Art Of Being
What is mindfulness? You’ve probably heard this word before, as in being mindful of your surroundings, but how does one practice mindfulness? How does one be mindful? I hope to answer these questions in this article, as practicing mindfulness has changed my life for the better.
To me, mindfulness is the state of full awareness. It is the state of being completely awake to what surrounds you, whether these things are sounds, smells, objects, textures, tastes, or ideas. It is getting out of your own head and being completely focused on the beauty of life. Practicing mindfulness is a beautiful thing. It helps us to not take advantage of the gifts we have been given through life every single day. In witnessing these moments of absolute beauty, being mindful is the most effective way to fully savor the moment.
A few weeks back was the Perseids meteor shower. Some of my best friends and I drove out to the plains see this natural phenomenon. We layed ourselves on the ground and stared up at the night sky. Where I live, there is a lot of light pollution and we rarely see more than a few stars. Where we were, I had never seen so many stars in my life. It was absolutely magical. I looked up at the sky and completely denied myself thoughts about my life and my miniscule problems. I let the beauty of the sky consume me, and thought about how incredibly vast this universe is. I sometimes laugh at how deep my thoughts can get (I have my moon in Scorpio, so naturally I have always been a deep thinker), but this time I just let my thoughts run wild. I thought about how much I want to learn about constellations, so I could fully appreciate the beauty I was looking at. I thought about how amazing it was that as you looked at the stars, you traveled through time. The light of the stars we see each night take millions of light years to reach Earth, and some of the stars we see today no longer exist. By merely looking up we can travel through time. I thought about the fact that there is no possible way that we can be alone in this universe. The universe is infinite, and we are just a speck of dust in a vast ocean of undiscovered things. This experience gave me validation that there is a purpose in everything. We were not put into this universe just for the hell of it, we have a reason to exist. I have never felt so incredibly grateful to be alive.
I honestly feel bad for people that are not mindful. I feel that a lot of people would see the meteors streaking across the sky and think to themselves, “wow that’s so pretty!” without a second thought. People in this society are so distracted by their own thoughts that few people are able to just be. There are always distractions and always other things to do, that people miss out on the beauty in just being present and being alive. Being alive is the greatest gift out there, why do so many people waste it? I know I was once one of these people, but my journey of mindfulness has undoubtedly made me a better person and more one with myself.
If you are reading this, and have realized you are one of the people I have described above, don’t feel bad at all! I’m not at all saying that these people are ungrateful, I’m saying that these people have not discovered the beauty of being present. They have not discovered how amazing being mindful is. A lot of these people don’t even know what mindfulness is. If you want to start practicing mindfulness, here are a few tips I have to help you begin your journey…
Tips On How To Practice Mindfulness In Everyday Life:
1. Start off every single morning grateful. Even if you got horrible sleep, thank the universe for giving you another day to live.
2. When eating, take the time to savor your food. Notice the texture of what you are eating. Savor the taste in your mouth. I love doing this with fruit, just because it’s natural and absolutely delicious.
3. When in a car (not while driving, focus on the road and fasten your seatbelt), look around you at all of the natural life surrounding you. Even if there is only one tree around you, give it your full attention and study all of its intricacies. I do this every single time I am in a car.
4. MEDITATE. That is the absolute best way in my opinion to become mindful. Some of my favorite crystals to use in mindful meditation are moss agate and kambaba jasper. Moss agate helps you to be more mindful of the natural world, and kambaba jasper reminds us that we are not here on this earth to do for ourselves alone.
5. Go on a nature walk. Turn off the ringer on your phone (I didn’t say leave your phone behind, in case something goes wrong you must always be prepared. Also you can get some pretty sweet pictures of natural beauties) and just walk. Listen to the birds chirping around you. Feel the wind rush through your hair. Just be in the moment. Pretty amazing things happen on nature walks; once I saw a blue heron and it was absolutely beautiful.
6. Turn off your phone for at least an hour a day. I would recommend being on your phone as little as possible. Phones are such a distraction, and in this society we are so obsessed with capturing and documenting everything that we forget to just live in the moment.
7. Live in the now. Don’t dwell on the past, and don’t worry about the future. Those moments are not in our control. What is in our control is what we choose to do in the present moment. Be completely present and attentive.
8. Don’t tune out the world. While music is great, give yourself time to listen to the music that surrounds you, whether that is the sound of rain or the sound of bugs chirping.
9. Focus. If you find yourself easily distracted, remind yourself to focus. Put the word focus somewhere you can always see it (on your wall, the wallpaper on your phone, write it on your hand, etc.).
10. JUST BE. This is the best advice I can give to you. Be one with your surroundings. Be present in this moment. Be grateful of your life. BE.
I hope this has helped you in some way. If this has even made you think about being mindful, I have succeeded in writing this. Remember to keep your eyes, heart, and mind open to new things, and find beauty in everything. Be happy, be mindful, and be yourself. Just be.
