This article is written by our very own Leah Roberts.
Why Self-Awakening and Mindfulness?
As the saying goes, “How can you expect someone else to love you if you can’t love yourself?”
I am extremely passionate about living in the present– to live for the moment and appreciate everything IN that moment. I firmly believe that learning to love + accept yourself IS the true key to happiness in any person’s life.
You cannot truly be happy, until you are happy with who YOU ARE and what you ALREADY have. Nothing and no one else can create that happiness for you- that has to be done by you FIRST.
But the problem is this: the world is lacking in self-love and self-acceptance.
We are all losing sight of what really matters. We’re busy worrying about WHO likes us and who DOESN’T – what we should wear out and how to look so we can be SEEN, having the latest and best things in order to stay relevant to OTHER PEOPLE!
BUT THE REALITY IS THAT MOST PEOPLE DON’T EVEN LIKE THEMSELVES!
Most of us have this insane craving to feel liked, to have the best “stuff”, and the desire to look good for OTHER PEOPLE.
Whatever happened to loving ourselves first– how we look and act naturally? To appreciating everything we already are and already have. What happened to craving our OWN love and acceptance for ourselves instead of everyone else’s?
WE ARE GETTING CAUGHT UP IN ALL THE WRONG THINGS!
I wanted to share this wonderful information with all of you– because self-love and self-awakening has changed my life.
I truly believe with all my heart, that we as a society, have forgotten how to love ourselves, and how to accept ourselves for what we are already blessed with..
Learning how to practice meditation, earthing, and mindfulness genuinely changed who I was for the better.
It taught me to let go of my earthly desire for acceptance from others, but to actually accept myself for who I am– for the first time in my entire life. It worked for me, and I want it to work for you!
In this 3 part blog series with me, you will learn how to use Mindfulness in your daily life, as well as how to meditate, the different forms of meditations, different mantras that you can use, and how to practice Earthing!
My hope is that this guide will give you internal peace and self-awakening, as these practices did for me.
I want everyone to feel love for themselves and be grateful for every single thing, in every living moment. To stop stressing about things we cannot control, or living our lives for other people. To create happiness within yourself, to truly love yourself, and to be mindful and appreciative of everything around you.
Enjoy my friends✌
How Can Mindfulness Meditation Benefit You?
Mindfulness and meditation are two incredibly useful skills you will learn throughout this journey of life. They are even better when used together!
They both have so many great uses in life:
• Stress Reducer- it teaches you how to be mindful and appreciative in the now, not to stress about the future or things you can’t control. Being Mindful allows you to savor the pleasures in life as they occur, helps you become fully engaged in activities and in yourself, and aids in dealing with stressful events as they occur.
• Improves your Physical Health– Mindfulness and Meditation can help relieve stress, treat heart disease, lower blood pressure, reduce chronic pain, improve sleep, and alleviate gastrointestinal difficulties.
• Improves Mental Health- Psychotherapists have recently been turning to Mindfulness Meditation as a treatment source for mental health problems: depression and anger, substance abuse, eating disorders, couples’ conflicts, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and so much more. Meditation can create a sense of peace, calmness, and content within yourself.
Why not learn now how to practice mindfulness meditation, and use it in your daily life?
So how do you do it…
What is Mindfulness?
First things first- what on earth is mindfulness anyways and what does it really mean to be mindful?
Well according to Google:
1. the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something. “their mindfulness of the wider cinematic tradition” 2. a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.
I would say Google nailed that one. Especially that last part.
To be mindful, simply means to make an effort to acknowledge what you are feeling and thinking. Working to accept those emotions before something irrational has a chance to happen.
For example, say a veteran who struggles with PTSD reacts to a trigger by using anger and aggression. Or a treatment center patient with anxiety may feel a panic attack surfacing.
Learning mindfulness allows these both of these people to acknowledge those feelings when they arise, and gives them the tools they need to take a minute, step back, accept and handle these feelings appropriately before reacting impulsively as they once had.
What is Meditation?
Now that we have learned what mindfulness entails, let’s chat about meditation: Think deeply or focus one’s mind for a period of time, in silence or with the aid of chanting, for religious or spiritual purposes or as a method of relaxation. • think deeply or carefully about (something).
Of course, most people already have a general idea on what meditation is. However, most of us associate meditation with humming and monks, don’t we?
While that is an effective form of meditation, meditation can be used even if you aren’t a monk! And every person who meditates has their own way of doing so.
Meditation can be performed in a quiet room, or a room with music playing. It can be done standing, laying, or sitting. It can be done with your eyes closed, or your eyes open. Everyone has their own way of practicing meditation.
I for example, have several different ways. Some days I feel like sitting on the floor in silence. Sometimes I meditate in my bed before sleep while Netflix hums in the background. The point is- it’s completely your choice (as long as it’s done, right?).
The most essential part of meditation is to relax, and focus on your breathing. Deep breaths, in and out, over and over.
How Do You Combine The Two?
Combining the two is quite simple actually. Once you have chosen your method of meditation, you can now integrate mindfulness.
Most people are under the notion that when you meditate, you aren’t allowed to think about anything. You are supposed to focus on NOT thinking.
Does that make any sense to you?
Actually, meditation is the best time to think!! That’s what it should be used for!
This is where mindfulness comes into play. Mindfulness and meditation are two peas in a pod. Mindfulness Meditation means choosing your form of meditation, and instead of pushing your thoughts away, or focusing on NOT thinking- let your thoughts flow.
Lets your thoughts, ideas, feelings, and emotions flow freely, while focusing on your breathing. BUT BE MINDFUL.
While these thoughts are allowed to come and go, you will use mindfulness to control your response to these.
For example, upon meditating, say you stumble upon an old memory or start thinking of what bills are due tomorrow-any thought that has a nasty habit of presenting negative feelings and anxiety when you think about it.
There would be no better time to use mindfulness than this. If you find that memory flowing into your thoughts, continue to let your thoughts flow without judgement. Do not judge yourself in this memory. Do not judge someone else in this memory. Re-shape your feelings towards that memory, focus on accepting what happened in that memory.
The idea is to try to find another outlook on it.
If that seems impossible to do, simply change lanes- try to think of a happier memory instead or switch your train of thoughts onto something else.
Eventually, you will want to conquer that negative memory and conquer that feeling that accompanies it. You do this will continual mindfulness meditation of course!
When Should You Practice Mindfulness Meditation?
There are countless situation and times that are great for practicing Mindfulness Meditation. I try to practice nightly- my personal goals are to take at least ten minutes out of my nightly routine to include Mindfulness Meditation. It really is soooo freaking calming, and before bed is never a bad time to practice.
However, Mindfulness Meditation can be implemented whenever, and wherever! Morning, afternoon, night, in the shower, in line at the grocery store, laying in bed. After work, before work. After a stressful situation in which you need to calm yourself.
The veteran who struggles with his PTSD triggers can practice Mindfulness while he comes into contact with this trigger, and then choose to Meditate afterwards to calm himself and accept the situation internally.
Mindfulness Meditation is a therapeutic tool that anyone can use, anytime.
Now let’s chat about the different Meditations and mantras NEXT WEEK, that you can use in your practice- stay tuned for Part 2 in this Self-Awakening series.
This article is written by our very own Leah Roberts.
