Written by: Michele Ogston, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
The word “mindfulness” can be very abstract in a world that throws it around without any clear definition. What does it even mean to be mindful? Mindfulness is the practice of training your brain to be aware in the moment without judgment or attachment to a particular outcome. Even so, this doesn’t just happen from saying you want to be more mindful; like anything, it takes time to incorporate and develop as a part of your daily habit. It helps to think of your mindfulness as a muscle. Like any muscle it has to be trained to grow.
This is why I like to refer to mindfulness as a “practice” because in order to receive the benefits of being mindful, it is important to incorporate a daily ritual or workout plan for your mindfulness muscle. As you change and grow, so does your mindfulness practice. What worked for you when you first started might suddenly not work for you one day. That doesn’t mean it is gone for good. It means that for right now, you need to switch something up.
"Your absence of attachment from the process of mindfulness is being mindful."
No matter where you are in the process, these three areas aid in your ability to focus and inspire a state for mindfulness. Choose a time in the day that suits you best. This can be when you first wake, on your break, at your desk, before bed or any moment you routinely have three minutes. When you’re ready, spend three minutes thinking about these three areas in any order that resonates with you:
1st Minute Spent on Your Senses – Your senses are one of the best places to start because they are always with you. Even if you don’t have all of your senses, the ones you do have will be present. Take each of your senses and observe them, use them, and thank them for what they offer. An example would be: “Right now, my eyes are seeing this beautiful sky, with its blue background and wisps of clouds. I am so thankful I can see this right now”.
2nd Minute Spent on A Thing – Next, choose a thing in your life. It doesn’t have to be grand, but it can be if this is what you are feeling in the moment. It’s important to recognize the things we do have so we can let go of the things we don’t. Here is an example: “I am so grateful I wake up every morning in a soft bed that comforts me all night. It provides a place for me to rest and heal so I can begin each new day refreshed”.
3rd Minute Spent on Someone & You – Take a moment and choose someone that you love deeply and who adds value to your life. This can be a pet, a family member, or a friend. If you are having a hard time thinking of someone specific, choose someone you idolize or look up to. This can even be someone who has passed on. Spend a moment visualizing them and all the qualities you admire about them. Then send them love and imagine them sending love back to you. Feel the gratitude for the things they have taught you. When you do this, you naturally create a state of abundance. An idea might, “I appreciate my dog so much. She wakes me up every morning with kisses and snuggles with me every night. I can feel how much she loves me right now. I’m her everything.”
As you start to incorporate mindfulness into your life, you will start to see a decrease in anxiety, depression, stress, judgment, and an increase in well-being, savoring, contentment, creativity, and quality of relationships. Mindfulness offers you the opportunity to reduce the mind's need to crave more and be happy with what you have. When you achieve this, you will realize the world belongs to you.
Michele Ogston, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Michele Ogston is a meditation & mindfulness teacher and a certified intuitive life coach specializing in life purpose & mindset. She works with her clients to empower people to never feel stuck in life. It is her belief that by breaking the patterns that have been holding you back and rebuilding with self-love, purpose and mindset, you can live the life you were intended. After experiencing her own loss through the death of loved ones and a painful divorce, she decided to turn her pain into passion. In addition to writing, Michele also connects with her clients through her Empath Support Group, Meditation &; Mindfulness classes and 1:1 sessions. She owns Cloud 9 Life Coaching in Northern California, where she lives with her husband, children and fur babies.
