Mindfulness in everyday life: What is it?

Does your mind often feel busy and full? How is this different from being mindful?

The pace and demands of modern life can be overwhelming and the busy-ness of your mind may leave you feeling tired, stressed or anxious. If this sounds like you, learning how to incorporate a mindfulness practice into your life might be exactly what you need to support your mental health.

So, what is mindfulness?

Understanding mindfulness: More than a buzzword

You may have heard of mindfulness before. Over the last decade mindfulness practices have risen in popularity within the mental health and wellness space. Many people associate it with meditation, but it’s important to know the difference between the two.

Defining mindfulness

Mindfulness is the act of gently bringing your awareness (a.k.a. your attention) to the present moment, allowing space to experience everything, the good and the bad, without judgment or trying to control it.

Meditation practice is a technique that uses sensory stimuli, such as breathing exercises or noticing the sensations in the body to enhance your capacity for mindfulness. Meditation practice is just that, practice. Meditation is best used to support your understanding of mindfulness so that you can then apply that practice in your daily life.

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Both mindfulness and meditation are the continual process of letting go of our thoughts and returning to our direct experience with the present. By learning to bring ourselves in the present moment through mindfulness, we are able to see more clearly how our thoughts affect our choices, feelings, and interactions with others.

The irony is, that the word mindfulness seems to be about ‘filling’ our minds, when in reality, the experience is the exact opposite!  We‘re learning to let go of the mind, and provide more space for our true selves.

These small acts of mindfulness grow over time to support the development of self-awareness, compassion and acceptance. And just like the name says, learning to be mindful is something you need to practice and return to over and over. The best part? Anyone can do it.

What mindfulness means for you

Your mind is great at analyzing and problem solving, but it is important to understand that “you” are not your mind. Your mind, and therefore your thoughts, are created by our personal experiences in life and the experiences of those that came before us. The mind, therefore, is incapable of experiencing things exactly as they are, and can only see the world through this filter of own experiences and history.

The busy mind wanders and tells itself stories about the past, present and future. It meanders around the events of the day, second guessing that look you got from your colleague. It questions your ability to achieve your goals or worries about the never-ending list of tasks you need to complete.

Benefits of mindfulness: Embracing the present moment

We need mindfulness to help us see our thoughts as being separate from who we are as humans. Mindfulness has two important functions:

• Mindfulness creates a space between ourselves and our thoughts, allowing us to see them as though looking at a reflection of ourselves in a mirror. This helps to bring to light the thoughts that are hidden away from our conscious self.
• Mindfulness allows us to grow our ability to experience the world in a fresh new way, direct in the moment exactly as it is, and unencumbered by all the accumulated material of our thoughts.

 

Retraining your brain to focus your attention and stay in the moment has some great benefits. In fact, since the philosophies and principles of mindfulness were introduced into Western medicine in the 1970’s,mindfulness has been incorporated into a range of therapy options , including:

• mindfulness-based stress reduction (MSBR)
• mindfulness-based pain management (MBPM)
• mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)
• mindfulness-based art therapy (MBAT), and more.

 

Among others, some of the benefits may include:

• reduction of stress, anxiety or symptoms of depression
• improvement in cognitive ability and concentration
• increasing sense of wellbeing and mental health, and even
• helping with pain management.

 

While our mind tries so hard to protect us, it can often do the exact opposite and create more pain. Life is tough enough with its ups and downs, and there is beauty in allowing ourselves to accept things as they come, without our mind adding unnecessary suffering in addition.

Practical tips for cultivating mindfulness everyday

Learning how to practice mindfulness in daily life is as simple (and as difficult!) as reminding yourself to bring your awareness back to your experience of that moment.

When you’re stressed and overwhelmed, it’s easy to dismiss mindfulness as another thing on your to-do list. Yet the truth is, taking a moment to pause and gently bring your awareness back to the “now” can give your brain the space it needs to refocus, find new perspective and be more productive.

You have everything you need in each and every moment to be “mindful.”  Mindfulness is not something that is done seated on the floor in a quiet room.  Mindfulness is the simple act of bringing your attention to the present moment.  When your attention is in the present, you are aware of both the sensations inside your body as well as the sensations in the space outside your body. Mindfulness happens in the car, in Target, in work meetings, and on your couch. Mindfulness happens where you happen to be.

We begin to grow our ability to “wake-up” to the present moment in two ways:  

• By cultivating a seated meditation practice
• By using outside supports to learn to regularly bring our attention to the present moment, and at the same time notice when it's not

 

Use an app to set up a meditation routine

Apps are great resources for information and guided meditations when you’re beginning your journey into mindfulness practices. Experimenting with guided meditation practices will help you understand what works for you, so you can use the techniques that suit you best in bringing mindfulness into your daily life.

Experiment with different times of the day for your meditation practice.

• When it is hardest to stop your mind wandering? 
• When do you feel the most overwhelmed or stressed? 
• Does meditation before bed help you fall asleep?
• How do you feel before and after your practice?

 

Mindfulness in daily life: Practicing presence during routine tasks

You can practice mindfulness at any time of the day and during any activity.  Pick a reminder. Use the reminder over the course of a week as a cue to quickly bring your attention into your body and the space around you.

• Set a time on your phone for every two hours
• Every time your drink a glass of water
• Can you count how many times you notice when you walk through a doorway?  Go from standing to sitting?
• When you have a moment of strong emotion, can you bring your attention into whatever part of your body is connected with the ground?

 

It’s okay if you can’t make it a week, or you forget. Try again the following week with something new! This is a life-long practice, not a race of competition. After time you may notice that the noticing happens all on its own.

Follow up! Make note to yourself if anything different or unexpected happens in a moment of awareness.

Mindfulness in nature

Despite the health and wellbeing benefits of nature, many of us are spending most of our time indoors. If you’re time poor, intentionally incorporating nature-based mindfulness into your day doesn’t need to be difficult.

• Step outside for a moment and close your eyes. Gently pull your awareness close and notice the sensations of the breeze on your face and forearms. Focus on the experience. The sounds, smells and colors of the world around you, without judgment. 
• Take a walk and listen for the sound your feet make on the path. Does the gravel scrunch underfoot? Or do your steps get muffled by the grass? Take in your surroundings – the nearby trees, mountains. Allow yourself to notice the experience of being in nature fully.
• Walk over to a window. Can you notice both the sensations inside your body as well as the aliveness on the outside?

New surroundings can often be very supportive to mindfulness, any idea why? Notice if you find it easier or harder to let your thoughts drop away when you simply step outside.

 

Curate a sensory space for mindfulness at home

Support your mindfulness practices by incorporating naturally stimulating and sensory items within your space. These items and activities can be used as supports to quickly wake up to the present moment, by drawing your attention to the surrounding environment.

• Visual stimulus: natural light, green foliage, stimulating artworks, bright colors
• Scents and smells: the scent of fresh flowers, subtle natural incense, the smell of home cooked meals
• Auditory stimulus: wind chimes, the sound of water in a fountain, the calming roar of the ocean
• Sensory stimulus: a soft blanket, a squish, fans, or a cold ice bath for your hands.
• Immersive activities: painting, photography, woodworking, exercise and other creative hobbies are also very useful in capturing your thoughts so your attention has more room to grow and expand around you.

 

 

Case study: The art of being present via photography

My own journey toward mindfulness and wellbeing links to journey blog has supported my healing after experiencing trauma. As part of this, I discovered the art of mindful photography.

My process became about noticing my mindfulness increase, as I brought my attention to all the natural details around me. Capturing moments as I went, each photo I take holds a story and a memory - a feeling of ‘aliveness’ that is part of my full experience. 

The resulting natural landscape photos are immersive and stimulating, providing space for viewers to connect to and share the moment in their own way. It’s a bridge between stillness and vitality and a place for mindful awareness to grow.

Remember, you have everything you need right now to follow your own journey towards mindfulness, so you can live fully and with self compassion, awareness and joy. 

“Our thoughts are a product of all our prior experiences, but they are not us.”  - Aly Fick

Over to you

Have you got any tips for cultivating a daily mindfulness practice? Let me know in the comments.

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