» 9 Mindfulness Rituals to Make Your Day Better. “Smile, breathe and go slowly.” - Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen Buddhist monk Post written by Leo Babauta. Are you simply moving through your day, without fully living? I did this for many years. It was as if life were just passing by, and I was waiting for something to happen.
I always felt like I was preparing for something later. But today isn’t preparation for tomorrow. Today’s the main event. Fully live today by being mindful. You don’t need to do all of these, but give a few of them a try to see if they make your day better. Mindfulness Rituals Ritual isn’t about doing a routine mindlessly. Here are a few of my favorites: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. These rituals aren’t the only time you should be mindful, but they’re great reminders. How to Stop Worrying. Undoing the Worrying Habit Once acquired, the habit of worrying seems hard to stop. We're raised to worry and aren't considered "grown up" until we perfect the art. Teenagers are told: "you'd better start worrying about your future". If your worries aren't at least as frequent as your bowel movements, you're seen as irresponsible, childish, aimless.
That's a "responsible adult" game rule. To the extent that worrying is learned/conditioned behaviour, it can be undone. Centuries-old cultural conditioning has given us a nasty neurosis: the belief that happiness must be "earned". Laid on top of the first neurosis is the idea that spending money will make you happy. So: we never stop working, we never stop spending money, we're never really happy – ideal conditions, coincidentally, for a certain type of slave economy. You won't stop worrying if you think it serves you.
The fight-or-flight response (FOF) is useful on rare occasions of real danger. Worrying is never useful. Alternate Sleep Cycles. Most people only think that there is one way to sleep: Go to sleep at night for 6-8 hours, wake up in the morning, stay awake for 16-18 hours and then repeat.
Actually, that is called a monophasic sleep cycle, which is only 1 of 5 major sleep cycles that have been used successfully throughout history. The other 4 are considered polyphasic sleep cycles due to the multiple number of naps they require each day. How is this possible? How is this healthy? Well the most important of every sleep cycle is the Stage 4 REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, which has been shown to provide the benefits of sleep to the brain above all other stages of sleep. When changing over to a polyphasic cycle, the lack of sleep tricks the body into entering REM sleep immediately instead of 45 to 75 minutes into sleep like in the monophasic sleep.
This way, you still get the benefits of 8 hours of sleep without wasting all of the time it takes to get to REM cycles, resulting in a much more efficient sleep cycle. Three Techniques for Quieting Your Mind. Three Techniques for Quieting Your Mind Courtesy of Andrea A mere week ago, I was telling a client that I thought it was impossible to completely stop ourselves from thinking. I subsequently received some guidance that actually had me prove myself completely wrong! In the past week, my mind has quieted down remarkably during meditation, to the point of true quiet and emptiness.
Naturally, I then get really excited about my states of emptiness, leading to attachment … and new thoughts! Here are three of my newly discovered techniques for creating a quiet, peaceful, empty mind: 1. This technique came up in one of my coaching sessions. Our breathing cycle and the flow of our thoughts are closely linked. As we focus on those tiny pauses between our in- and out-breaths, we find that our mind quiets down at those points in our breathing. Without holding or interrupting your breath, begin extending those brief silences in your thoughts. 2. 3.
Blessings, Andrea. Deep Relaxation Meditation - Fragrant Heart. This guided meditation helps you to relax. As you move your awareness through your body you are guided step by step to be aware of your breath, to focus on muscle groups and to deepen into relaxation. This guided meditation is suitable for anyone who may be feeling anxious, or tense, or experiencing a lot of stress in their lives.
It is ideal to do before going to bed at night, or anytime when you are feeling out of balance in your life. Read the Preparation and Posture Guide before you begin. Click the play button next to the meditation to listen. Did you enjoy listening to this guided meditation? Purchase a downloadable MP3 of this meditation in our MP3 Store Alternatively, please consider leaving a donation for Elisabeth. Share this link with: Share This.
Relaxing music, sleep-aids, anxiety reduction, relaxation tools.