om mind
See the magic that happens if you try
this with someone, to see the innate beauty
in them, to be comfortable sitting in ‘don’t
know mind’, with no need to respond with
advice, just curious.
Knowing the fragility of life when we have
disagreements, may we hold them a little
more lightly, knowing we might not see the
person again. Is it therefore worth holding
onto the egoic gripping to be ‘right’? This
isn’t to say we should lose our boundaries,
or our individual right to say ‘no’ or to
disagree but embracing this impermanence
might mean we dissolve the anger or
frustration a little quicker and express our
opinion in a wiser, more loving way, a little
less caught up in the ego.
When we hear these beautiful teachings
it is easy to feel inspired but why does the
effect wear off? Habits can be challenging
to break, but they can be changed with
mindful effort.
How do you start
your day?
I believe how we start our day is a good
indicator for how we will meet the rest of
the day. If we are starting by checking our
phone and then rushing out the door, we
are setting ourselves up to be rushed and
never here in this moment. I encourage you
to start your day with five minutes of mindful
breathing when you wake up. At the end of
the breathing think of five things you are
grateful for (that money can’t buy.) First you
make habits then habits make you! Thus,
starting the day, slowly, mindfully, present
and grateful for what you have.Check in with the breath
The breath is a great reminder to how we
are responding to life. If the breath is shallow
or we are holding it, it often shows we are
fighting life or caught in habitual, reactive
behaviour rather than spacious, open and
responsive behaviour.
I encourage you to check in with the
breath five times a day. Notice it and then
take three or four minutes of just staying
with it and letting the thoughts pass.
Please know this can be very challenging,
when we have spent a lifetime being pulledinto the future or past by the thoughts,
then to step into the here and now is very
difficult. To use awareness of the breath
can help us rest more in the knowing mind.
When we rest in the knowing mind we can
become aware when the mind wanders
and release a thought and come back
to the now. To become familiar with the
rhythm of the breath, to choose to keep
our focus on the breath and to choose
to let go of thoughts means we train the
decision-making part of the brain to focus
on what we want to and to let go of what
we don’t. A wonderful tool to have when
more unbeneficial thoughts arise. As a
thought can lead to action, action can
then lead to habits and habits can lead
to character. The more mindful we are of
breath the more we can be mindful to what
thoughts are occupying our attention in
that moment, so our character can be one
that we choose.Drop multi-tasking
I believe multi-tasking to be a modern curse!
I don’t know any activity I do better when
my mind is somewhere else also. Numerous
studies on happiness have shown, it doesn’t
matter what you are doing, but how you are
doing it. Meaning, if we are present with our
activity we feel happier. I recommend picking
four activities every day where you decide to
be fully present. Whether it be cleaning your
teeth, washing the dishes, walking to work
or listening to your loved one, and see how
this presence starts to live through you more
and more.
I encourage you to do all these behaviours
for 30 days and then check in with the effects.
I am sure no one on their death bed will
say I wish I had checked social media more
or I wish I had worked harder. It seems that
the biggest concern is more, “How did I love
and who was I loved by?” “Was my life full of
laughter, love and connection?”.
Connection makes life rich, but it is hard
to connect in the daze of rushing and doing.
I believe the tips above can help us slow
down, so our true nature can arise. The
nature that we all have as children. Simple,
curious, loving, playful presence. From
that place we can choose which thoughts
to follow, how we respond to life and what
seeds we plant in our words, and actions.
We will all pass, we don’t know when. May
we live in a way that adds joy to ourselves
and others, and spreads love to ourselves
and others also.^Luke Bache is a yoga teacher, holistic
wellness expert and mindfulness coach
(urtruenature.com)