“Perhaps we can train the brain and the mind to work better, so we can become more mindful participants in observing reality.” – Dr. Joe Dispenza
Daily mindfulness is meditation in motion.
It takes years of consistent meditative practice to quiet our thoughts and begin to attract an inner wave of peace. And that’s while we sit or lie in the relative silence and comfort of a safe space. So imagine the energy required to instill this habit while walking along a bustling street or driving to work through steamy frustration and incessant honks.
Getting absorbed by external chaos is as easy as thinking a thought. It takes no effort because your subconscious programming does it automatically. It’s instinctual to analyze for threats and interpret the actions of others. We’ve been doing it since childhood. We’ll continue to do it unconsciously until we become aware and make a change.
Before I started using mindfulness in my daily life, I was a slave to my unconscious mind and its installation of harmful habits and jumbled thought processes. I lived at the whim of my external environment, tossed around like a bottle in the ocean. Short-lasting moments of tranquillity were rudely interrupted by the constant stress of dealing with difficult people and challenging situations.
My ever-shifting lived experience and unconscious reactions molded my thoughts, from which erratic emotions emerged like a parasitic fungus. I struggled emotionally for many years, failing to understand that what I needed were anchors to keep me grounded in a reality of my choosing.
5 tiny adjustments to help you stay mindful
We all need a practice to keep our minds tied to a present moment experienced from a conscious perspective—a perspective constructed by us and not by our environment. There are many small mental modifications we can use to build this practice and live on our terms. Here are five:
Replace rumination with mindful movement
Mindfulness allows us to observe our thoughts from a bird’s-eye view. This change in perspective from experiencer to observer disconnects our thoughts from our personality. We’re no longer our thoughts when we see them as separate bubbles of information from which we can extract the aspects that benefit our well-being.
It’s tough, however, to observe our thoughts when they’re racing around like dogs let off the leash at the park. We need to calm the mind before we can enter with the intention of clear observation and beneficial interaction.
This starts with a simple switch in focus from ruminating thoughts to the movement of the body. Instead of obsessive thoughts about today’s to-do list, tomorrow’s activities or yesterday’s mistakes, we must pay attention to any physical sensations.
Instead of trapping ourselves in a cycle of rumination, we can feel our feet touch the earth with each step. We can witness the sway of our arms and co-ordinate it with a smooth, rhythmic breath. We can relax the tension in our face and drop our shoulders to absorb a wave of relief and a sense of connection with the body.
Add a co-ordinated mantra
Retaining a daily sense of connection with our essence and that of the universe is challenging. The constant distractions of modern life lead us on a wild goose chase as we hop from one short burst of attention to another.
At any point in time, the use of mantras (which are also known as repetitive vibrational sound frequencies) can calm the mind and connects us with one precious moment. We can co-ordinate the mantra we use with our breathing or movement pattern for added focus.
A powerful bija mantra (one short syllable) in Kundalini Yoga is “Sat Nam,” meaning “I am the Truth” in Gurmukhi, the sacred language of Sikhism.
We can mentally vibrate “Sat” on the inhale and “Nam” on the exhale or harmonize the mantra with each step or arm swing. This practice anchors the body and mind in the present moment and unifies us with the universe. It’s a powerful way to retain concentration amid mass confusion.
Visualize your breath when you lack energy
Throughout the day, we encounter people, situations or habits that suck away our valuable energy and leave us feeling drained. In this sorry state, it’s difficult to be mindful. We lack focus and motivation while drifting off into unconscious thinking.
To maintain mindfulness, an energy recharge is essential. One easy way to get a boost is breathwork paired with a mental visualization. The rhythmic breathing increases prana flow, the universal energy source that enters our body, and the visualization strengthens mental focus.
We can close our eyes and picture a bright blue gust of energy entering our lungs with every inhale. As we exhale, we can visualize that energy circulating through our entire body, reinvigorating organs and waking up cells.
Another powerful visualization is the internal flame. We can imagine a flame burning within us, and with every inhale, that flame will burn a little brighter. Breathing visualization techniques such as this not only absorb energy, but also use the power of imagination to manifest physical sensations of peace and inner strength.
Connect with gratitude
No matter what’s happening in our lives or how we feel from moment to moment, it’s always beneficial to practice mindful gratitude. We live in an extraordinary situation in which our perceived reality is formed by our mental state. If our mental projections are high-vibrational, loving and compassionate in nature, they will be reflected in our material life.
Gratitude is best expressed as a systematized practice used throughout the day. Inserting a projection of gratitude towards the universe before or after another daily habit encourages a consistent return to mindfulness.
We all wake up in the morning and go to bed at night. We typically eat a meal, brush our teeth and take a walk outside at some point during the day. We can attach a brief expression of gratitude to these activities as a reminder to ourselves that we’re blessed to be alive.
It’s easy to express gratitude when things are going our way. It’s tough to mindfully project gratitude when everything within us screams the opposite. But when we do it anyway, our world shines a little brighter.
Write your troubling thoughts down
Transferring ideas from the mental plane into the physical plane helps relieve mental confusion and retain a mindful connection. Intense experiences, shocking encounters or emotional realizations are best expressed on paper.
This small adjustment in our daily routine can bring immensely positive results when it comes to our ability to reflect and make mindful decisions. Most of us can’t build a mental filing cabinet that neatly organizes thousands of daily thoughts, so the next best thing is a physical one that includes our most important insights.
When we want to reflect on an experience, having access to it in written form saves us the energy we’d otherwise spend searching through the crevices of the mind.
Written reflection helps us express our thoughts and look at them from a new perspective. It also facilitates our ability to live mindfully by encouraging us to observe our reality without the constant pull of mental rumination.
Embracing reality despite the chaos
These five tools can bring back a state of mindfulness when it has checked out, as it naturally does in life. They’re meant to anchor us in a reality of our choice: A way of life in which we observe without judgment and relieve tension with the soothing warmth of being.
Our world is filled with many uncertainties, contradictions and unanswered questions. It’s often best to continue with the practices that give us a sense of connection and accept all the rest as it is.
As the Sufi mystic Rumi wrote, “Work on your stony qualities and become resplendent like the ruby. Practice self-denial and accept difficulty. Always see infinite life in letting the self die. Your stoniness will decrease; your ruby nature will grow.”
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