On Monday, I shared with you a personal story on how mindfulness has helped me to change my old and biaised perception of my hometown... Today, I would like to share with you one mindfulness practice that you can do to train your ability to mindfully see. You can for example go to the museum and: * set your intention to stay in front of a piece of art for 10 minutes * really takes the time to see it with a scientific mind: not judging just observing with curiosity, openness and with fresh eyes (“beginner’s mind”) * feel it * observe each details: the texture, the colors, the shades, etc... * notice the thoughts, body sensations and feelings that arise during your practice and to bring back your attention to your piece of art In fact, you can even do this practice with a daily object like a chair, a picture, or a flower in your garden or park. Give it a try and please share below your comments on this practice... ;) "Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." Confucius
Recently, I have been reminded of this quote. As I was going back to my hometown in France after 7 years in Malaysia, I realized how my perception has changed. As you know, I like to use my daily walk for my mindfulness practices. And as I was walking down the streets of my village really focusing on the old buildings and houses, the gardens, the nature etc and using my beginner's mind, I have been suddenly stroke by the fact that until that day I was not really seeing my hometown village as it really is but as I used to see it as a teenager and even as others were - and still is - seeing it. In other words, an old village that is not really fun, not lively and boring because far from the city where you can go to the cinema, the big swimming pool and other attractions. However thanks to my mindfulness practice, I have been able to notice my biaised perception based on the past and even others' opinions, and to finally appreciate the beauty of my hometown and its old buildings. From that time I really enjoyed my mindful walks and was discovering lots of new details everyday. Yes, we are so overflooded by numerous visual stimuli that finally we don't even take the time to REALLY (I mean REALLY!) observe what is in front of us. To be really able to mindfully see, it requires you to be aware of what you regularly pay attention to (maybe they are not the most important), and to make the effort when you look to someone or something to notice each details you can. I will come back this week with a practice that you can do to be able to do that. Meanwhile, please share below if you get a similar experience... Following my posts on the mindful gap, there is another easy thing you can easily do: BREATHE! The good thing is, it is always with you!
Take few deep, slow and mindful breaths in and out. It will calm yourself and bring you back to the here and now, away from your thoughts that may be exaggerating the situation. Ex: My son who is screaming.... if I am not aware of the thoughts that arise at that time (like" oh no he is screaming again", "I told him already many times", "he never listens to me", and so on...), it may have a negative influence on yourself (your emotional and physical states for example) and on how you behave in this situation. Whereas, by mindfully breathing, you become aware of and stop the negative spiral of thoughts right from the beginning and not behave accordingly to your exaggerating thoughts. On Monday, I talked about the mindful gap that appears when you practice mindfulness. And this is this tiny gap that offers you huge amount of possibilities and choices.
What I like to do during this mindful gap is to ask myself a powerful question. One of my student told me the other day "quality of answer will depend on the quality of the question'. So true... And the question I use for myself is "What would Love do?" Ex: I am experiencing some anger as my son is "again" screaming very loudly in the house.... "What would Love do?" Someone says something unkind to me... "What would Love do?" Afraid to talk to that person... "What would Love do?" and so on... Just with this question, I am reminded of what is really important to me in any circonstances: my role in teaching my kids to talk softly (and not asking them not to scream by screaming on them!), the fact that I may have misunderstood what the person told me, and that FEAR means nothing else than False Evidence Appearing Real. So, Whenever you catch yourself being about to react to something or someone, ask yourself the right question. And you what is the favorite question you like to ask yourself before responding? Please share below ;) Picture from Lewis Howes Regularly tune in and ask yourself: how is my mind right now? how am I feeling?
This is what mindfulness helps you to cultivate: your awareness of your own emotional, physical & mentally state. And for me, it has helped me tremendously! I am not reacting to whatever happens in my life... I am now able to choose how to respond skillfully and with more compassion. When you practice mindfulness there is a tiny gap that is creating between any stimulus and your response, and this is where choices and opportunities are! |
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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