Being present minded is the key to staying healthy and happy. It helps you fight anxiety, cuts down on your worrying and rumination, and keeps you grounded and connected to yourself & everything around you.
Although it has become a popular topic in recent years, living in the present is not just a fad or trendy lifestyle tip, it is a way of life that is backed up by good science.
Being present and exerting our ability to be mindful not only makes us happier, it can also help us deal with pain more effectively, reduce our stress and decrease its impact on our health, and improve our ability to cope with negative emotions like fear and anger.
Given the fast pace and hectic schedules most of us keep, a base level of anxiety, stress, and unhappiness is the new norm. You may not even realize it, but this tendency to get sucked into the past and the future can leave you perpetually worn out and feeling out of touch with yourself.
“Practice the pause”
“Practice the pause” Give yourself 10 minutes everyday to press the pause & be present. I did a simple thing with my children to help them with their mindfulness practice. I filled a mason jar with water till the top and added big dollops of glitter glue(or school glue & dry glitter).Popped on the lid and give the jar a shake. Then I said, “ imagine that the glitter is like your thoughts when you’re stressed, upset or angry - see how they whirl around and make it really difficult to see? That’s why it’s so easy to make silly decisions when you’re upset, because you’re not thinking clearly. Now watch what happens when you’re still for a few moments.See how the glitter starts to settle and the water clears? Your mind works the same way.”
I leave you with this concept • illustrated so beautifully by John Roedel (poem)
The Anatomy of Peace (formerly titled "How to Live With My Body") ~ By John Roedel
my brain and heart divorced a decade ago over who was to blame about how big of a mess I have become eventually, they couldn't be in the same room with each other now my head and heart share custody of me I stay with my brain during the week and my heart gets me on weekends they never speak to one another
- instead, they give me the same note to pass to each other every week and their notes they send to one another always says the same thing: "This is all your fault" on Sundays my heart complains about how my head has let me down in the past and on Wednesdays my head lists all of the times my heart has screwed things up for me in the future they blame each other for the state of my life there's been a lot of yelling - and crying so, lately, I've been
spending a lot of time with my gut who serves as my unofficial therapist most nights, I sneak out of the window in my ribcage and slide down my spine and collapse on my gut's plush leather chair that's always open for me ~ and I just sit sit sit sit until the sun comes up last evening, my gut asked me if I was having a hard time being caught between my heart and my head I nodded I said I didn't know if I could live with either of them anymore "my heart is always sad about something that happened yesterday while my head is always worried about something that may happen tomorrow," I lamented my gut squeezed my hand "I just can't live with my mistakes of the past or my anxiety about the future," I sighed my gut smiled and said: "in that case, you should go stay with your lungs for a while," I was confused - the look on my face gave it away "if you are exhausted about your heart's obsession with the fixed past and your mind's focus on the uncertain future your lungs are the perfect place for you there is no yesterday in your lungs there is no tomorrow there either there is only now there is only inhale there is only exhale there is only this moment there is only breath and in that breath you can rest while your heart and head work their relationship out." this morning, while my brain was busy reading tea leaves and while my heart was staring at old photographs I packed a little bag and walked to the door of my lungs before I could even knock she opened the door with a smile and as a gust of air embraced me she said "what took you so long?"
~ john roedel (johnroedel.com)
Please visit his site if you want to see how he weaves magic with his words.
With love & gratitude,
Savi
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