Simple tips for daily mindfulness
Mindfulness as a concept has become quite mainstream. It’s commonly intertwined with the ideas of wellness, spirituality, self development, and yoga. While it’s a huge positive that so many people have become familiar with mindfulness and meditation, how many of us truly practice it? And how many of us understand what it really means?
I’d love to delve into this topic and give you some practical tips to implement mindfulness in the everyday.
The meaning of mindfulness
The first thing to note is, what is the true meaning of mindfulness?
Mindfulness, in practice, is the opposite of its name. It’s about being less mind-full and more present in the reality and texture of the present moment. It’s learning to identify less with the activity of our mind, and more with awareness itself, the awareness that lies behind the commotion of our thoughts and the events of the world around us.
We engage in involuntary and voluntary thought throughout each day of our lives. And we are often so unconscious about it that these thoughts often sweep us away into their own little world — which we ultimately mistake for our world.
There is a whole world outside the routine thoughts and emotions of our lives. The key to mindfulness is recognizing that. Not through force or exertion, but rather the opposite. Through the simple recognition that we are the consciousness behind the thoughts. We are not the thoughts themselves, but the one witnessing our thoughts.
If we remain unconscious, we’re simply victims to our minds. Practicing mindfulness of our thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and habits is the first step to making more conscious choices and finding more mental clarity.
It’s important not to fall into the trap of “mindfulness = happiness.” Mindfulness is a detached awareness practice that neither chases nor resists any experience. It is less thrilling than the happiness we constantly chase after, but it is much more fulfilling and sustainable. In fact, it goes far deeper than happiness, which is simply an emotion.
“In mindfulness one is not only restful and happy, but alert and awake. Meditation is not evasion; it is a serene encounter with
reality.”
So now that the introductions are out of the way, let’s get into some tips for mindful living.
Tips for mindful living
Single-tasking
We’ve all heard of multi-tasking. Our culture prides itself on it. In our increasingly demanding world, it’s so hard to keep up with all of our responsibilities. We have our families and personal lives, our health, our relationships, our work, our education, and so much more that we feel pressured to keep up with. And at times, perhaps multi-tasking can be useful. However, in the long-run, it’s not sustainable to our overall wellbeing. We need to practice being more conscious around our multi-tasking behaviors.
One big tip to begin a mindfulness practice is to single-task more. Why are we driving ourselves into the ground trying to keep up, as if our very lives depended on it? What if you knew that doing one thing at a time helped you actually be more efficient at it, more alert — and still finish everything on time?
We can break the cycle and choose to focus on one task at a time. This doesn’t mean that you can’t sip your coffee while checking your emails in the morning. It does mean to start cultivating awareness first. Check in with yourself and see how often you multi-task. What does that look like in your day? How often do you feel rushed and frenzied? How does it make you feel when you are constantly doing multiple tasks at once, or doing mental checklists of all the things you have to do?
From there, you can start thinking of ways to start focusing on one task at a time. Let’s say you have a long to-do list for the day. Instead of thinking of what else is on your list while trying to check off the first task, how about fully enjoying the process of the task of the moment? How about trusting in yourself and in the process, and doing each task fully?
The less pressure we put on ourselves to rush and complete things, the more we can recognize that life is in fact not a race. And we can start to enjoy even the most menial tasks. We can start to find the hidden magic in the smallest of things.
““If while washing dishes, we think only of the cup of tea that awaits us, thus hurrying to get the dishes out of the way as if they were a nuisance, then we are not “washing the dishes to wash the dishes.” What’s more, we are not alive during the time we are washing the dishes. In fact we are completely incapable of realizing the miracle of life while standing at the sink. If we can’t wash the dishes, the chances are we won’t be able to drink our tea either. While drinking the cup of tea, we will only be thinking of other things, barely aware of the cup in our hands. Thus we are sucked away into the future—and we are incapable of actually living one minute of life.””
Meditation
Mindfulness meditation practices are useful. While mindfulness is something that can extend to each moment in our day, taking the time to exercise our mind is crucial. It can help us become familiar with the concept of “awareness,” “conscious presence,” and being the “witness.”
You can start your practice gradually, perhaps once or twice a week, and build it up to something that feels reasonable for you.
Just keep in mind: This isn’t homework! While it requires some discipline, none of our spiritual practices should feel like an absolute chore or a punishment. You can try it out and see what types of practices you like the most.
You can find some guided mindfulness meditations on YouTube, or on apps like Insight Timer or Headspace.
Commit to one mindful activity
Make a little commitment to yourself. Pick one task that you do daily and commit to doing it mindfully — without distraction, without getting caught up in mental chatter. It’s normal for mental commentary and other distractions to come up repeatedly. That doesn’t mean that there’s something wrong with you or your practice. On the contrary — these are just opportunities and reminders for us to step back into the moment.
Make sure to use all five senses. Pay attention to the textures, colors, and sounds of the moment.
Some suggestions on daily tasks that could be used as a mindfulness practice:
Doing the dishes
Walking from the door of your house to the door of your car
Taking a walk
Driving
Brushing your teeth
Taking a shower
Cut out distractions
The world has been designed to distract us. With social media and the news feeding on our distractibility and insecurities, we’re constantly being overstimulated. We’re told that we will be missing out if we don’t buy this product or watch this show. We must become aware that these are all distractions engineered to keep us away from stillness. We’ve become fearful of it.
I recently installed an app called Jomo to help me block apps during certain times of the day. This has really shown me how easy it is to just pick up my phone without a specific purpose, and how difficult it is to just leave it alone, and trust that any notifications can be addressed later. And the funny thing is, once I get back to those apps, the notifications are practically non-existent.
Instant gratification and overstimulation are paralyzing our minds and eating away at our soul. Take time to consciously cut out distractions. Maybe take an extra 10 minutes to sit with your coffee without looking at your phone. Look outside and watch a cloud drift by, and see how long you can do that for. Take a walk and really look around you. Take in all the trees and flowers without engaging with any mental dialogue that comes up. Learn to take time away from electronics, even if it’s for 10 conscious minutes at the end of a busy and demanding day.
Our minds count on it.
“It’s not life’s job to make me happy. It’s my job to find the joy in life by observing and appreciating the small wonders and everyday miracles that are all around me, everywhere, every minute of my life.”
Learn to listen
Listening encompasses so much. We can practice open and active listening with a friend who is confiding in us, or a coworker engaging us in small-talk. We can listen to understand and embrace that person’s presence without projecting our own ideas and solutions onto them. We can understand that our minds may jump to what we should say next, but it’s our fullest attention that is truly the greatest gift we can offer them.
It’s also the greatest gift we can offer ourselves. Listen to the sounds of nature, the sounds from your neighbors, the sounds of traffic. Listen to the messages you’re being sent by the Universe. Listening properly can help open us up to life.
Come back to the breath
The breath is the simplest tool you can use. When your mind is taking you off to places, swaying you left and right, you can come back to your center by noticing your breath. It can always be your anchor.
You can also think of a mantra to repeat to yourself to come back to the present moment. It could be a word such as “God,” or a phrase such as “I am loving awareness.” You can think of something that resonates with you and keep it in your heart.
““Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts. Whenever your mind becomes scattered, use your breath as the means to take hold of your mind again.””
If you enjoyed this post, check out my book, Journey Back to You. It’s packed with a lot more useful tools to help you on your journey.
I hope this post has helped! If you have any tips for mindfulness in the everyday, please share them in the comments below.