Focusing on Your Presence of Mind with Mindful Affirmations

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} What is Mindfulness?   The concept of mindfulness has actually been around for thousandsof years. Its origins can be found in the earliest Buddhist teachings (2500years ago). It has been used over the centuries in traditional easterncontemplative practices like Hatha Yoga and other meditation practices. Zenmasters taught mindfulness to enlightened monks in the ultimate acceptance oftheir own existence.   However, the way we use the term here, Mindfulness should not beconfused with inward focused mysticism or spirituality. Today Mindfulness notonly refers to the acceptance ofone’s reality but what one does withthat reality. As we use it, Mindfulness is the skill of living in the momentand relating to the world in a nonjudgmental and reflexive as oppose toreactive fashion.   In recent years, science and westernization have adaptedMindfulness so that it can be cultivated daily, used without years of practice,and be compatible and useful within almost any modern human activity. Mindfulness is simply an introspectivemethod for grounding your thoughts, emotions and behaviors in the reality youare currently experiencing, so you can stand back, observe, understand yourselfmore fully and take care of your needs.   The act of Mindfulness is the ability to focus your attention onyour inner thoughts while letting go of past or future worries. It will takesome practice to witness your thoughts popping up and then going away withoutself-criticism, but it can be achieved by most people without extensivetraining, just daily practice. For instance, just watching your breathing canhave a calming effect on your mind and slowly restore your sense of well-being.When you quiet your thoughts about what you have to do and your feelings dictatingwhat you want to do, your intuitive mind takes over. Here you gently move fromdwelling on the past or future to being focused on what you are doing right atthis moment. Being in this state of Mindfulness allows you to listen to yourgut and discover what you truly need. Mindfulness allows you to acknowledge yourfeelings, witness your thoughts and redirect yourself away from distraction.   We live in era of constant upheaval and change. Actually, most ofus get through life on autopilot. Our brain gets filled with restless ideas andmemories that are hard to keep track of especially when we become stressed. Wetend to "tune out" and just "try to get through the day."   Everyone’smind naturally wanders, but when you practice Mindfulness you are aware of your mind wandering and cangradually redirect it back to the present. Mindfulnessallows you to gently quiet all the noise in your head . Paying attentionto your breathing, tracking your thoughts, or scanning your body for tensionare just few of the many ways to reduce mental chatter. With Mindful practice,you can learn to remove the tendency to jump to conclusions, make assumptionsand idle judgments, and recognize that your negative or positive feelings arecoming from you and not the external world around you.   Dr MarshaLinehan, founder of Evidence Based Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) says weneed to adopt a “Reflexive Mind” in order to cope with distress and change. Here,your mind is trained to act like Teflon, nothing sticks to it long enough toattach. Mindfulness has been shown to bring calmness and patience to those whoembrace the practice. People who practice daily Mindfulness are processing liferather than analyzing its content. The ultimate state of Mindfulness is mental resiliency .   In fact Mindfulness can also help you stay focused and aware evenwhen you are engaged in mundane activities such as driving, eating, andwalking. Research has shown its positive effects on boosting the immune system,managing pain, reducing stress and cultivating personal awareness.   A beginning Mindful sequence may involve:   §   Sitting in a quiet and comfortablelocation §   Thinking about where you are and whatyou are doing at this very moment §   Closing your eyes §   Allowing thoughts about what alreadyor will happen move in an out of your consciousness with your non-judging mind andgentle persuasion §   Focusingon the sensations of breathing each breath and noticing what that does to yourbelly, nostrils and lungs §   Making note of every thought andfeeling that comes up and then returning to your breathing to further anchoryour attention §   Observing your mind but, not gettingstuck on any one particular thought or feeling as your breathing becomes morenatural, full and steady §   Openingyour eyes and looking at something you have seen before with a freshperspective.   Whatare Affirmations? Affirmations are declarative statements about something you nowknow, did, or intend to do. When you use an Affirmation you are not only beingaware of your thoughts, but you are taking conscious control of them. When yousay, write, read or even think of an Affirmation, you are, in effect, takingsteps to acknowledge what is worthwhile about you.   Studies have shown that most of our daily thoughts are negative.Working with Affirmations makes you aware of how self-defeating thoughts chipaway at your creativity. Affirmations help you create a new reality andvisualize what you essentially want out of life.   Negativity can threaten your health and happiness. In fact, whenyou are not paying attention to your thinking, you are more liable topessimistic and not realistic or optimistic. The more you are aware of what youare actually telling yourself, the more upbeat you will sound. Using commandbased phraseology, keeping the Affirmation in the present tense and making itreality based offers you more reinforcement. Repeatedly telling yourself thatyou are, or will be, deserving, healthy, and successful, the more your positivedetermination will flow. You’re more likely to see a bounce in your step and alift in your life by using daily Affirmations.   Whatare Mindful Affirmations? "Mindful Affirmations" (introduced in my book “ Presence ofMind - Mindful Affirmations ”, are not just inspirational sayings but, are thought provoking phrasesthat loosely derive from Mindfulness ideas of Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, who foundedthe medical and meditative models of Mindfulness. He came up with EightStations of Mindful Meditation: §   Smile §   Breathe §   A rrive §   Attend §   Find the essence §   Slow down §   Listen §   See things with a new perspective    Mindful Affirmations incorporateone or more of these active stations into each passage in order to support theMindful notion of keeping an “open mind,” where possibilities have no limits. Theyare not meditations as used by Dr Zinn and others.   Mindful Affirmations take ordinary Affirmationslike “ Your self-confidence will carry youon ,” and make them more reality based so the reader can gradually acknowledge and accept the truth about theirlife. An example of expanding the above Affirmation into a Mindful Affirmationwould be “ I barely thought of my ownself-worth until I saw myself going backwards in life. Letting myself go andlosing all I had gained made me feel stuck and dependent. I now see howharnessing my self-esteem can help me not only find my way but, carry methrough life. ”   This phraseology helps to evokenot only the reader’s subconscious mind, but keeps the reader focused on thekey of Mindfulness, just being in the moment.   Pain is about growth and isinevitable. Unfortunately, too many of us have become addicted to suffering …but suffering is optional! Mindful Affirmations make our conscious andsubconscious minds look at our pain and release our fears about the unknown.Our inner subconscious mind has the desire for change but doesn’t know justwhat to change or how to do it. Our outer conscious mind desires to be relaxed,in balance and accept our state of affairs. When working in concert our twominds remove expectations/accusations and allow us to gently examine ourfeelings, thoughts and behaviors about the past without dwelling or beingjudgmental.   When Mindful Affirmations arewritten in the first person they can help the reader not only empathize withthe writer, but slowly begin to accept and validate their own pain, sayinginside themselves, “ I guess I am notalone .” Mindful Affirmations not only break down the reader’s self-imposedisolation but offer them options for change such as in the passage, “ I now see that responding rather thanreacting will build a healthy interpersonal world for myself .”   It has been my clinical experiencethat each time I ask a patient to read a Mindful Affirmation, they mention tome that they now see their old problem in a different way. One of the corevalues of Mindfulness is to be able to see yourself and the world around you witha “ new set of eyes .”   The focus is on accepting,commitment and learning (refers to "ACT" therapy) a new way of livingor looking at life. Mindful Affirmations help the reader’s mind stay engagedwhile supporting the surrender of old baggage and unfulfilled expectations. Mindful Affirmations use positive assertions like “ I feel happy, ” but allowour present awareness to reinforce our declaration giving us clarityof thought to see our options. It is a coping strategy. For example, thestatement “ When I am stressed I make myselfsit and take notice of my surroundings," supports your inner desire tostay calm and centered rather than be overwhelmed and scattered. The book takes Affirmations to the next level by first talkingabout how “I” (the reader) arrived at the state of not being able to take control, what resulted, and how “I” plan totake command of my life in the future.   Using these threecomponents to the Affirmation not only supports the drive to do better, but plantsthe seed more firmly that “I” will make progress and “I” can learn from mypast. Mindful Affirmations are cyclical in nature. Each time a negative feelingcomes up the reader has a choice to make good or bad decisions. The truth isthat we are more likely to accomplish what we set out to do, if we are keenlyaware of how the past made us feel and what consequences may lie ahead. In the book “ Presence ofMind - Mindful Affirmations ”, beautiful images and words are paired together to helpstimulate your thoughts while gently lowering your subconscious resistance tobeing happy and successful. The journal pages allow you to explore your ownideas, blocks, and recovery needs. When you begin to embrace reality, you learnto believe that anything that you truly need is approachable, thinkable, and doable.   Mindful Affirmations help you not only face reality, but lookbeyond it by challenging your old mental dialogue with a new perspective.   Mindful Affirmations allow you to step back from life enough toexamine regrets and embrace new options.   Mindful Affirmations help you discover that who you really are is what keeps you alive, vital and present.               Be sure to check out these articles/books in the RealPsych Solutions Store :   Presence of Mind - Mindful Affirmations (availableas an eBook/PDF, or hardcopy (with lots of additional journal pages))   Also   Getting Past Your Past How to Stop Worrying & Start Living   plus many more items by other well-qualified authors . ( note: these are allhotlinks, if your are reading this electronically, click on themto be taken directly to the product pages at RealPsychSolutionsStore.com

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