Bringing Mindfulness to Life
Mindfulness helps us be more attentive to how our thoughts can disconnect us from our present moment reality. Only when we are aware of our thoughts can we choose to let them go. As we recognize they are simply transient electrical impulses in our brain and not our actual experience, they lose their power over us. When you find yourself pushed and pulled by thoughts, recall what we teach in SHINE…
In our fast-paced lives it is common to be on autopilot and not fully present to what we are saying or doing. When we use the “STOP” Key to Mindfulness, each letter helps us create a meaningful pause – a breathing space – before acting. STOP allows us to respond, rather than react to what is happening.
We rarely pay our breath much attention as we move throughout each day. With mindfulness practice, we return our awareness . . . again and again . . . to the breath. The most important thing one SHINE participant learned recently was “that my breath is very helpful when I want to relax.”
