Mindfulness
Mindfulness Journal - April 27, 2021 - Day 29 of 365 One of the things I started thinking about recently was how mindfulness and meditation work with Christian beliefs and values. Thankfully, they seem to work well together. You don’t have to be a Buddhist to practice mindfulness successfully. Further, you can certainly use the time spent in meditation and introspection to strengthen your spiritual relationship with God. Being true to who you are, or knowing your true nature, is a critical tenant of Buddhism. From my perspective, this includes room for being a Christian and knowing Christ. I don’t see any need to change my faith or modify my beliefs to allow for mindfulness in my life; there is no conflict. I think my mindfulness practice brings me closer to God and helps me find a more intimate place to meet Him.
“May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the Lord.” Psalms 104:34
“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” Joshua 1:8
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8
Mindfulness Journal - April 26, 2021 - Day 28 of 365 Today’s meditation focused on trying to carry your mindfulness practice on to the rest of the day. Being mindful throughout the day, paying attention to what you are doing when you are doing it, and focusing on being present all provide opportunities to improve your daily life. Being fully present all the time is no easy task. I think we’ve all become so accustomed to simply doing without thinking that breaking that habit and putting thought into each action is a challenge. Mindfulness requires that we are not mindlessly doing things and that we are aware of what and why we are doing something.
Mindfulness Journal - April 25, 2021 - Day 27 of 365 Today’s meditation focused on the concept that there is not a right or wrong way to meditate. This idea is essential to me because I often try to find the “best” or “correct” way to complete tasks. To some extent, I think this tendency is an outcropping of a desire to procrastinate and delay the completion of jobs.
Procrastination most often occurs when I am unsure or uncomfortable with what needs to get done. Things like building a deck or finishing a basement fall into this category, but I think meditation also fits this picture. The Meditative practice is individual and unique to each person. There is no one way to be successful in this journey. Instead of focusing on this as a challenge in the path, I will use this as a motivation - that no matter what I do, as long as I keep moving forward, I will be successful.
Today was a good day.
Mindfulness Journal - April 24, 2021 - Day 26 of 365
Mindfulness Journal - April 23, 2021 - Day 25 of 365 The true purpose of mindfulness practice is not simply finding time to meditate each day but instead bringing the concepts of mindfulness into the rest of your day. Success in mindfulness means being more present and more aware of what you are thinking, feeling, and doing all the time, not just during the first 20 minutes of your day. I’ll admit, this is a challenge for me. I often treat this journey as a checkbox. I focus on getting it done rather than a meaningful process. I need to bring these concepts into the rest of my life. My goal for today and the weekend is to find moments each day where I reset and make sure that I am aware of what I am doing and why I am doing it. I will find opportunities to check in with myself and make sure I am present in my actions and feelings.
Mindfulness Journal - April 21, 2021 - Day 23 of 365 Because I had to work today at the fire station, I couldn’t meditate first thing this morning. Typically, this causes me issues and makes the session less than optimal. Tonight, I was able to break through that, and, despite the less than perfect conditions, I was able to find focus and have a positive meditation session. There was external noise, a kid playing video games while talking on his phone to a friend, a tv on upstairs and other kids running around, yet I was still able to break through and close that out and focus on my exhale. I still had other thoughts pass by, but I let them go and returned to my breathing focus. I am pleased with this progress.
Mindfulness Journal - April 20, 2021 - Day 22 of 365 Today’s meditation proved to be both peaceful and relaxing. Trying to find the impact of emotions or thoughts on the quality of breathing is an interesting approach to finding calm. I found it easier today to disconnect my physical space and feelings from my mental state. Overall, a good day.
Mindfulness Journal - April 19, 2021 - Day 21 of 365 Today was a more productive day than yesterday. I was able to focus more fully and concentrate. While I didn’t solve the problem I was faced with yesterday, I was able to find some clarity as to what was bothering me so much. Now I can better work to solve that part of the problem, rather than just being angry. It was a good day.
Mindfulness Journal - April 18, 2021 - Day 20 of 365 So, I’ve learned that there are many stops and starts with establishing a practice of mindfulness. Meaning, some days are valuable and move your training forward, and some days are not so great. Today was a not-so-great day for me. I found it difficult to focus; there was too much noise and too many distractions around me to allow for calm. I didn’t find what I was looking for. I know in the long run, having an off day is ok. There will be good days, and there will be bad days (like with everything). However, today’s failure hit me a little deeper because I feel like I needed the calm and the focus of a good meditation session. I’ve been deep in thought a lot today, focused on a personal problem, and I was hoping to sort it out during meditation. Instead, I just got stuck and couldn’t find my way out of it.
I’ll sleep on it and drive through it again tomorrow.
Mindfulness Journal - April 17, 2021 - Day 19 of 365 I completed my meditation first thing this morning in a peaceful, quiet house. For me, that is the key to success: a quiet and calm home: no one else up, no interruptions. Today was a good day.
Mindfulness Journal - April 16, 2021 - Day 18 of 365 My meditation today focused on my breathing and how thoughts can impact the breath. When you are not actively thinking about your breath, it just works—air in, air out. You don’t even recognize that it is happening. However, when you start paying attention to the breath, you find that each breath is different. Each chest rise is more or less than the last, and the volume of air and length of intake continually changes. Anxiety can cause you to breathe differently. Exercise can make your lungs work harder. Everything you do can impact the automatic process of bringing air in and out of your lungs. Yet, we very rarely even think of what is happening. We are not present enough to recognize the subtle changes in our bodies. Mindfulness helps me bring this presence back to other parts of my life by allowing me to focus on the simplest of things and let everything else pass by.
Mindfulness Journal - April 15, 2021 - Day 17 of 365 Today I focused on applying my mindfulness techniques to my stretching routine. Today’s routine was long and I use the breathing and focus techniques to help make the time and stress of stretching pass a little bit quicker. It worked very well and I was able to find clam while improving my flexibility. Big win.
Mindfulness Journal - April 14, 2021 - Day 16 of 365 I worked overnight last night at the fire station and got very little sleep. As such, when I went to meditate this morning once I was done, I was concerned that I was just going to fall asleep. What I found was the opposite. I was able to focus better, concentrate more fully, and follow the prompts more easily. Today was a good day.
Mindfulness Journal - April 13, 2021 - Day 15 of 365 I started the day off today with some headspace and found some calm. Excellent.
Mindfulness Journal - April 12, 2021 - Day 14 of 365 Today was not a very productive session, and that’s ok. I’m good with it. Part of learning mindfulness as a skill and practice is learning to accept that some days will not feel as relaxing or calming as others. Some days may feel like a bit of a chore, one more thing that needs to get done in an already busy schedule. I hope that I’ll have less of those days and more of the calming and productive days that I have come to enjoy, but I need to be willing to accept whatever comes. Tomorrow is another day, and the blue sky is always just beyond the clouds.
Mindfulness Journal - April 11, 2021 - Day 13 of 365 I was able to keep my meditation practice on point today and gained some solid understanding from the process. Today I added in the concept of understanding my meditation practice’s intended outcome and who I am aiming to benefit from this work. This understanding is essential as it expands the importance and necessity of this process as I am no longer doing it solely for my benefit. Others will profit from my effort. Through this process, I can improve the lives of those I love and care about.
I am enjoying this process.
Mindfulness Journal - April 10, 2021 - Day 12 of 365 I was up early this morning and able to meditate in a quiet house. Today’s focus was on identifying why I am working on mindfulness as a practice. What am I hoping to gain from the time I am spending in meditation? I’m sure everyone’s answer to this question is a little different. For me, the answer lies in finding a way to be more confident, more present, and better able to deal with daily life stress. Anxiety and worry have always been issues for me. Finding ways to deal with these stressors more productively would be a significant improvement. Meditation and mindfulness are one way I can attack this problem.
Mindfulness Journal - April 9, 2021 - Day 11 of 365 Today was a good day. I had a medical procedure (a spinal injection for low-back pain) and found myself a bit anxious. I used my breathing focus to find calm and let my anxiety pass. A great application of mindfulness that helped me a lot.
Mindfulness Journal - April 8, 2021 - Day 10 of 365 Today’s meditation focused on working to gain an understanding of what types of thoughts cause you the most distraction. What are the ideas that you find the most difficult to let go of? Typically I find that the most challenging thoughts for me are all the things I have yet to accomplish. I get caught up thinking about the next thing I need to do and what I need to do after that. I’ve lost all focus before I know it, and my mind is halfway down the street. I’m hopeful that a better understanding of where I lose focus and what I find challenging to recover from will improve my overall mindfulness.
Mindfulness Journal - April 7, 2021 - Day 9 of 365 Stuggling to find consistency in my morning routine. Today was disrupted by some overnight work requirements and lack of proper sleep. While I was able to get my meditation in it felt rushed and not very helpful. Morning is key.
