Try This Mindfulness Meditation

Learning To Be In The Moment

Imagine thinking clearly, and feeling relaxed at will.
Could you get more done? Enjoy life more? Would you
like to know how to do that right now? Start by
learning how to put yourself more in the moment with a
simple mindfulness exercise.

Basic Mindfulness Exercises

A basic mindfulness exercise begins with sitting down,
relaxing and breathing deeply. Close your eyes and pay
attention to your breathing, following the breath in
and out a few times. Then move your attention to your
body, one part at a time, noticing any sensations of
cold, hot, tight, sore or anything you can identify.
After a few minutes, start listening to the sounds of
the room, without judging, criticising or thinking
about them. Just listen for a minute.

Open your eyes and look around as if seeing for the
first time. Rest your eyes on any object for half a
minute. Examine it without talking about it in your
mind. Repeat this with another object, and then
another, while still maintaining an awareness of your
body and breath. Continue this state of mindfulness
until you're ready to get up.

When sensing your body, your breath, and your
immediate surroundings, you are more fully "in the
moment." A mindfulness exercise like this puts your
mind in a receptive state while removing mental
distractions that hinder clear thinking. It leaves you
ready to work mentally. Do this before important
mental tasks and you'll find you have more focus and
concentration.

Using Mindfulness For Daily Life

When you're in the middle of a task and feel stressed,
stop. Take three deep breaths, then carefully watch
yourself until identify what is bothering you. Find
everything you can. Are you expecting something bad to
happen? Is an argument from this morning still going
on just below the surface of your consciousness? Are
you worried about something? Is some part of your body
in pain? Note everything you find.

Now deal with these thieves-of-concentration one by
one. Make the phone call that's on your mind, take an
aspirin if you need to, and apologise to someone if
necessary. Take things from your mind and put them on
a list for tomorrow (in writing). If all you can do is
acknowledge that there's nothing you can do right now
- do that. After doing this mindfulness exercise,
you'll feel less stressed, and you'll be able to
concentrate more effectively on the tasks at hand. Try
it now.