Mindfulness
Mindfulness is the awareness of ourselves and our surroundings in the present moment.
It is very easy in the modern world to feel like your mind is becoming blocked, like your stresses are invading every peaceful spot that you have left, and that your head is becoming full of thick fog that you can’t work through.
Technology, stress, anxiety and busy schedules all play a part in this. When was the last time you actually sat down and thought about the simple act of breathing? Or concentrated on one singular thing for more than a moment?
Our hectic lifestyles don’t always allow us to take those moments, but if we are to reduce our stress, anxiety and negative thoughts it is important to find a way to start practising.
Mindfulness might sound daunting at first, it might sound like something you’ve never done, or experienced. But the great thing about it, is that it can be implemented in many different, interesting ways.
We at Fingley HQ think it’s really important to encourage mindfulness in children. Their days are full of exciting and new experiences, and interestingly, they seem to practise mindfulness without even trying. Have you ever noticed when speaking to a child how intensely focused they can be on one thing, and then the next moment be intensely focused on something else? They key point to notice here, is that at any moment, they are completely focused on one thing. They give that experience their complete and full attention, and so wholly live in the moment.
We appear to lose that as we move into adulthood. We grow the ability to multitask, and we get used to moving from experience to experience without taking time to think about it. And we forget. We forget to take a moment to turn our faces to the warm sun. We forget to enjoy that one chocolate bar we hurry to eat during our lunch break. We forget to dance in the rain because we are in such a rush to move onto the next thing, and we forget to appreciate what we have every day.
This is where mindfulness comes in. It’s not a frightening concept, it doesn’t have to be steeped in spirituality and you don’t have to learn mediation to be able to do it. Mindfulness, in its basic form, is the practise of wholly focusing on the moment. It can change the way you think and feel about experiences, it can increase our ability to cope with negative and difficult situations and stresses, it can help us to make wiser decisions and it can help us achieve a healthier outlook which can almost certainly help us to achieve a happier life.
Mindfulness can sometimes be a difficult process. It’s hard when you’ve been conditioned to multitask, when your head is full of a thousand different things. So, it’s important to be able to try to focus on one thing. There are lots of great teachers and websites out there to help you work with mindfulness. It is used for such a wide scope of things, and there are many forms.
CBT, breathing exercises, imagery and visualisations are all forms of mindfulness which help a variety of mental health sufferers and which are widely encouraged.
But mindfulness can be used in other ways too. You can achieve mindfulness on a very basic level. Sit for a moment when the sun streams in through the window, feel the warmth of the fire beside you, watch the raindrops dribble down the window, or relish that moment when you feel your stomach ache from laughing. Really feel that hug from a friend or family member, take a moment to remember their smell and the touch of their skin, close your eyes and remember for what you are grateful. It’s only for a moment, but in that moment, you can achieve complete peace. It helps you to turn your negative thought around, to see it from a different perspective, and to perhaps make peace with it.
Children are very good at doing this. They rarely dwell on things, and have the self-belief and innocence to enable them to avoid comparison and negative thinking. And we want to continue to encourage them so that they can carry this process through to adulthood.
Our mindfulness cards are a fantastically easy way to help them achieve this. Each beautifully illustrated card comes with a little message printed on it, encouraging children in their daily activities. It’s a brilliant way to give them focus, to take a moment to consider the card and what it means, and to be mindful of using the message throughout the day.
You can leave one out for them every morning, or help them to pick a card before bed each night, use them for inspiration, encouragement, comfort or focus.
Some of the messages you can expect are: It’s a dodl to clean, it’s a dodl to love, it’s a dodl to try, it’s a dodl to laugh.
There are a brilliant mixture of focus cards - to clean, to tidy, to learn - and encouraging cards – to love, to laugh, to play, - which give them permission to experience what they need. It’s a really simple way of helping them to achieve mindfulness at an early age, so that they can cope with stressful and anxious situations as they progress into adulthood.
Visit www.bemindful.co.uk for some great tips on mindfulness and for some brilliant teacher and group recommendations.
Visit www.fingley.com to purchase a pack of our mindfulness cards for only £5.00.
Support mental health, support mindfulness, support peace.
