Editor’s note: Our guest blogger this week is mindfulness coach & counselor and my dear friend, Lisa Love.
Starting a mindfulness practice –where you weave present-moment awareness into your daily activities – is simple. At any given moment, notice your breath, notice the layers of sound filtering into your ears, observe sensations in the body, and rest against the support beneath you. Simple, right?
For some, it seems ludicrous to pay attention to the present. The mind has so many more interesting ideas about what to superimpose on this moment. To the mind, the act of simply being is boring. The mind will do its utmost to distract you from the simple task at hand, so be prepared for constant hijacking at the outset. This can be frustrating, especially for dedicated or recovering perfectionists.
While the instructions for mindfulness practice are simple, they are not easy to master, especially if you are practicing with an attachment to a desired outcome. Some mistakenly assume effective practice occurs when thoughts are absent. Thoughts are not the enemies. They arise. Exercising the choice to follow a thought or let it go gives you the power to enhance or diminish its strength.
I love that people like Dan Harris, CBS news anchor, once a skeptic, are bringing mindfulness more into the mainstream. With his book, 10% Happier, Harris shares his take on the benefits of mindfulness practices.
Mindfulness practice does not deliver guarantees, even though the scientific evidence from studying the effects of repeated practice is encouraging: increased focus, decreased distress, increased resilience, decreased subjective pain, increased emotional intelligence, decreased fight or flight triggering.
What I notice when clients begin to take up the practice, is that they become more aware of all the times they are UNmindful. They become keenly aware of their negative assessments of themselves or the current situation.
Mindfulness practice simply heightens awareness of whatever you are paying attention to. Until you decide to pay attention to less judgmental narratives of yourself, others, or the present moment, you can feel at least 10% crappier – initially. So be prepared, because if you press eject before you have a chance to begin experiencing the benefits, you’ll likely prejudge the practice as worthless, or even make things worse.
It’s akin to going on safari in a jungle that seems dark, scary, and overwhelming. Your machete blade is beginning to get dull the more you hack your way in. You are sweating and working hard, worrying about the dangers lurking around the next bend. Until you settle into your new surroundings, confront uncertainty with acceptance, and lean in to the unknown with an attitude of openness, curiosity, and courage, you’ll likely turn tail and run, or just stop from sheer exhaustion.
So I invite you to leave your expectations behind. Be open to THIS journey, unfolding in whatever way is organic to you and your life experience. Drop your expectations of feeling happier, more relaxed or free from thoughts.
Start your practice with a clear intention to befriend yourself and your experience in this moment. With repetition and willingness, you will discover the hidden gems, the inner spaciousness that exists beneath all the doing, thinking, and reacting.
Just. Be. Open. Trust will evolve and you will be guided more deeply with an adventurous heart into the unexplored, magical jungle.
My book Soul Safari: Discover Your True Nature is due out on Amazon Kindle in April 2016. Please contact me if you are interested in learning how to get a free copy.
Are you practicing mindfulness? Would you like to try it? Let us know your experience with mindfulness below.
This is the greatest gift that we can receive i.e to live in the moment and celebrate life. Knowing that cloudy days may arise as they often do, but practicing this in good times helps us to get thru. My mind was also scattered throughout the days with bits if remorse and fear of future events that may never come. I am very great full for someone who showed me the way just as your are teaching us now.