By Joanne Reid Rodrigues
SUMMER mornings and evenings are my kind of bliss. I find this time of year perfect for connecting with the beauty of the natural world around us.
Early mornings spent listening to birdsong and evenings listening to waves rolling in soothe the soul. I’ve been practising and teaching mindfulness for many years, and I find it life-enriching. Daily mindfulness is extremely beneficial for our wellbeing.
There is nothing mysterious about mindfulness. It is not a religious practice; it is a sacred appreciation of life. Though it stems from Buddhism, I’m certain that Jesus and the Buddha are very good friends.
Their students and followers sometimes argue, but I can’t imagine they would, since both these great masters taught us to love one another. Their teachings are universal and timeless, and that is why they remain as true today as when they were imparted.
Mindfulness is moment-to-moment awareness. It is the ability to be fully available to the present moment. It is simple, but difficult.
By necessity we, the spiritual being, are always united with our body. But where is the mind? It’s usually somewhere else.
How often do we find ourselves in a place of natural beauty, yet missing the entire thing? On a nature trail or walk along a magnificent beach, we get back to our car and find we can hardly remember the walk at all, let alone our surroundings. The mind was busy dwelling on a problem or an irritation. Sometimes, the mind is busy being creative, which is a good thing. But, mostly, the mind recalls or anticipates trouble or reruns an argument.
Mindfulness is total connectivity between mind, soul and body. It allows us to absorb the beauty around us, and to hear the calming sounds of nature. And, of course, it allows us to pay attention when danger lurks. Most of us have at some time stopped our car to let a pedestrian – so fully immersed in their phone that they have no awareness of impending danger – cross the road. It happens all the time.
One of the greatest misperceptions is that mindfulness requires us to stop our thoughts. Well, the mind produces an estimated 40,000 to 60,000 thoughts each day. You might be able to stop your thoughts for a few seconds, but then an image will appear in your mind, and it will trigger a thought, and that thought will trigger a memory and another thought. And away you go again.
Stopping our thoughts for long periods of time requires years of training in meditation. Mindfulness is only a preparation for meditation. But, still, the rewards are great. As a stress therapy, mindfulness is powerful tool.
The secret is not stopping our thoughts, but stopping our thoughts from controlling or bothering us. There’s a difference.
The flow of automatic negative thoughts – or ‘ants’ – that most folks experience can certainly be neutralised when challenged. Instead of impulsively believing our negative thoughts or self-judgments as an absolute truth, we can challenge the validity of our thoughts. And then we often find there’s no evidence to substantiate them.
Even so, this process requires us to be mindful of our thoughts as they arise, and the feelings they produce. And it requires awareness of our options to release particular thoughts and choose new thoughts. It’s entirely possible with daily effort.
In the same way that a great pianist or violinist or athlete practises every day with devotion, we can practise self-observation. In other words, we can pay attention to our thoughts. And when stress-producing thoughts arise, we can shift the focus of our attention.
There’s a lovely quote attributed to Mark Twain that puts stress-producing thinking into perspective: ‘I’ve lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.’
Stress is a mental response to life’s happenings and events. Fear-based responses are felt as physical symptoms in the body: tension, headaches, nausea and pain and stiffness in the musculoskeletal system to name a few.
We are living in unstable times. A particular thinking style called ‘catastrophic thinking’ can become a pattern, especially for some people living in survival mode. And, by the way, that’s an increasing percentage of the population, with many being just one pay cheque away from homelessness.
Catastrophic thinking describes a mind that swiftly leapfrogs from a problem, perceived or real, to devastating consequences. For instance, a person’s boss might speak to them abruptly. Instead of shrugging it off, they might convince themselves they are going to lose their job, and then they will lose their home…
All in a few seconds they go from hearing a comment to having a mental image of not being able to feed their children, or sleeping rough.
Watching national news is another hazard. Many folks lose sleep over images of wars and threats of wars. Anxiety takes a toll on physical health as well as mental health. And it is often the trigger for alcohol consumption and other maladaptive coping strategies.
When thoughts cause stress or anxiety, I recommend sitting down, placing both feet on the ground. Tell yourself: here and now, I am safe. Here and now, I have a roof over my head. Here and now, my needs are met.
Bringing our attention into the present moment alleviates tension in the physical body that ensues when the mind races.
Every emotion has a particular breathing style attached to it. When we’re relaxed, we naturally breathe slowly and deeply. When stressed, our breathing is shallow and rapid. Sitting with both feet on the ground and hands on your lap, breathe in slowly to a count of eight, hold the breath for a count of eight, and release the breath for a count of eight. If the count of eight is too much, begin with a count of four. Rhythmic breathing is proven to calm us.
Heaven on Earth is a personal choice. Life is transient, like a burning candle with a finite number of hours to burn. Mindful appreciation of our lives and our loved ones, and our blessings, is a gateway to peace and happiness.
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Joanne Reid Rodrigues is the founder of Slimming Together and the creator of The Authentic Confidence Course. She is an author and therapist in nutrition, CBT and stress management. Joanne can be contacted at JoanneRR.com.
