The feeling of peacefulness arises in the quiet stillness of bliss and content.
In a humble respite of quiet, one may feel a sense of calm that spreads throughout the body like the feeling of watching the color of clouds change in an evening sunset.
Or the feeling of air around the body and watching a trees leaves feel the same air.
Being mindful is the key with spiritual awareness. Mindfulness takes time, compassion and patience.
time
A quiet mind involves finding a quiet space in the mind. Now, it does not require a complete checkout in life to practice. (although it doesn’t hurt to check out sometimes-given the modern age we live in)
Getting ones self into a quiet mind takes practice.
Sometimes there are a lot of moments spent waiting. Such as:
* waiting in traffic
* waiting to pick up kids, spouse or friend
* waiting in line at a store, coffee shop or other retail visit
The point is, that we spend a lot of time waiting and thinking about “what could I be doing right now instead?” “why are they taking so long>” “how much longer do I need to wait?” We could turn that waiting around into something good. Such as mindfulness.
In the Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle explains: “Waiting is a state of mind. With every kind of waiting, you unconsciously create inner conflict between your here and now, where you don’t want to be, and the projected future, where you want to be.”
A person can take that time instead on learning to enjoy the moment. ok, cheesy I know, but instead, look around where you are. Look at the sky or outside the car you’re in. Drink in the sounds of conversation or the smells going on, if in a coffee shop, perhaps the sound of the beeps or whatever happens to be in the environment you are waiting in.
compassion
Why do we as people judge ourselves the hardest? Would we say the things about ourselves to others? To our friends, family or spouses? What about saying these things to every day people? I don’t think we would so why do we allow ourselves to do it internally?
When we first begin the mindfulness journey-or even if we’ve done it for some time-we get distracted. A thought here…something forgotten at the store…a sound in the surrounding area.
It’s ok. Go back to the moment of stillness.
Be aware of the thoughts, but do not let them continue at the surface of consciousness. Focus on the energy again of seeing life happen in and around you, rather than creating the energy of stopping the thoughts or inner dialogue of negativity for getting distracted.
Every time we go back to mindfulness or being in the moment, we reform our new habit to come back to the center of self. Another example from Eckhart Tolle, ” Notice how often your attention is in the past or future. Don’t judge or analyze what you observe. Watch the thought, feel the emotion, observe the reaction. Don’t make a personal problem out of them.”
patience
Along with compassion is patience. When we are distracted by our thoughts, we need to come back to the center. Coming back to the moment of presence may require that process to happen more than once.
Then we end up in a pattern of going back and forth. Stay calm and have some patience as it’s very easy to get stuck in thoughts of “why can’t I do this?” “I’m not good at it-I give up.”
Don’t give up, it takes practice. Start small with with 2-5 minutes a day. Once that goal is achieved, move to 10 minutes and so on. It will be possible to sit still and have longer quiet moments with mindfulness. If that is your goal. 🙂