Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Today, practical down to earth use of mindfulness. Welcome to your sanity library where I aim to accompany you on the path to yourself. All the details about the whole project are in the description if you need to see the whole picture. But let's dive right in. The last thing I want is to waste your time. The very first thing you need to do if you want to get to know yourself and being able to follow your true path is noticing things. That is why the first topic is attention.
[00:00:39] Let's start with a little mindfulness exercise. Because mindfulness does not have to be sitting under the tree and feeling the breeze on your face.
[00:00:50] Chances are it might seem boring or a waste of time to you. Everybody is different and the mainstream mindfulness exercises might bore you. And it is okay. We are on the path to get to know you, remember. So notice and embrace your likes and dislikes. In the meantime, I want to demonstrate some very practical applications of mindfulness. Let's jump right in. Is there something you constantly misplaced? House keys? Car keys? Glasses? Your phone? TV remote? Which one are you guilty of? For me, it used to be the car keys every single time. It's way better now. And by now you surely guessed it. It is thanks to practicing mindfulness, AKA stopping and giving attention to stuff. So today's first one minute practice for your mental well being is catch yourself before you misplace stuff and give it your attention. I am feeling my keys in my hand and I am putting them in my pocket on the counter. Whatever, just feel it. Your attention is there. You got it. And then you will not have to ask where are my keys? Because you will know this is living in here and now in practice. So you are welcome. Let me know what it is that you keep misplacing and how is this practice working for you. And be kind with yourself while learning. So don't bash yourself. There is no need for that. You are learning and that's great. Another way to practice attention is giving attention to your feelings. It is maybe not all that easy because we were raised to ignore our feelings and and this is why we sort of forgot the way to ourselves. But this is why we are here practicing, right? Giving attention to your feelings may not be easy, but training will pay off. Trust me. The best way is probably to start with the feelings that you perceive as not so nice or comfortable. For example, anger is usually pretty easy to spot. So once you get angry or upset, try to stop yourself and give yourself attention.
[00:03:16] Try to locate what is happening in your body, where in your body this anger is coming from. Observe. That's all you have to do. Observe. Don't try to suppress it. This is not our goal. Our goal is once you find yourself very angry, try to stop and just locate the anger in your body. It might be difficult at the beginning, but you will get there and it will really pay off. Trust me. Make it a little science experiment. Observe yourself as the rare precious specimen that you are. Let me know then in the comments where you located your anger and how is this practice working for you? Also, don't forget to be proud of yourself for practicing. Another exercise is similar principle, but with feelings that you perceive as pleasant. We as humans tend to concentrate on the negative, but we are built that way for survival, so there's nothing wrong with that. So don't be angry at yourself.
[00:04:16] And if you get angry with yourself, locate the anger in your body. Try not to get angry with yourself just because you concentrate on the negative. It's pretty normal, but we can train ourselves to concentrate also on the good stuff. So let's train to give our attention to the feelings that are uplifting and let's do it every day. Because if we wait for something huge to role in the good feelings, we might just as well never do it, which would clearly be a shame. Another one minute practice for your mental well being is when you feel happy for whatever reason, the smaller the better. The sun is shining, your kids are listening for once. Your boss is not grumpy, your husband is not grumpy, whatever. Feeling relief, happiness, appreciation.
[00:05:09] You look nice today. Feel happy about it and once you do, give it attention and observe where in your body the happiness is born again. Make it a little experiment. Observe yourself as the rare precious specimen that you are and let me know where in your body is happiness located. How proud you are about yourself for practicing and not letting the feeling of happiness pass you by unnoticed. Last but not least important thing about attention and the food for thought is this. Nowadays attention is an expensive commodity. Everybody is after it. The social media, your scrolling, the ads, notifications, me included. Of course I won't tell you how to stop mindless scrolling. It does serve you at times. Why else would you be doing it? Just make sure that you invest this precious commodity, your attention, into yourself and to those that matter to you first before you just give it away. Give enough attention to yourself before you give it up to others. That would be about it for this week. Keep reflecting and practicing each day in a way that suits you the best you can do. One Practice every day for a week and then move to another one. Or you can practice them all each day up to you. Save this to be able to come back to it if you fall off the wagon. Be kind to yourself, Be kind to others. Be kind to me in the comments when you are letting me know what you think and subscribe. See you next time.
