HAVE YOU TRIED MINDFULNESS AND MEDITATION?

Wonderful concepts.

Being Mindful of the world around you.

Meditation has been around as an endeavor for years.

My daughter wrote a wonderful post on her blog about her journey. A great read.
House of Kerrs

I don't meditate per se.

I have activities that have meditative qualities.

For example, certain knitting patterns means counting the stitches in my head as I go. The counting and knitting are calming and reflective. I concentrate on the stitches.

When I exercise, I count the number of times I do the exercise. For my weight routine, the number is 25.

I find this to be calming and relaxing. I do not think about anything. I am not trying to solve a problem. Just being in the moment with the activity. Clears my mind. Gets rid of negative thinking.

I tend to like an activity. It is just me.

However, walking is a good reflective exercise for me. So what did I do. I bought myself a birthday present of hiking boots. Not for now but the Spring. Perhaps putting hiking in my life will be a help too.
#mindfulness#meditation#knittingandcountingasmeditation#clearingone'smindofclutter#gettingridofnegativethinking#hikingtouseasreflectivethinking#reflectivethoughtsbybarbara#barbaradimambro

HEARING AND LISTENING-ONE ASPECT OF MINDFULNESS

While walking today, I decided to hear all the sounds and noises in my environment. The song birds singing. The traffic noises with cars speeding and a truck making a loud sound. The red eye plane from the west heading to Pearson Airport made a welcoming noise in the early morning sky. The honking of a Canada Goose that made me divert my walk from the stairs to walking through the parking lot at the Richmond Hill Library. The geese are known to chase people so I was really not in the mood to be chased. My feet making noises as I pounded the pavement. The wind rustling through the trees. Being attentive to the surroundings let ideas and thoughts prevail. The main reason I do not plug into a walkman or I pad or whatever else as they  drown out the world. Listening to the world! One aspect of mindfulness that allows the senses to expand. As we try to find excitement in our life, it can be the small moments that bring some meaning. Hearing and listening to the world, to others, to ourselves- takes concentration and discipline! How mindful are you in your environment? Do you hear and really listen? Or do you try to block out others and the sounds around you?