Mindfulness on the Go

Jan Chozen Bays

"Mindfulness is deliberately paying full attention to what is happening around you and within you---in your body, heart, and mind. Mindfulness is awareness without criticism or judgment." Jan Chozen Bays

Challenge yourself weekly

#10 Empty Space

As often as you can, shift your awareness from objects to the space around the objects.

Example, when you look in the mirror, notice the space around the image of your head. In a room, notice the empty space rather than the furniture, people, or other visual objects.

"Our Identity is bound up in objects, let the mind become spacious. Do not be distracted or fooled by its content. "

#9

Listen to Sounds

"Several times a day, stop and just listen. Open your hearing 360 degrees, as if your ears were giant radar dishes. See if you can hear all sounds as music being played just for you.

Remind yourself: post a picture of an ear as your screen saver

Listening practice can facilitate the music that can soothe the mind. "Listening is an excellent way to disengage from the endless rumination and worry of the anxious mind. When your mind is spinning stop and listen to the music of the room"

#8

Gratitude at the End of the Day

At the end of the day, write a list of at least five things that happened during the day that you are grateful for. At the end of the week, read it out loud to a friend or a family member.

People who keep a daily gratitude journal or who regularly express gratitude to people who have been kind to them show a significant increase in happiness and decrease in depression.

People that practice gratitude at the end of the day regularly find that they become able to see the upside of almost every event in their lives.

#7 Mindfulness of Posture

Several times a day, become aware of your posture. Become aware of what posture you are in and how it feels with the body. What clues that you are standing, sitting, or lying down?Notice and adjust our posture many times a day. If you are slouching gently straighten up.

Good times to notice your posture, at meals, driving, standing in line, walking, in class.

The body and mind are connected when the mind or mood slumps try adjusting your posture.

#6 True Compliments

once a day, think of someone close to you and give them a genuine compliment. The closer the person to you the better and the more specific the compliment the better. "I appreciate the way you answer the phone so cheerfully, Grandma." The best compliments are founded upon appreciation of how a person made you feel.

Become aware of the function and frequency of compliments in our relationships with others. Kind words are a gift.

#5 When Eating Just Eat

when your eating or drinking, don't do anything else. Sit down and take the time to enjoy what your are taking in. Open all the senses as you eat or drink. Look at the colors, shapes, surface textures. Attend to the smells and flavors in your mouth. Listen to the sounds of eating and drinking.

When eating, just eat. When drinking just drink. Mindfulness is the very best seasoning for your food and life. Enjoy each bite, enjoy each moment!

#4 Appreciation

Stop throughout the day and consciously identify what you are able to appreciate in this moment. It could be something about yourself, another person, your environment, or what your body is doing or sensing. This in an investigation. Be curious, asking yourself, "Is there anything I can Appreciate right now?"

This practice helps ups cultivate joy

Have you noticed how the mind focuses on what is wrong----

try and retrain your brain to be positive and find pure joy.

#3 Leave No Trace

Choose one room of your house and for one week try leaving no trace that you've used that space. The bathroom or kitchen works best for most people. If you've been doing something in that room, cooking a meal or taking a shower, clean up in such a way that you leave no signs that you've been there, except perhaps the odor of food or fragrance of soap.

Reminders: leave a sign in the room you choose "Leave No Trace" or a picture of a Turtle.

Reflect: After practicing Leaving No Trace were you able to leave the things a bit better than you found it.

#2 Filler Words

Become aware of the "filler" words and phrases, and try to eliminate them from your speech.

"Fillers" are words that we use unconsciously and do not add meaning to what you are saying, such as "um," "ah," "so," "well," "like," "you know," "basically," "anyway," "kind of," and "sort of."

See if you can notice why you tend to use them --- in what situations and for what purpose?

#1 Use your Non-dominant Hand

use your non dominant hand for ordinary tasks

if you need help remembering: put a bandaid on finger of left hand, have a screen saver with the word left,

put a big letter L on your bathroom mirror, or refrigerator

At the end of the week reflect: What did you discover about yourself?

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