"Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way – on purpose,
in the present moment, and without judgement."
—Jon Kabat-Zinn
Good morning and happy Wednesday! I have a terrific article for you this morning by writer Lorane Gordon about mindfulness, called "Take Leave of Your Mind." Enjoy! ♥
"Take Leave of Your Mind"
by Lorane Gordon
In order to be mindful, leave your mind out of it!
What does being mindful really mean? It’s about being aware; aware of everything that is going on within and without. When we’re mindful we experience the color of the sky, the green of the grass. We really see the blossoming of nature and smell the fragrance in the air. We feel the essence of another and see their soul within their eyes. We recognize that we’re part of the life energy that is all around us and within all things. This understanding brings about a feeling of quiet joy, a feeling of reverence, a feeling of peace. This is bliss consciousness, and it can be yours!
Let me explain. Our mind has over 60,000 thoughts a day. Each and every day! Imagine the amount of words it takes to simply form that many thoughts. More than 95% of those thoughts are nothing more than repetition. Think about it. Have you ever noticed that when you’re trying to solve a problem you just keep repeating yourself? In the course of the day we are constantly saying the same things to ourselves, over and over again. When your mind is full of noise you don’t have enough silence to hear what is being said let alone come up with a solution to a problem. In order to be mindful, we have to first quiet the mind.
When your mind becomes quiet you are aware of a deep feeling of peace. Yes, there is peace down there, somewhere under those 60,000 thoughts. When your mind is that busy it’s pretty difficult to come up with the solution for a problem. How about trying to create something? That is, if you even feel like being creative. Imagine the creative urge trying to get through the traffic jam of thoughts in your mind?
Again, once your mind has quieted down, you discover a sense of peace. Now you can hear the messages of your inner self and become aware of your true feelings. Perhaps for the first time in our lives we begin to know who we really are. If, like so many of us, you feel that your life is all right, yet you suspect that something is missing, it’s most likely because you aren’t paying enough attention to yourself to even recognize your own needs. If you don’t know what you need how can you possibly satisfy yourself? Before you can get to this place of knowing yourself, you have to quiet your mind.
There are many ways to quiet our minds, and they all begin with awareness. For example, are you aware of the constant chattering in you head? That non-stop yacking is so much a part of our lives that we don’t even recognize it. It’s like a background noise that annoyed you at first, but then you became accustomed to it. Can you imagine the relief you’ll have once you quiet that down?
So how do you quiet your mind? The first thing to do is develop a relationship with the Observer. The Observer, or as some people refer to it, the Witness, is simply an impartial reporter. That’s it! This means that it doesn’t tell you you’re doing it wrong. It won’t tell you to do something better, or differently. Nor will it tell you not to feel something, or even to feel something else. The Observer will simply tell you what is going on. But, you have to learn to hear this voice. Believe me, that voice is always here; but the mind can be so noisy with the obsessive chatter that most of the time we don’t hear what it has to say.
To start, make a conscious intention to listen to your Observer. You will then begin to hear what you are saying to yourself. Notice how that makes you feel. Recognize how often you project yourself into an imaginary future and see how often you go into the past with feelings of regret or remorse. You will notice how you keep yourself separate from others by judging them…
Continue Reading "Take Leave of Your Mind"
Copyright Lorane Gordon. All Rights Reserved.
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Wishing you a mindful day!
Soulfully,
Valerie
