“Live the actual moment. Only this actual moment is life.”
– Thich Nhat Hanh

The New Age Healing talks a lot about being mindful, yet we have a long way to go to harness the power of being mindful. The monks and yogis practiced this simple art and made it an involuntary process of their lives, just like breathing. Being conscious means using all the five senses in my activity. For example, many people complain about being overweight and unable to change their eating habits. If you concentrate entirely on eating rather than thinking or cluttering your mind with thoughts like your to-do list or perhaps what needs to be taken care of at work, then a change in your habits comes in. When you eat mindfully, involving all your five senses, you will notice that your mind gives you periodic signals about what the stomach is not liking or perhaps when is the stomach full and so on. Automatically, the weight is in control, and your goal to eat healthily is accomplished. It is just a tiny example of how being mindful can set you in the right direction.

Imagine being mindful when speaking to someone. Visualize such a conversation, and you will notice that you will know whether you’re able to communicate yourself clearly or not. This is because our words and thoughts are nothing but energy. And when you’re mindful about experiencing this energy, you can accomplish whatever you set your intention on. We must also make this habit of being mindful of involuntary movements in our life. Like inculcating any other habit, this one will also need hard work and exercise to make it a routine. Below are a few practices for starters that I have learned from my personal experiences:

1.     A mindful walk: This was one of the first exercises to make mindfulness my lifetime trait. A mindful walk means walking in a garden on a seashore or somewhere in Nature. Each step you take forward, feel the grass, the breeze blowing across your face, or perhaps the saltiness you feel in your mouth. Involve all your five senses when taking this walk. The best is to walk barefoot in a garden to feel the morning dew on the grass. Feel the sensations in your body when your feet touch the grass. Make it a habit to journal your feelings about this mindful daily.

The next step to mindful walking can be when you walk in a public area—for example, in a supermarket while buying your weekly groceries. First, feel the vegetables and fruits before buying them. Sense their energies and see what your mind/heart wants to eat. Then, slowly walk down the aisle one at a time, thinking carefully of what you need and what will be junk.

2.     Mindful Eating: You may notice that when you’re watching television or perhaps distracted by something other than focusing on your eating, you don’t realize what your appetite is at that time. Moreover, sometimes we don’t even realise the taste of the food, and hence hardly we are aware of what we are eating. It leads to over-eating or eating junk food, which may not be healthy. Hence, it is essential to practice mindful eating. Put away all your electronic gadgets and any other means of distraction before you begin your meal.

Start with a prayer of gratitude for the beautiful food. Chew each morsel quietly and taste everything, like whether the food tastes sour or perhaps the taste of each vegetable in your meal. This practice will ensure that your mind is entirely present in the moment and the food you are eating is digested easily. Your stomach will also indicate with training what you can digest easily, what makes you feel energetic, and so on. You will be in alignment with your mind and body.

3.     Mindful Breathing: Breathing is an involuntary process that we seldom realize it. Imagine what if it was a voluntary process? More than half of us would need a nano-second reminder to breathe. Thankfully, it is involuntary. Still, it would help if you breathed in and out mindfully. One of the incredible benefits is that it will help you identify what emotions and feelings you’re living in and out. For example, suppose a stressful event is going on, making you feel too anxious. With mindful breathing, you can quickly release all the anxiety without letting it inside your body. Likewise, when you speak to someone and breathe mindfully, you are aware of the emotions you’re feeling during the conversation. Hence, mindful breathing can be of great use at all times. Physically, it also helps you in good blood circulation, increases oxygen flow in the body, and helps maintain the hormones in the body.

Living mindfully is an excellent habit for living a peaceful and calm life. It also helps you make space for those messages coming from your Spirit Guides which otherwise get jinxed in the clutter of your minds. I know for us as a generation, this will take time to make mindfulness a habit. But it is in the best interest of everyone to live a gracious life. Also, our future generations can start living mindfully from an early age.