mindfulness
Everybody is talking about mindfulness or meditation these days. It has become quiet the buzzword in our everyday speech. But what is it and how do I do it?
We have all experienced moments of mindfulness in our life. This may have been for a fleeting second, when we are playing with our kids and you realise how content you are in that moment, or when you see a beautiful landscape and begin to appreciate the majesty of it all whilst getting goosebumps all over your skin. These are often the moments we remember the most throughout our lives, the moments when we truly stopped to appreciate what we have in life and what it means to be human.
Unfortunately, most of us are so involved in the everyday of life that we do not get these moments too often. We tend to go about our lives mindlessly, going about our chores, tasks, and relationships on auto-pilot, simply trying to get things done. We are unable to 'feel' in this mode, often scrolling through our phones or watching television to fill gaps in our day. We often drive from A to B without even realising how we got there because our mind has been so filled with clutter. We can even drive by the most beautiful places without even noticing because we are thinking, or ruminating in our heads CONSTANTLY. Well, this isn't the most conductive mode of living to live a life of contentment.
Mindfulness practice seeks to take you out of auto-pilot, even if only for brief periods of the day. You can then begin to savor and enjoy moments within your day. As a therapy approach, mindfulness can help to bring you to a state of calm, ease, and contentment. Mindfulness can help survivors of trauma, anxiety, depression, bereavement, or simply improve your current state in life to a level that you were unaware was possible.
My experience with mindfulness and meditation has taken me around the world in order to learn a sense of calm and quiet within. I have completed four Vipassana meditation retreats and volunteered in one such retreat. These retreats involve being woken at 4am each morning for 10 days. There is total silence. You meditate at assigned times for 10 hours a day. You sit with your eyes closed for this period, with brief periods of rest coupled with the meditation practice. You eat twice daily at assigned times. Is this prison you may ask? No, it is heavenly! This is the practice that has altered my way of being in the world most profoundly. I feel I can offer some of what I have learned from this practice to all my clients in therapy.
If you have any questions on what mindfulness or meditation is , or you want to learn more about meditation and mindfulness as a therapeutic approach, or simply to learn these profound practices, please contact me today.
Have a look at the video below to gain a deeper understanding of meditation and mindfulness.
