How to chill out when your world is manic
Does every day feel like a rat race? It doesn't matter whether you live in the city or a small town it is easier to make life a rat race by multitasking all of our daily activities by attempting to do them at once. It's very noble to attempt to do this but it simply leaves us feeling like an unaccomplished maniac. The key to chilling out when the world is spiraling isn't a craze it’s a lifestyle choice that Buddhists have been using for years...Mindfulness.
Mindfulness is about taking the time to enjoy moments and focus on one thing at a time in its entirety. Whether you are Buddhist or not the concept of slowing down, taking the time, and appreciating everything more is an attitude to be respected and admired, you don't have to Buddhists to know that. As a believer in the Christian faith, I always aspired to do the hardest thing the bible ever stated, 'be still.' For me when I read about mindfulness, paying attention to your senses (sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch) and how you feel at any given moment allowed me to learn how to be still better than ever before. So I'm not about to denounce it because it’s not my faith, otherwise, I'd be a hypocrite-what every non-believing person dreads.
Practicing mindfulness began with mindful eating when I had no idea that it was connected to Buddhism at all, I simply knew that it was smart, healthy eating to take your time. When I picked up my latest cookbook to assist with new eating plans titled 'Mindful eating' it spoke of mindfulness in every aspect of your life. Initially skeptical I decided to apply the principles because, well one can't be skeptical without knowledge of the truth, can they? If it didn't work then I could hold a strong opinion against it otherwise I had no right to be against it. That's what I thought anyway. Needless to say, when I was reading about mindful showers I got quite the laugh out of it (not being rude to people who follow these practices either by the way). Still, I tried a few of the mindful practices and I come to realize that life is so much more pleasant and easy to be grateful for when we slow down and pay significant attention to everything. Recently I have read quite a few articles that suggest when people have a lunch break or have finished their workday they should go to a museum, art gallery, or a run to make the most of their time. Now no disrespect to these writers they are great ideas but most people simply want to do as much as possible for a little bit of relaxation during these times and personally I think there is no better way to do this than to be a little mindful there's also a bonus to it....being mindful is proven to increase happiness, decrease overthinking, anxiety and stress. So, I am passing on some of the things I tried out to help you chill out when your world is manic. Give it a real chance and let me know how #mindfulness helped you to calm your manic world. Please feel free to post to A Written Revolution's Facebook page as well. I hope you enjoy the mindful experience as much as I did.
Mindfulness in practice
1. Eat mindfully- first of all smell and touch your food, place it to your lips and then place it on your tongue, allow the flavors to create saliva (or the opposite- you might be surprised!), then chew your food slowly paying attention to how the food tastes, the textures in your mouth as you swallow pay attention to the feel of the food traveling all the way down your throat and into your stomach. Put your fork down as your are doing this and do not look at your phone, watch the television or anything else just spend time eating. Then take another bite.
2. Enjoy a mindful shower- this sounds bizarre but it’s actually quite lovely. First, pay attention to the water droplets landing on and running down your skin, how the temperature feels, the smell of your liquid/soap bar (make sure its a good one), keep thinking only about these things if your mind goes walkabout come back to this.
3. Find a green space and lie down. Take your shoes off, take deep breaths, and pay attention to how your body feels- your whole body and individual muscles. Don't play music on your iPod except for maybe if the green space is full of screaming children and then I'd opt for an app with nature sounds- my go-to is rain on a tent.
4. Complete 1 task whilst only thinking about that 1 task. How you feel about that task (not anything associated with it- it is difficult!), what you smell, what you hear as you are completing the task (again not background noise), how you are breathing. Examine at the end how productive you were.
