Mindfulness is not some big deal, or class you need to pay for, or any other excuse we make up.
Mindfulness is so simple it's almost disappointing. Mindfulness is what you really might want to practice while life is normal tough.
Because, if we know anything to be true, it simply is that, if we live long enough, things are going to get really tough. And being practiced at mindfulness is going to be the biggest thing that will help.
Trying out mindfulness and practicing mindfulness when we're pissed off or too tired or nervous or overwhelmed is perfect.
It's kind of like, we know at some point where we live is going to be water, and so we begin learning to swim.
Reading a book or taking a class or studying a website or getting an app is all fine and good.
Sometimes it's the path for people. Find your own.
But learning to do it simply, and then remembering what it's gonna provide for you every single day, is really really simple. Here we go.
1. At some point in the day, whether you're walking somewhere or driving somewhere or you're on the toilet or it's evening or you're about to go to bed or you're really upset, just remain here in the present moment.
Just for now.
Every time you start thinking about the future or the past, sit up and notice, and just come on back to the present moment.
2. Watch the thoughts or feelings you're having. Pick one. It could be anything. Everything is a thought or feeling. So, maybe, "Oh,it's really going to be a mess now."
Or "This is never going to work".
Or "Why does this always happen to me?". Those are all thoughts, and they all have their own feelings.
3. To practice mindfulness, all you do is pick one. One thought, or one feeling.
Now, we're really used to thinking that whatever feeling we are having is what our life Is. But it's not. That's the big secret. That's not you and it's not your life. It's just a thought you're having. Or a feeling you're having.
To practice mindfulness, so you get incredibly good at it, so that when real shit hits a real fan, you are able and versatile, you pick one thought That you're having right now.
Let's say "I am so sick of this happening."
You look at that, and you say to yourself, in surprise, "Oh, that's a thought. "
And now you have identified it.
Now you're aware that it's not life, actually, it's a thought.
And you just sit there.
Or drive there or walk there or whatever.
And you watch yourself watching that thought, while realizing it's a thought. You don't let it take off. You don't let it go anywhere. You just watch it.
It comes on. It gets more compelling. You just watch that one thought. Saying to yourself that that's a thought.
It kind a rises up and fills you with all kinds of stuff, and maybe then you have a feeling. Like, you feel anxious, overwhelmed, or angry, or whatever. And then, you say to yourself "Oh,that's a feeling."
And then you watch that feeling. And it rises up, and maybe gets pretty strong, and you just keep watching it, reminding yourself what it is. It's not life. It's not you. It's a feeling. And then, it passes on by.
And then, it's more digested. You have more awareness. And you settle down more. And you feel better. You have more clarity.
You can just remind yourself to check it out once a day. Sometimes when a lot of tough stuff is happening, it's easier to do it earlier in the day. You just have to do it for a couple minutes. And then it's done.
Pretty soon, you start doing it without thinking. You're sitting there, and you feel all kinds of dread about something, and you suddenly realize it's a thought.
So you say to yourself "Oh, that's a feeling."
And instead of thinking it or going along with the past and the future and all kinds of stuff, you just watch that one simple thought.
You watch it, and you sit with it, and you keep reminding yourself it's a thought, and then it passes on by.
A little bit composted. And you're a little bit clearer. And you're more in the present.
Whenever we manage to simply let ourselves be in the present, our self knows what to do. Our self knows how to digest all kinds of crap that's been bothering us and difficult stuff that's been building up.
Sometimes we have this big backlog of disturbing difficult stuff. When we are managing to practice mindfulness, it all gets in the line. All excited. Ready to come on up, And get digested. So there's not so much pressure. A huge reduction in our Kemal everyday sense of distress.
Soon, if we practice mindfulness enough, way old stuff starts filtering its way up.
We notice some kind of old memory or thought or feeling, and we say "Wow. That's an old one."
And we sit mindfully with it. And then our self is so relieved, that that thing isn't just turning in circles inside of us, stuck somewhere. Instead, it's beginning to get digested and broken down into little tiny pieces, where it can dissolve. And no longer trigger us or tangle us up.
Sooner or later, we start getting really pretty good at it.
Something really tough happens.
We have a thought, that we used to believe and just run crazy with. That would just mess us up, and mess up the people around us, and we would get stuck in it, day after day after day, and our sleep would get disturbed and our health would suffer. But now? We understand.
We sit up with a new awareness. We look that thought or that feeling in the eye, and we say to ourselves "Why, that's a thought." Or "Hey, that's a feeling!"
The coolest part is that our selves know how to do this. And all we have to do,to get the dynamic working, is to bring ourselves to the present moment, notice a feeling or thought, and then sit there quietly, while we watch it and feel it, reminding ourselves what it is, and then let it pass on by.
