Give Your Mind a Break
We are all busy these days, and even when we are retired or traveling, our minds tend to become consumed with the mindless chatter of everyday stress. I am assuming that you already have explored reducing the unnecessary stressors in your life.
Often we are preoccupied (as you have described) with the past or future (“What did she say?” Or “How will I ever get all of the things done that I need to do?”). As a result, the present moment, the present opportunity to choose how you want to spend your time, is lost. Practicing mindfulness keeps us in the present moment. Thus we avoid automatically responding to whatever we encounter throughout the day. One easy way to do this is by getting in touch with our senses through our breath.
2 • Focus on Your Feelings
Another way to cultivate mindfulness is to focus on your feelings. Pay attention as you walk, drive or sit, to the feelings in your arms and legs. Mentally catalog those feelings for yourself. Some examples might include, “My arms are feeling heavy,” or “my legs are feeling very relaxed as I walk.” The more you pay attention to those feelings, the more you are present in the current moment.
3 • Cultivate Empathy
We can also practice mindfulness by cultivating empathy and acceptance. Pay attention to everyone with whom you come into contact. Be conscious of their experience. See if you can imagine walking a mile in their shoes. That, also, will help you get in touch with your daily experience.
4 • Catch Yourself Not Being Present
We can also enhance our mindfulness experience by catching ourselves not being in the present moment. By arresting our racing thoughts, we can stop ourselves in our own tracks and bring a calming awareness to our breath. The more you practice being aware of your thoughts, the better you get at directing and controlling them.
5 • Talk Yourself Through It
Sometimes, when things seem to be spinning out of control, we are in a state of crisis, and stronger measures are needed to arrest our focus. To force yourself to become immediately aware of the present moment, talk yourself through each of the activities in which you are engaged as you do them. Do this by simply saying to yourself, “I am drying this plate,” “I am preparing this meal,” “I am walking on this trail,” etc. You will force yourself to focus on where you are and what you are doing in the present moment and, as a result, will find yourself once again calm and focused on what you need and choose to do.
Diane is a therapist in private practice who works extensively with clients on stress management and relationship issues. She and her family are also avid RVers. Her articles are meant to provide information of a general nature and are not intended as specific psychological advice or to take the place of consulting with a health care professional.