Finding Peace through Mindfulness
The three ice cubes in my hand are melting. I’m getting drops of water everywhere. However, as I hold the ice cubes, I am focusing on all of my senses. I notice the coldness of the ice, the clicking and swishing sounds they make when I move my hand, the coldness tickles my nose my smell the ice and if I put the ice cube in my mouth, the coldness would take over. I would notice the sound the ice makes against my teeth, the smoothness of the ice on my tongue and the freezing sensation in my mouth.
Ice is such a product I use everyday. However, today is different. I usually just chew on my ice without really savoring the experience. I mean, why should I spend a few minutes really thinking about the ice cube and what’s happening while I holding it in my hand then chewing it in my mouth? Yes, this experience might seem silly. And, yes, you might be wondering why I’m writing about it and sharing this experience with the world. Well, let me tell you. This is the art of being mindful. Mindfulness can help us find peace in a stressed-out world. Mindfulness is practicing a different way of thinking. It helps us focus on one thing at a time. After all, we are a generation of multi-taskers.
Have you heard about Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)? It was created in the late 70s by Jon Kabat-Zinn. There are close to 1,000 certieifed MBSR instructors teaching different mindfulness techniques including meditation. The exercise I explained above is a way of reminding ourselves of how difficult it can be to focus on one thing at a time. For example, we pay the bills while watching the television, we respond to emails while listening to music, we make phone calls while driving in our cars. When we starts feeling like we don’t have enough time, we turn to our electornic devise to allow us to be in many places at one. But at what cost? We are unable to be fully present in the moment or place we are actually in.
Mindfulness is a way to calm a busy mind, a way to become aware of the present moment, and a way to be less caught up in the past or future. Many therapists even recommend mindfulness techniques to patients dealing with anxiety and depression. It’s known to deal with stress.
A way to practice mindfulness is just to be focused on the present moment. For example, you can use the ice technique I mentioned above or you can use any of the following: silly putty, gum, candy, any food dish, a television show or movie, a grounding stone, etc. Just make sure that you are focused on that one thing and that you take note of all of your five senses.
