Hello it’s Dave
here!
Alison has now had her
operation and is back home. So we are
into the recovery period and following her visit to the Dr. yesterday it
appears that this is going to take about 3 months. So now let us move on to the main topic of
this week where I share with you
 |
| (Photograph - Wytchwynd Photography) |
Have you ever felt
there must be more to life?
Well I am the bringer
of good news - there is! The even better news is that it's right here
in front of us. We just need to stop and
take notice!
Learning to be more
mindful and aware can do wonders for our well-being in all areas of life – such
as our walk to work, the way we eat or even our relationships. Mindfulness helps us get in tune with our feelings and it stops
us dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. The result of this is that we get more out of
the day-to-day thing we call “Living”.
Mindfulness is the key
to taking notice, it is often defined as "the state of being attentive to,
and aware of, what is taking place in the present moment".
Two critical elements
of mindfulness are that:
*
It is intentional (i.e. we
are consciously doing it); and
*
We are accepting, rather than
judging, of what we notice.
Mindfulness is
"openly experiencing what is there."
It is about having as much awareness as possible of what is around us -
what we can see, hear, touch and taste, what is happening inside - our thoughts
and feelings.
Crucially it is about
observing all of this but not getting caught up in thinking and worrying about
what we are observing. This gentle quiet
observation then gives us more control of what we decide to give our attention
to.
A growing number of
scientific studies are showing the benefits of mindfulness in many aspects of
our lives including our physical and mental well-being, our relationships and
our performance at school and at work. Mindfulness appears to have benefits for
everyone, from children, through to the elderly. It has been suggested that once learnt,
mindfulness has a 'transmitting' quality. This means that the benefits of using
mindful practices increase over time and with more use it can spread to many
areas of our daily lives.
Unfortunately in
today’s busy and multi tasking world mindfulness is something that few of us do
naturally - but it's something everyone can learn and benefit from. It's
simple, yet it can feel hard until you learn how. That's why it takes practice.
Mindfulness Costs………………
Think for a moment
about the following points:-
Have you ever gone into
a different room to get something and forgotten what that was?
Have you been in a
conversation with someone but realised that you haven't listened to what they have
been saying?
Have you eaten a meal
without really tasting it (for example while watching TV or reading)?
How often have you found
yourself on “autopilot” whilst making a familiar journey such as going to work,
to school or college, and once you have arrived finding that you can’t remember
anything about your journey?
All of the above are
examples of 'mindlessness'. And that is very, very common!
Normally we are so
caught up in our thoughts about what has happened or is about to happen - i.e.
the past or the future – that we get a lot less out of the present. However, the startling thing is that the only thing we can truly be sure of is
what is happening in the here and now.
Harvard psychologist
Ellen Langer warns that “mindlessness may be very costly to us in terms of our
health and happiness”. “What's worse”, she says, “is that when we are mindless
we are of course unaware that we are being so!”
But the good news is,
although mindlessness is a habit, it is one we can learn to replace.
What is it like?
You can bring
mindfulness into your day at any time when you're awake. It is a skill that is
often associated with meditation, but it is not just practiced when sitting
silently. Learning how to meditate is just one way (albeit a very good one) of
learning and practicing mindfulness.
Being more engaged in
the present moment can lead us to a richer experience of the things that might
otherwise pass us by. While we are wrapped up in thoughts about the
past or relentlessly thinking about what we are doing next, we probably do not
notice the leaves dancing on a tree, a bird soaring on the wind, the smell of
new blossom, the colour of the sky or the smile on the face of someone passing
by.
Of course we need to
plan and to recollect and process experience, but if we begin to be more
mindful we are likely to be surprised at just how much time we actually spend
outside the present moment and how pleasurable and calming being in it can be.
Being mindful is not
something mystical - it has been practiced across different cultures for
millennia. Various forms of mindulness
can be found in all the major faiths including Christianity, Judaism, Islam as
well as Buddhism. But mindfulness is
not, nor does it require, any form of religious faith or belief - it is
available to all!
Perhaps it is better
thought of as being something that has been lost in recent generations as the
speed of life and amount of information we process has increased.
The Benefits
Becoming more mindful
has been widely shown to benefit our physical health and happiness when one
combines meditation techniques with other aspects of mindfulness.
Physical Benefits
Mindfulness has been
shown to help people manage pain, reduce blood pressure, anxiety and
depression. In some situations it has
been shown to benefit the immune system and improve certain skin
conditions. It has even been shown to be
related to elderly people living longer. Indeed, mindfulness is increasingly used in a
variety of healthcare settings.
Recent research
suggests that mindfulness literally changes our brains - for the better. People
who have practiced it regularly, show fewer signs of stress, and demonstrate
positive changes in the parts of the brain associated with positive emotion,
distinct patterns of activity associated compassion towards others and
thickening of the areas of the brain associated with sensory processing.
Managing Stress
Mindfulness appears to
be an effective way of managing stress levels. Several studies have shown that
various forms of mindfulness practice are associated with reduced levels of the
stress hormone, cortisol. Indeed, some
researchers argue that mindfulness practice reverses the effects of chronic
stress. Another study found that experienced
meditators had a heightened initial reaction to a stressful stimulus but
recovered more quickly.
Other researchers have
demonstrated that individuals with higher levels of mindfulness viewed
demanding situations as less stressful and were less likely to avoid dealing
with them.
Mindfulness is also
associated with the benefits of greater relaxation and rest, but it is not the
same as these. During the practice of
mindfulness, the awareness is active and science has shown that there are
physiological differences when compared to periods of rest or relaxation. Interestingly, it also seems to help us be
more relaxed yet more alert. Higher levels of mindfulness have also been
recently associated with better quality sleep.
Our Performance
Research shows a number
of benefits that mindfulness can have on our ability to perform in addition to
enabling us to cope better with stress.
Several studies have
shown that it can improve:
*
Memory and cognitive flexibility;
*
Attention and ability to concentrate;
*
Learning ability and academic performance in school children; and
*
Various aspects of creative thinking and creativity.
Other reviews even
suggest that mindfulness can have positive benefits for performance in the
workplace including decision-making, health and safety and conflict resolution.
Psychology
Some psychologists
propose that mindfulness leads to improved well-being and flourishing because
it promotes greater regulation of behaviour. It does this because it gives us a
fuller awareness of internal and external information, enabling more accurate
assessment, more conscious choice and so more flexible, less automatic or
impulsive reactions.
Being more mindful of
our thoughts and related feelings is also associated with reduced rumination,
anxiety and depression, which leads to increased resilience and psychological
well-being.
Positive Emotions and Happiness
In addition to its
benefits for our health and psychological functioning, mindfulness has been
shown, in a number of scientific studies, to directly increase our level of
positive emotions. For example the
brains of people who have been practicing mindfulness regularly show patterns
of activation in the areas of our brain associated with feeling good (and reduced
activation of the areas associated with worrying and stress).
One study showed that a
group (of people) that received a happiness enhancement programme, along with
meditation instruction, showed increased happiness compared to those who
received the happiness programme alone.
Other studies have shown that individual levels of mindfulness are
associated with increased emotional, psychological and social well-being and
likewise with higher levels of life satisfaction and positive emotions and
lower levels of negative emotions.
Other psychologists
have shown that our ability to enjoy positive experiences in our life is an
important component of happiness. While we can savour past experiences and look
forward to future ones, enjoying the present is important. It is a way of being more mindful that we can
bring into our day-to-day activities to extract the maximum from each day. For example, eating a favourite food, walking
to school or work, sitting in a garden or park or relaxing in a hot bath.
One factor that is
toxic to our levels of happiness is social comparison and wanting what we don't
have, such as a better phone, car or house. A recent study of the financial desires of UK
It is important to note
here that this did not seem to be due to the level of personal or household
income (albeit the group studied could be regarded as middle class).
Furthermore, when one
group's mindfulness skills were developed, their financial have-want gap
decreased and their subjective well-being increased.
Relationships and Communities
Studies have shown that
mindfulness can benefit our relationships with others, and so perhaps can
benefit our communities. For example,
training in mindfulness increases empathy and levels of compassion towards
others. Many types of meditation or mindfulness practice include a focus on our
connections to others and some have been developed for this specifically. Both
can positively impact our relationships.
One study of married
couples who attended a mindfulness programme that incorporated a loving-kindness
meditation and focused the application of mindfulness to relationship issues,
demonstrated significantly increased relationship satisfaction, as well as
increased optimism, engagement, spirituality and relaxation. Another study on students found that a
different form of meditation had a positive impact on their interpersonal
relationships.
It is also suggested
that mindfulness in the form of meditation may have benefits for our moral and
ethical behaviour and therefore be of benefit to our community and society.
For example, increasing
our sensitivity to thoughts and feelings of others and our levels of empathy
and compassion, in turn increases our sensitivity to the impact of unethical
acts and orientates us to helping others. An initial study has indicated that meditation
may potentially have such benefits.
Environment
Since mindfulness
enables us to get more from the present and become more aware of what is around
us, could it possibly help us to take care of the natural environment, with
knock-on impact for our own and others' happiness?
Like the growing
evidence of the benefits of mindfulness for our health and happiness, there is
also increasing evidence for the role the natural environment plays in our
well-being. And so it's likely that the
two could be related. Indeed a number of 'ecological' models of well-being
propose a relationship between mind, body and spiritual well-being and the
natural world. As yet, however, there
appears to be few studies relating the two.
But
“we suspect there is a strong connection between being more
mindful of our environment, taking care of it, wellbeing and happiness”
Acknowledgement
http://www.actionforhappiness.org/10-keys-to-happier-living/notice-the-world-around/details
ooo000ooo
If this post has prompted any questions, then please add them as a comment
in the box below or email me:- blueskycompany@europe.com
I would also like to invite you to join
our group of like minded individuals at the facebook page
Under Blue Skies – “The Tribe”
And finally – if all goes to plan this
blog will be changing to Under Blue
Skies on Saturday 1st April.
About Dave I am a
coach; speaker; radio presenter and founder of The Blue Sky Company. I am
also a therapist and co-own a virtual light centre called The Crystal Spring. My
therapy work includes music therapy; reiki; crystal therapy
LINKS
Blue Sky Company www.moonshadowmedia.wixsite.com/bluesky
Wytchwynd Photography www.moonshadowmedia.wixsite.com/photographportfolio
I have recently discovered that a book
written by a friend of mine is available via Amazon so I would like to share a
link to that book with you. This lady is
an amazing person and I am sure that if you have enjoyed reading my blog you
will also find her work of interest.
Have a fantastic day, live a life of
Passion and Power.
And above all
Don't Predict The Future - CREATE IT!
DAve x
PS I send out daily emails each
containing a new Inspirational Phrase.
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