Mindfulness Practice and Your Life

The world of work often feels too fast, too complicated, for me. Monday mornings come around and after a weekend of free time those of us who work are expected to “hit the ground running.”  We are supposed to tackle multi-tasking and various projects with a vengeance. I write this on what is for me a slower paced Tuesday morning. I survived yesterday, a crisp and sunny Monday in mid-November.

I am grateful for Tuesdays when I usually work for Creative Transitions. And I am in love with any day when my job is to write. Writing involves simply sitting – quiet, still, listening to an inner feeling and voice somewhere deep within me. And then moving into doing by writing. Writing starts with Being, not Doing. Writing is a practice full of mindfulness, a practice at which we know we are not perfect, yet we do because it is often fruitful and full, filling us up with ourselves, our lives, our world in a way that feels deeper and fuller than if we just keep on rushing through our days, our to do lists, one activity to the next, and the next one after that. And the next after that. . . . . . .

Photo by Loretta Crespiatico

I feel tired just thinking about this kind of busyness and multitasking. Some of my coworkers in the mental health world say they drop into bed at 8:30 p.m. most weekday nights. My clients who work in the corporate world say that 5 p.m. is considered the middle of the workday. Twelve hour days, 72 hour (or more)weeks were their norm, until they crashed and burned in both body and mind, and had to take medical leave to recover. 

In my first blog post for Creative Transitions I asked:

Where are we racing off to? What are we trying to accomplish?  What is it that each of us wants and needs?   Is all of this fast doing giving us what we want and need, in our lives, in the in our work, and in the world?

This is what arises for me as I sit with these questions on a cloudy Tuesday morning:

I want to stop rushing. I want more stillness and quiet. I want more peacefulness within myself, within the people I know, within all people, all over the world. I want world peace.

What else do I want? I want more beauty, simplicity, authenticity. More creative freedom and innovative ideas to be brought to fruition and implemented in the world we live and work in.  For all beings to be free to be who they truly are in their life’s work and to be supported in manifesting their true life’s calling.

Photo by Michele Naphen

But where to start?

We invite our readers to stop, pause, take a breath, take a few moments to just let yourself be and not do. Right now. Give yourself this permission.  Feel your feet on the floor, feel your body in the chair, feel the air against your skin. Notice each breath in. . . . .and each breath out. . . .for three full breaths.

Focusing on and feeling our breath is one way to stop and pause in the midst of “busy mind” and busy activity. Another way is take a mindful walk outside, to listen to a piece of soothing or inspiring music, to see what activity feels right for you in the next few moments. And keep returning to feeling your breath in and out, as you do the activity.

Photo by Christina Pretto

And if you wish, ask yourself these questions as a mindful inquiry:

“Where am I racing off to?”

“What do I hope to accomplish?”

“What do I really want and need? For myself? In my life? In my work?

See if you can acknowledge and allow whatever words, thoughts, feelings, emotions, and physical sensations you experience to be there as they are, without trying to change them.  Notice and label any judging thoughts, pause, and then bring your attention back to your breath, to the next movement you make during your activity, to any physical sensations you feel in the moment.  We invite you to write what comes to you. And to post anything you feel inspired to share in our comments section.

What are the next action steps that come out of these moments of mindful inquiry? In our work, true and deep creativity, inspiration, innovation, and transformation come out of these mindful moments.

Join us for our next  mindfulness practice session on Zoom: “Mindfulness for Creating Change at Work and in the World,” December 10, 7 to 8 p.m. EST