Mindfulness

So far my life journey has taken me down various roads with different twists and turns. In the last decade I've been involved in both ministry and business, always multi-tasking and being super busy. So many of us don't take time to stop and smell the roses. We scarf down a great meal just to get to dessert, just to get to the wine, just to get to bed with an overly full stomach. We're always thinking about the next great thing instead of living in this wonderful moment that is right now. When we start living in the moment, we want to take advantage of it.

Now I am learning to be more mindful.  The practice of Mindfulness was introduced to me through an online course I did last year. Since then I have been focusing on living in the moment and trusting the Holy Spirit to direct my life.
 

I participated in an online awareness event through facebook last month called "Mindfulness in May" with the Mindfulness Coach John Shearer, where I committed to practicing and sharing what I've learned daily during those 4 weeks in the posts and comments, and I found the experience really beneficial to me.

Mindfulness is paying attention to present moment experiences, with openness, curiosity and a willingness to be with what is. It is the energy of being aware and awake to the present moment. It is the continuous practice of touching life deeply in every moment of daily life. To be mindful is to be truly alive and present with those around you and with what you are doing. 

According to Ellen Langer, Harvard Psychology Professor, mindfulness is intentionally noticing things in an active state of mind, which results in an intense experience of engagement. Below is a clip of Ellen sharing on "Mindfulness over Matter", which I find very interesting.



Here's the link to Mindfulness on Wikipedia if you would like to read more about it.