Hi all,
I haven't read far back, but noticed a bit of confusion about the difference between meditation and mindfulness. Just to throw a spanner in the works, "mindful meditation" is a thing. Meditation is a formal practice, i.e. you may sit down with the specific intention to meditate and nothing else, and may have a guided meditation playing to instruct you or just a timer on to say when to stop.
Mindfulness is more about just paying attention to something in the moment. You could be walking and paying attention to the sound of your feet as you step, or eating and noticing the flavours of the food. Even doing dishes and focusing on the warmth of the water or the way the bubbles come up from the sink and pop. It's a more informal thing, doesn't need timing or setting aside a specific time or a place. It can be as simple as taking a few deep breaths.
Jumping on the phrase "stop and smell the roses", nature is hands down the best thing for me when it comes to mindfulness; if I'm somewhere green for a while, my thoughts start to slow down and I'm more able to focus on what is around me. I think because man-made things give us a sense of having to do or be somewhere all the time. Clocks, traffic lights, billboards, piles of dishes that need doing - those things pull at us, make us think of where we have to be, what we have to do, tell us to go buy things, etc. Nature is timeless. It just does its thing and doesn't really ask anything of us (unless we're gardening, I guess, but even that is relaxing in its own way).
Another important mindfulness technique I have had to learn to employ is "the art of allowing", to borrow Reuben Lowe's phrase. It's like acceptance meditation, but informal. When you're feeling bad, just acknowledge the feeling. I like to talk to it, i.e. "Yes I'm feeling bad, yes I hate this situation, this is where I'm at". I let what I'm feeling just sit there doing its thing as I get about my day, aware of it there but neither fighting it nor feeding it. Eventually it dissipates on its own. Mind you, I don't always (or even often) remember to do this, but it helps a lot when I do.
Kind thoughts to you all,
Blue.
