The Art of Living Mindfully

Living mindfully is something we can all aspire to do. Living mindfully involves being fully focused on the thing at hand, thinking only of that one thing we are doing  – it is a form of meditation. Meditation does not need to take a long time or even be a conscious thing, there are many easy ways to meditate within our own lives. Mindful living is an attitude and deeper understanding of ourselves and the world we live in.

Walking

Walking is a really simple meditation – you just go outside and start walking, put one foot in front of the other and think about your feet. If your mind wanders just go back to your feet. If it helps say ‘left’ ‘right’ in your head to keep focused on the walking. 

Flame gazing

Light a candle and then simply watch the flame. Allow your eyes to soften as you gaze to watch the flame flicker and dance. If you set a timer, you may find time disappears quickly when you are doing this kind of meditation. You may also find all sorts of wise nuggets popping into your head, keep a notepad handy. 

Washing the dishes by hand

Fill the sink, carefully soap and scrub the dishes and then mindfully rinse, take your time and pleasure with it. As you allow the water to run through your hands imagine that it’s not only washing away the suds, but is also cleansing away your mental clutter.

It’s easy to turn any activity into a mindful one – keep your mind full of the one activity you are doing and empty of distracted chatter. It’s that simple.