Mindfulness is a perspective or ‘lens’ to view our thoughts, feelings and emotions and is a life 
skill to change thinking patterns that create problems. It’s like a ‘shock absorber’ for the mind. Mindfulness is about self-awareness, connection with ourselves and appreciating the fullness of each moment of life. Kabat-Zinn calls it, “The art of conscious living.” It is a profound way to find peace, enhance psychological and emotional well-being and increase life satisfaction.
The space in-between our thoughts and feelings is the domain of mindfulness. It is the tool to generate other perspectives or another ‘lens’ to view whats happening in our life that is keeping us stuck. When you are mindful, you watch what the mind says about this and thinks about that… you react less and respond more. You become like a mind watcher to all the comings and goings of the mind. You change what can be changed and accept, hold and love what can’t be changed.
A dear friend taught me a great technique that he learnt from Tich Nat Hahn – the Bell of Mindfulness. It only takes a minute or two.
Try this …
- stop and say ‘ding’ out loud or in your mind
- Stop everything for just 1-minute
- Ground your energy by bringing your awareness to the souls of your feet
- Breathe long and deep and stay with your feet
- Notice the difference
This can help you to be present and mindful about what your doing.
When I feel things are getting heated when I’m talking with someone, I often say – “Can I just take a minute to pause here and reflect on what your saying?” This will often diffuse the situation and prevent an argument.
You can ‘ding’ yourself in the car before your about to drive somewhere, even at the risk of being late. Funny enough, a bell of mindfulness transforms time so that you are often more time efficient!
I recommend that you ring your bell of mindfulness regularly so you can create a healthy habit of stillness, presence and reduce unnecessary stress. You will find that a lot of stress, worry and urgency drops away.
