Hey, everyone! I hope you are doing well. If you are new to this blog…welcome! Heehee. I know that something I’ve been struggling with lately is cultivating happiness by being mindful.
I’ve been reading quite a few books that were too spiritual for me to understand what mindfulness meant. If you’ve ever visited the spirituality/self help section at a library, you’ll know there’s some books out there that make so sense at all. I’m into spirituality but I’m not that into it. Like, if you talk to me about past lives, living on another planet, channeling, I am listening with open ears but I will not understand it. It doesn’t sit with me. I have no clue why. I needed something more simple.
Thankfully, I did have a book about practicing mindfulness by breathing and pausing to stay mindful of our five senses. The book was easy to follow and not overly spiritual and it was written for modern life. It helped me a lot.
As I started putting into practice the techniques I realized that it’s not difficult to cultivate happiness. I know that’s a rather out there assumption. Coming from someone who has had her fair share of difficulties in life, practicing mindfulness actively has cultivated more awareness and gratitude in my life. Consequently, more happiness, too.
I know that this may sound a bit difficult, but here’s some small steps I encourage you to take to cultivate this awareness. In the morning if you prefer not to do meditation, I invite you to wake up and while you’re in bed and on the way to brushing your teeth practice taking deep breaths from your belly. Try making them slow and steady on the inhale and the exhale. See how this makes you feel. If it’s good I invite you to do this throughout your morning routine.
You’ll probably notice a significant change. When I did this the first thing I noticed was my steps started to slow down and my mind shifted to wow I’m thankful for this toothbrush. I was able to savor my morning rituals and making my cup of chai. I was able to slow down. It was like my body was like slow down. Sloooow. The word started echoing in my head.
Then I invite you to do the same thing when you’re on your lunch break and on your commute home as well as when you’re home and changing into your comfy clothes. Try it. See how it makes you feel. It’s the smallest thing, right? But it makes such a big difference. I’m telling you to try it!
Let me know how this changes your routine! Leave me a comment! For me, it helps to think clearly and react less. It also helps me hear the voice of my intuition much clearer as well as understand what my body needs in the moment.
Stephanie
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