By Hannah Weber
“The soul always knows what to do to heal itself. The challenge is to silence the mind.”
Have you ever experienced something difficult? Every person who ever reads this post should be able to answer that question with a resounding “YES”. Whether it’s unfairness in your job, a friend who let you down, or the loss of a loved one, we’ve all experienced a lot of good and a lot of hard. Thankfully, there are a plethora of positive psychology strategies and resources that can help you work through these difficult emotions. Today we will focus on mindfulness. Before you click away with the thought, “Haha! Nice try, but I know about mindfulness, and it just isn’t for me”, be patient. We will discuss what exactly mindfulness is, what it isn’t, and how it can help you!
Now that you’ve decided to give this a chance, let’s talk about what mindfulness is! In short, “mindfulness is a healthy awareness of thoughts, emotions, and experiences that we can apply to everyday circumstances to live a rich and joyful life.” (Read more here!) If you’re still a little skeptical, or if you’re just more of a visual learner, here’s a short and very funny video that explains mindfulness.
As that video tells us, mindfulness is the ability to know what’s happening in your head at any given moment without getting carried away by it. It helps us to understand and recognize our emotions and be able to sit with them without being dragged down by them. You may be thinking, “Obviously I know what’s happening in my head, I live in it all the time!” Yes, you do! But how often do you find yourself trying to read an email at work and get caught up thinking about that delicious pasta that you’re going to eat for lunch. Or you’re on a run and your brain is going even faster than your feet, replaying yesterday’s argument with your mom. These are the moments when mindfulness is important. It helps us recognize what we’re feeling and to identify why we’re feeling it. Then it helps us carry on with our day and stay present in our lives.
You don’t have to take my word for it, though! There is so much peer-reviewed research available to support mindfulness and mindfulness practice. Research-based support is out there for mindfulness practices in dealing with stress, anxiety, depression, physical pain, insomnia, and so many other challenges. Along with these physical benefits, mindfulness enhances perspective and can help cultivate a calmness and appreciation for whatever life brings to you.
So now that you know what mindfulness is, let’s get into how you can apply it to your life! One of the most important things to know about mindfulness is to keep in mind that what works for one person may not work for you, and that’s okay. Mindfulness is very adaptable, and you can fit it into your routine wherever it goes best! You can practice mindfulness in the morning, when you eat your lunch, as you drive home from work, on a walk with your dog, or before you go to sleep. You can do it with your eyes open or closed, sitting up or lying down, walking or staying still, and sitting or standing. A good place to start if you’re totally new to mindfulness might be the YouTube channel, My Best Self 101.
On this channel there are so many great resources and recorded mindfulness meditations for you to listen to and practice. One of the best ones that I found for me was the Meditation for Difficult Emotions
There was a time in my life when I had experienced a lot of hurt from someone who was very close to me. I was experiencing feelings of frustration, anger, and sadness about the situation, and I happened to be on the My Best Self 101 YouTube channel when I found this meditation. I was intrigued and decided to try it. I didn’t really know what to expect, but I did know that I didn’t want to keep feeling so upset.
The meditation led me through a series of exercises like naming my emotions, breathing into and around them, imagining what shape they were, locating them in my body, and deciding what color they were. These exercises helped me to create space from my emotions and view them more objectively. I was able to see the situation that caused these emotions more clearly, and I could understand how the other person might be feeling as well. I had never experienced anything like it before! I felt much more at peace, and I could continue the rest of my day without being so absorbed in my feelings.
Practicing mindfulness didn’t take away my emotions, solve my problem, or make everything better; that isn’t the point of mindfulness. It isn’t a quick fix to take away how you’re feeling or change what happened. It simply creates space between you and your emotions and helps you be less threatened by them. It can also help you feel more present and can enhance your perspective on different aspects of your life. You’ll still have to work at dealing with your emotions and work through the hard ones, but mindfulness can help you while you’re on this path. It can create healing in your mind and life and help you feel happier and healthier on a day-to-day basis. It won’t solve all your problems, but it will help you to work on them with more clarity. You can do it! If you want to get started, try this meditation.
“If there is a single definition of healing it is to enter with mercy and awareness those pains, mental and physical, from which we have withdrawn in judgment and dismay.”