etc.... Binaural beats can also be used. Put this on whist doing some cleaning, ironing or the dishes etc...(not vacuum cleaning) instead of doing the activity in the shower if you can't shower.)

Step 1:
Get into the shower and turn the water on.
Notice the water hitting your body
(Alternatively find the sounds on YouTube or Dailymotion and turn them up to a reasonable volume, notice the feeling of the sounds on your ears or the bass on your body.)

Step 2:
Now wash yourself down and when doing so repeat the following out loud:
"I am washing my body, I am washing my body"
You can try to use a sing-song voice if you like.
(Alternatively, start to do some cleaning, spray the surfaces, put the dishes in the sink etc... and as you are doing so talk the activity out load.)

Step 3:
Now wash your hair and run your figures through your hair or scalp (if you have short hair), notice the water down your face and repeat the following out loud:
"I am washing my hair, I am brushing my hair"
(Alternatively, continue the cleaning,  wipe the surfaces, wash the dishes etc… and as you are doing so talk the activity out load.)

Step 4:
Get out of the shower and turn it off, dry yourself down and relax.
(Alternatively, finish the cleaning, dry the surfaces down, dry the dishes etc… and put everything away.)


Repeated daily, you should start to feel calmer and more confident with more energy and a less cluttered mind.