The American Psychological Association defines Mindfulness as “moment-to-moment” awareness of one’s experience without judgment. I like this definition because most of us entertain thoughts without supervision. We let random thoughts go through our minds without taking inventory of whether these thoughts are beneficial or harmful. For example, you may be on a diet trying to lose weight. You fall off your diet and eat ice cream or pizza, which you promised you wouldn’t do. Constructive thinking would be, “I have fallen off my diet plan. What steps can I take to prevent this from happening again? I should not keep ice cream in my freezer; instead, I should keep frozen yogurt. Or, instead of ordering pizza, have a sandwich or salad ready to eat in the fridge for when hunger strikes. Destructive thinking would be,” I am so undisciplined; I can never do anything right.” The difference between the two is that the first thought provides the solution to achieving the desired weight loss goal. The second is just providing condemnation and judgment without giving any ideas to achieve the desired goal.
As you can see, governing our thoughts is important because positive thinking can drive us to take action to achieve our goals. In contrast, negative thinking can cause us to get discouraged and give up.
While yoga, tai chi, and qigong can promote Mindfulness, there are other ways to acquire Mindfulness. The most important aspect of this is supervising and taking control of the type of thoughts you create, regardless of where you are. Being mindful of our studies is essential because our thoughts drive our feelings, and our emotions drive our actions (or inaction).
My personal favourite is when I’m by myself with nature. I voluntarily take control of my thoughts and focus on the present. Focusing on the sounds around me, such as the sound of the waves, the birds, and the people talking around me, helps calm my mind and brings clarity and focus. When my mind tends to wander off, I get it back to focus on the present. My biggest challenge has always been quietening the internal chatter and just being. For the longest time, it was almost impossible for me to relax. A friend of mine introduced me to a book by John Mark Comer titled “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry.” The author brought my attention to the unceasing internal chatter in that book. And bingo, just like that, ever since I started to be deliberate about quietening the inner chatter, the internal peace and calm I achieved was transformational.
On your mindfulness journey, take a minute to identify those internal voices. Then, be deliberate in eliminating them and listening to the inner silence as you focus your attention on your surroundings with no judgment whatsoever. Take this time to love and forgive yourself. Acknowledge all the things you have done right and appreciate yourself for these. Next, learn to love and accept your flaws and shortcomings. The golden rule, “Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you,” can be done lovingly when you first show love and forgiveness to yourself.
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