Now Is The Time For A Mindfulness Moment
Christmas is coming and with it the awareness that once the bells ring, we should all be loving, kind and caring, embracing the people around us, relaxed and happy. Even though stress, worries, grief or lack of time may have ruled in our last days of Christmas preparations. But there are ways to confront such situations, as Martin Stepek guides readers in this article. Read on.
As usual most people have contrasting reactions to the very idea of Christmas. There’s our lingering childhood memories: presents, toys, snow and playing outdoors, carols and traditional songs, more religious content than today, a seemingly simpler, happier life despite not having as much as nowadays.
Linked to that is the deep feeling of connecting afresh with family, often getting together for a rare whole family meal or day.
Yet there’s also the anticipation of busyness, with the accompanying stress, pressures and misgivings that go with some aspects of Christmas. Not all family members are equally welcome in our home. Many families have schisms, whether those are open and undisguised enmities, or unspoken but keenly felt. Some people are uninvited full stop.
Money is an issue for many. The pressure to buy, buy, buy. Can we afford all this stuff? The presents. The decorations? The food? In an age of environmental fears and scientific reports constantly warning us of the devastating effects of climate change on the planet and all that live on it, does a glut of gluttony, and a wider splurge of consumerism echo hollowly with an image of Santa, the happy elves, and bright healthy reindeer flying over a peaceful, stable Earth?
With all these thoughts constantly swirling around us there’s a real danger we lose sight of everything that matters, not only during the Christmas break, but in our everyday lives too. So here’s a way in which we can start to reboot our mind so that we give ourselves a better chance of enjoying all that is good about Christmas while being clear-sighted enough to minimise the downsides to the season.
To start with, you are reading this, so you are being mindful for the moment. Good. So let's take the opportunity to do a practice. It'll only take as long as you'll take to read this. And reading this will be your guide:
JONAA©Adrian Kendall
Just stop and notice
Assuming you're dressed, even if you're still in your pyjamas, simply start to notice the feel of your clothes on your body. Anywhere is OK but usually the easiest is around your shoulders or the top of your back. Maybe your arms if you're wearing something long-sleeved.
Now adjust your attention. Our default mode is usually a little bit tense, hard. Allow your attention to feel like it is becoming lighter, floating rather than forced. As if it floats above your head and sits there without any effort or energy required to sustain it. Now your attention is very light, effortless, and as a result it is also clearer, sharper.
Just feel what it is like. For most of us now clothing usually means cotton, and the cotton has been finely honed until it is very soft to your skin. Notice it.
Notice it's softness.
Notice the warmth it holds in around you.
Notice the sense of touch. Then - and this is a separate experience - the pleasant feeling that appears to your mind.
Now notice the fact that your mind and body were experiencing all of these related sensations but your mind was not consciously registering them to you as things worth noticing, experiencing, and most of all, enjoying.
Now pay attention, lightly, effortlessly, but very clearly to the sensation of your feet on the ground. If you can't put your feet on the ground then simply notice how your feet feel cosseted by your socks and / or shoes; and if you're barefooted sense what it is like for your feet to be in contact with the air where you are.
Notice any warmth, any areas of tightness, area where your feet or toes or ankles can move relatively freely. See if you can flex any parts of your feet, and if so, notice the pleasantness to the mind of loosening and stretching parts of your feet.
And that's it. A few moments experiencing what is actually going on. You didn't have to do anything extra to engage in this practice; all you needed to do was notice what was already happening but under your radar.
This is mindfulness is real life. Mindfulness is not simply sitting for some minutes with our eyes closed focusing on the breath. That practice helps but it is not the be all and end all of mindfulness. Being mindful of everyday things in life - that's the real practice; that's the whole point, to be in the present moment in all its richness. Enjoy it. ▢
This is mindfulness is real life. Mindfulness is not simply sitting for some minutes with our eyes closed focusing on the breath. That practice helps but it is not the “be all” and “end all” of mindfulness. Being mindful of everyday things in life - that's the real practice; that's the whole point, to be in the present moment in all its richness. Enjoy it.
And that's it. A few moments experiencing what is actually going on. JONAA©Martin Stepek
Martin Stepek is a member of the JONAA team in Scotland, a founding member of JONAA and sits on JONAA’s board. A Scot with Polish heritage, a Mindfulness teacher, poet, published author, columnist on Mindfulness (Ten for Zen and the Sunday Herald) and the Chief Executive of the Scottish Family Business Association.
