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Do You Want To Relax And Think Clearly?
Steven Gillman
Learning To Be In The Moment
Imagine thinking clearly, and feeling relaxed at will. Could
you get more done? Enjoy life more? Would you like to know
how to do that right now? Start by learning how to put yourself
more in the moment with a simple mindfulness exercise.
Basic Mindfulness Exercises
A basic mindfulness exercise begins with sitting down, relaxing
and breathing deeply. Close your eyes and pay attention to
your breathing, following the breath in and out a few times.
Then move your attention to your body, one part at a time,
noticing any sensations of cold, hot, tight, sore or anything
you can identify. After a few minutes, start listening to
the sounds of the room, without judging, criticising or thinking
about them. Just listen for a minute.
Open your eyes and look around as if seeing for the first
time. Rest your eyes on any object for half a minute. Examine
it without talking about it in your mind. Repeat this with
another object, and then another, while still maintaining
an awareness of your body and breath. Continue this state
of mindfulness until you're ready to get up.
When sensing your body, your breath, and your immediate surroundings,
you are more fully "in the moment." A mindfulness exercise
like this puts your mind in a receptive state while removing
mental distractions that hinder clear thinking. It leaves
you ready to work mentally. Do this before important mental
tasks and you'll find you have more focus and concentration.
Using Mindfulness For Daily Life
When you're in the middle of a task and feel stressed, stop.
Take three deep breaths, then carefully watch yourself until
identify what is bothering you. Find everything you can. Are
you expecting something bad to happen? Is an argument from
this morning still going on just below the surface of your
consciousness? Are you worried about something? Is some part
of your body in pain? Note everything you find.
Now deal with these thieves-of-concentration one by one. Make
the phone call that's on your mind, take an aspirin if you
need to, and apologise to someone if necessary. Take things
from your mind and put them on a list for tomorrow (in writing).
If all you can do is acknowledge that there's nothing you
can do right now - do that. After doing this mindfulness exercise,
you'll feel less stressed, and you'll be able to concentrate
more effectively on the tasks at hand. Try it now.
Steve Gillman has meditated and studied meditation
for over twenty years. You can visit his website, and subscribe
to The Meditation Newsletter at: http://www.TheMeditationSite.com/newsletter.html
Article Source:
http://www.articlewheel.com
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