Life has been a bit chaotic lately and I've been feeling pulled in too many directions trying to decide what I really want to do with the rest of my time in this body. Should I start painting again? Should I do more writing? Would I be of greater help working with children or with the aged? What kind of work would I be prepared to commit to? And what am I going to do with all of this study?
But I know from experience that the really useful answers never come this way, from a place of inner restlessness, discontent or uncertainty. The rational mind, I have learned, might be very good at gathering and making sense of information, but it is by no means a wise guide, and has led me astray too many times to be trusted with that responsibility.
Where my best answers about life purpose and being are those sensed deep within, coming to me through dreams, intuition or that strong gut feeling, and the best way that I have found to recognise the promptings of soul is through the practice of mindfulness.
Mindfulness brings me back to the Centre of my being, the Centre of my life, which is always at THIS MOMENT, the only point at which I have the power to reflect on past lessons, and determine how to move into my future. It is also, I know from experience, the only point at which I can enter that deep inner core of peace, and touch who I really am.
Mindfulness is, I believe, the key to psychological and spiritual maturity. If we are not mindful, we will not evolve any further than we are now, no matter what else changes. It is THAT important!
Meditation is one way of being mindful, a very good way
As you sit to meditate, allow yourself to simply be aware, noting your feelings, body sensations, thoughts etc. but not judging them as good or bad, positive or negative. They are what they are. Just recognise them, one by one, and allow yourself to enter into them.
At the end of your meditation is a good time to give yourself affirmations or suggestions that can help you make the changes you want: such as, 'I am confident and have no fear', or 'I am a beloved child of God' or 'I am becoming more patient and kind every day' or whatever (always in present tense: I am, or I am becoming; not I want or I will).
Living mindfully is even better. We can train ourselves to be mindful as we go about our day, as often as possible, especially when things don't seem to be going well.
Whenever you remember, Stop, count slowly to five or ten, take three deep breaths and relax yourself, and pay attention to what's going on inside you and out of you. You don't have to be aware of everything, just one thing at a time. You might choose to focus on different things (body sensations, feelings, thoughts, sounds outside, how the sun feels on your skin etc) at different times, if that suits you better. It doesn't really matter HOW you do it, just that you do it as often as you can.
Make it part of your daily practice until it becomes a habit. It's especially helpful to be mindful when you are about to face a problem, or interact with someone, to sense how you really feel and what thoughts are in your head.
Mindfulness creates Presence. When you are Mindful, you are more fully Present to yourself and others. You are a Presence in the world, firmly centred in your own Being and Experience. From that point of power, you are more naturally open to your own Higher Self and the Divine.
By grounding you in the Present Moment, Mindfulness increases your awareness of self and other, enabling you to see things more clearly as they really are, without all those distorting judgments, expectations and opinions. It also helps you develop a more accurate and honest understanding of yourself and how you act in the world.
Mindfulness reminds us that we are ONE. Mindfulness affects us energetically and on the soul level. When we pay more attention to what's happening within us, we also strengthen our energetic connections, both within us and with the divine energy of the cosmos. We are better able to sense our place in Nature, to feel her love for us, and pain at our insensitivity, and feel the energies of the stars gazing down on us at night.
Mindfulness makes us energetically strong. Our growing awareness of the energies all around us, and those moving with us has profound on our invisible energy body, and on the strength of our soul. The stronger our light body, the stronger our individual being, both during life and after death. If our energy or light body is weak, our being is weak, and easily pulled into others' energy patterns, so that instead of living the life we were meant to live, or have chosen to live, we are continually reacting to or against what others say, want or do. We are as out of control as moths drawn to light!
Eventually .... and this is important!....... if we continue to remain psychically weak and ineffective, to live in reaction rather than by intention, we become like those fairytale mermaids who on death became nothing but foam on the sea. Our souls do not have enough radiance to continue, and are dissolved back into the divine.
So for the sake of your personal and soul wellbeing, and your precious individuality, whenever you think of it, bring your attention back to This Moment, This Body, This Mind, and pay attention. Everything you ever need to know is within, but you will never find it if you are always outside. Nor will you ever truly know yourself.
If you want to know how to be mindful, watch an animal. In their natural state, animals are nature's experts in mindful living.
Sites worth a visit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nwwKbM_vJc Jon Kabat-Zinn Mindfulness meditations with google
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