It is never pleasant when someone hurts us with their words or actions. The good news though is that the unpleasant moment is momentary, it only lasts a second. The bad news, however, is that most of us are very good at creating permanency in impermanent things. Whatever has been done to us, we tend to repeat it in our minds again and again, each time allowing the memory to hurt us that little bit more. For instance, if someone calls us ‘worthless’, it isn’t nice. But because we go away and stew on it, thinking, ‘They called me worthless… worthless, ouch… worthless, oh my. Now I really do feel worthless.’ We allow an even greater harm to be done to us by choosing to ruminate on these thoughts.
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How To Stop Negative Thoughts
Nobody wants to have negative thoughts. But how do we stop them from arising, multiplying or increasing in strength? Preventing and eliminating negative thoughts from our mind forms two of the Four Great Efforts we should be trying to practice, (the other two are to cultivate positive thoughts and maintain them). One technique for abandoning negative thoughts is to remember that we don’t have to believe every thought that comes into our mind.
No Time To Lose
Our life is like a burning candle. The flame illuminates our surroundings which illustrates the energy, excitement and joy of living. But while there is light, there is also a shadow being cast. This shadow that we cannot avoid is the certainty that one day we must die. If we can keep death as a friendly reminder, as opposed to a morbid one; we will surely make each moment count. Practicing mindfulness is the only way to extract the richness of life from all the supposedly mundane activities of our lives. We have to pay attention to every aspect of our lives, otherwise our attention is incomplete. Relax in the now, breathe in and feel alive, drop your worries and concerns, feel gratitude for the preciousness of this moment which will never come again.
Complete Peace
When I was a teenager I used to be very afraid of disappointment. So whenever I went into a situation where there was a chance of potentially gaining something good from it (e.g. a prize, some attention, just having a good time), I would say to myself, ‘Expect the worst’. Although I never really took this advice too seriously, I found that by simply thinking this, it helped me to drop all my fears rather than reinforce them. By ‘expecting the worst’ it naturally helped me to drop all the cravings, hopes and expectations that I had in my mind. And far from making the experience miserable or boring, what happened was that I began practicing mindfulness instead. So whatever was happening I simply enjoyed it without needing it to be better or different from what the actual experience was.
10 Mindfulness Exercises to Help You Live a Mindful Life
When our minds are mindful and aware it can dramatically change the nature of our day and transform our relationship with ourselves, others and the world. Practicing mindfulness helps us reconnect and remove barriers that prevent us from enjoying each moment. Mindfulness brings us back to the present moment, to discover the joy that is already here; we were just too busy to notice it. Below are 10 mindfulness exercises that you can try to bring a touch of mindfulness to your day. These are sure-fire ways of developing mindfulness so you can quickly experience its great benefits.
Mindful Eating: A Taste of Mindfulness
As our lives get busier and more frantic, eating has become an activity that we usually do alongside other activities. Be it watching TV, working, answering emails, or thinking about what we need to do next; rarely do we eat our meals with mindfulness and enjoy the flavors of the food. It’s almost as though we don’t consider eating interesting enough that we need to create further excitement by reading the news, checking Facebook or texting. I’m sure we have all experienced getting to the end of the meal and wondering where it all went, or we wish we could have just one more bite to enjoy the flavor of the food.
Another aspect of mindless eating that we are usually guilty of, is looking forward to the next bite instead of savoring the mouthful that is already in our mouth. We’re thinking about how good the next spoonful will be, or worst still, we’re thinking about the delicious dessert we plan to eat after our delicious meal. And this is something we all experience. Our mind always seems to be looking forward to something better in the future, even if the future is just a spoonful of food away.
Eating without mindfulness is what most of us are doing on a daily basis. We ‘hoover’ in the food to satisfy the hunger pains so we can move onto life’s more important tasks. But the practice of mindfulness teaches us that there is nothing more precious than the present moment, so even eating becomes an activity that is worthy of our undivided attention.