A connoisseur is someone who knows, who knows how to appreciate and to taste. Originally confined for arts and wine, it is now commonly used in every part life, including life itself. In my mindfulness class, I like to make this analogy. Think about the connoisseur of wine. Do they chug the entire glass in one gulp? No! They really take the time to fully enjoy the wine and the experience they get from drinking it. They will carefully look at it – its colours, texture…-, smell it, taste it and finally savour it. It is the same with life: Become a connoisseur of life! For me, being a connoisseur of life is about fully live your life aligned with your values and your purpose, enjoying the present moment, paying attention to every moment of it, being engaged and immersed entirely with all your senses and your heart. It is appreciating your life as it is, being open and curious to whatever may arise, being enthusiastic and playful about it and recognizing every little joy along the way. And yes, it is about being mindful. Mindfulness is an approach to life, a way of engaging with yourself and the world around you in an alert and awake manner. It is about waking up to your life! And the more you practice it, the more you will develop the part of brain related to being mindful instead of being always worried about the future or regretful about the past. So, from now on, taste your life as a wine connoisseur tastes his wine. Try new experiences as a wine connoisseur will try new wines from all over the world. Just consider life as a fine wine: Taste, expand your knowledge, appreciate and be grateful. By Nadege ESTEBAN, Founder of Wise Mind. As a certified professional coach, she lives by her passionately endorsed motto - “Success isn’t just about what you accomplish in your life, it’s about what you inspire others to do”. This philosophy of life is what motivates and inspires her to grow every day and to take action toward her goals to improve not only her life but also the lives of those around her. This is the #1 question I receive at Wise Mind. Here is my answer. Hope it will help! :) What is the difference between meditation and mindfulness? There are different styles of meditations (transcendental, mantra-based…) and mindfulness is one of them. And, mindfulness is not only a practice, it is also a way of being in this world. It is about cultivating a state of awareness with openness and kindness. It can be practiced through mindfulness meditations (when you set a time to practice) and/or through your everyday activities (for example, while waiting in a queue, instead of checking your phone, just take the time to notice your surroundings and/or focus your attention on your breath). Some people practice mindfulness during the day without meditating, and that’s ok! Of course, by practicing both, you will enjoy more of the benefits from mindfulness. Reciprocally, since Mindfulness is also a state of awareness that we bring to our daily activities, you can be practicing other styles of meditation mindfully. So, even though, mindfulness and meditation are not the same, they may be combined and enrich each other greatly.
Did you know that:
No wonder we often feel overwhelmed! By practicing mindfulness, you will be able to step back from those thoughts and get a quality of mind that is clearer. By Nadege ESTEBAN, Founder of Wise Mind. As a certified professional coach, she lives by her passionately endorsed motto - “Success isn’t just about what you accomplish in your life, it’s about what you inspire others to do”. This philosophy of life is what motivates and inspires her to grow every day and to take action toward her goals to improve not only her life but also the lives of those around her. How to live a more mindful life? Start by paying attention to your life… Simple but not so easy. Why? Because we get easily distracted. Our attention is constantly being hijacked by external stimulations and internal distractions like your mental chatter. Did you know that our mind is wandering nearly 47% of the daily*, meaning half our day we are focusing our attention on something other than the present. Huge, isn’t it? “The challenge for so many of us is that we are so deep into daily distractions and 'being busy, busy' that we miss out on those moments and opportunities that - if jumped on - would get our careers and personal lives to a whole new level of wow.” (Robin S. Sharma) So what to do? Don’t let distractions be your master… be their Master. Be more aware of those distractions (when surfing compulsively and wastefully on Internet for example) and focus on what is more important for you to fully live your life. Mindfulness training will help you to:
* Matthew A. Killingsworth*, Daniel T. Gilbert, “A Wandering Mind Is an Unhappy Mind”. Science, 12 November 2010, Vol. 330 no. 6006 p. 932 By Nadege ESTEBAN, Founder of Wise Mind. As a certified professional coach, she lives by her passionately endorsed motto - “Success isn’t just about what you accomplish in your life, it’s about what you inspire others to do”. This philosophy of life is what motivates and inspires her to grow every day and to take action toward her goals to improve not only her life but also the lives of those around her. Did you know that stress is a state of mind that was originally designed to protect our ancestors from dangerous situations (like a tiger)? Even though, the risk of meeting a tiger nowadays is close to nil, the brain will still trigger the same stress response to the modern day stressors: a job interview, a growing pile of papers on your desk, your children screaming around you while you are trying to finish an important report that your boss is waiting for, that driver who cuts you off, the news etc…. Ask yourself:
Awareness (of your triggers, your reactions, your early signs, your perceptions and beliefs) is the key that will help you manage your stress. And by practicing mindfulness you will develop this awareness and know the answers to the previous questions. You will be able to interrupt stress cycles before they go out of control. And finally you will be able to change your relationship with stress to get a quality of mind that is calmer. By Nadege ESTEBAN, Founder of Wise Mind. As a certified professional coach, she lives by her passionately endorsed motto - “Success isn’t just about what you accomplish in your life, it’s about what you inspire others to do”. This philosophy of life is what motivates and inspires her to grow every day and to take action toward her goals to improve not only her life but also the lives of those around her. |
AuthorHi ! I'm Nadege Esteban. As a Mindfulness Trainer and Coach, I promote mindfulness as a way of living and working… and I gave myself this personal mission: to inspire as much as possible people to give mindfulness a try and hopefully to adopt it in their daily life. Be Inspired
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