Mindfulness

Most of us are well aware that we are facing changing times. Sometimes it seems that there is little to celebrate and the challenges seem to be tripping over each other, each week giving us another reason to worry, be despondent and down hearted.

It’s no surprise that so many people are feeling unnerved, anxious and, at times overwhelmed by events. If we can’t change the circumstances, what can we do when the news (and our mind chatter) is so intense, and depressing? One way to change the way we think and therefore feel, is through the mindful practice of paying attention to the here and now.

Mindful awareness is all about learning to let go of worries and anxieties by bringing ourselves into this moment. This one moment in time is precious, and we miss it when we are living in the ‘what if’ anxieties of the future or the pain and depression of the past.

By paying attention and focusing on the here and now, we have an opportunity to live life more fully. There will always be challenges, but keeping in the moment and recognising when we are reacting in old, out dated learnt behaviours is the beginning of mindful awareness.

The physical and emotional health benefits of mindfulness are well researched and documented, everything from heart disease to depression, addictions to diabetes but it is also about reaching our full potential, and experiencing life without fear and anxiety and with more peace, pleasure and productivity.

Mindfulness teaching offers strategies and practices that the science tells us will permanently rewire the brain, slowing down our stressed reactive ‘fight or flight’ response and opening up to a calmer more reasoned way of experiencing the world. We realign to more clarity, a more productive even a more compassionate and kinder way of being.

It’s true, we can’t always change events and circumstances, but we can learn to adjust to a more peaceful and positive way of experiencing. With practice we can wake up to a way of living with greater energy, richness and happiness. In a storm, we can’t change the wind, but we can learn how to adjust the sails.