What exactly is mindfulness?  To become more mindful means to become more aware of your own body, your thoughts and your surroundings.

When you are able to maintain a mindful lifestyle, you will discover things about yourself that you may have never noticed before.  For me mindfulness has become a way of life by consistently reminding myself to stay in the present and fill my thoughts with positivity, gratitude and forgiveness.  Once you have worked towards it, mindfulness will become almost automatic.

Mindfulness brings countless positive effects that can help you navigate through life.  Mindfulness helps us develop compassion and kindness for ourselves and others.  When you work on mindfulness on a daily basis, you will notice significant changes to your life and the way you live it.

To achieve mindfulness there are a few steps that you should follow.  By doing so, you will be able to create some distance between yourself and your reactions to specific situations that arise in your everyday life.

Accept the moment

It can be difficult to stay positive with life throwing unexpected moments and unwanted situation.  We fail to remember while our emotions stir and we lose focus and get fustrated, is there is nothing we can do in the moment but just accept what has happened.  

It is essential to understand and accept who we are, and learning to become happy within ourselves.  Also accepting where we are and focussing on what can be done, is a much easier stress-free path to go on. Focus your energy on the positive of a situation, this will prevent resentment and of course save you wasting a lot of time and energy on things that are out of your control.  

Everything happens for a reason, right?

Stay present

Try to observe the present.  Accepting where you are right now relies heavily on being present and grounded.  Perhaps you already know of someone who has the ability to be fully present, that they are so conscious of what they are doing and where they are that they are able to avoid being overwhelmed by any challenges that they face.

You must remember to breathe. Focussing on breathing helps to clear the mind of mental clutter and reminds us of the life force that keeps us alive, which is oxygen. Now imagine the roots of a tree, spiralling from your feet in to the ground.  They create strength and security so strong, that no matter how hard life hits you, you still stand tall.  That's staying grounded. 

Remember your strength and breathe.  Clear you mind and root your energy to the core of the Earth.

Meditate

Though you may not be able to control everything that happens in your life, you can take responsibility for these developments and learn how to manage them.  Meditation is a great way of doing this and can bring incredible returns in your life.  Meditation can be one of the best treatments for calming anxieties, dealing with sorrows and calming feelings of anger and confusion.  When you meditate, you are transforming your mind, encouraging concentration and calm.  This allows you to achieve clarity and emotional balance.  

Meditation transports new found energy to every cell in your body, resulting in increased joy and enthusiasm.  With meditation our intuition and vibration rises everytime we clear our mind and focus on breathing.  In the moment of pause, our minds are open for truth and light.

Physically, meditation has been known to lower your blood pressure which reduces the likelihood of anxiety attacks. For anyone suffering from insomnia and joint problems, meditation can be a very useful tool in helping to alleviate these conditions.  Regular meditation helps to improve your mood, strengthen your immune system to fight of illness and boosts your energy levels.

Some find meditation challenging at first. You may find that you get distracted during meditation, but the skill is being able to continually return yourself to the present. Thought's popping in your mind that you can't stop, it doesn't matter if your mind wanders in meditation, it's only natural. But try and not let these thoughts progress and instead just let them pass by.  Some people find guided meditation easier for this exact reason as you have someone helping you keep your energy focussed in the right areas.  

The more often you meditate, the easier it should become.  I struggled initially with meditation for months.  My brain is always on overdrive that trying to sit and pause was a challenge.  I trained myself by focussing on my breathing.  It took me a long time to learn the techniques of clearing my mind and breathing naturally.  

Meditation can be done anywhere.  You don't have to dedicate hours of your day to it, just a couple of minutes in the morning and evening will help you reap the benefits for your mind, body and soul.  Once its part of your daily routine, it will be something you really look forward to.

Being Creative

When practicing mindfulness you may become more in tune with your creative side.  Embrace this, practice hobbies or projects that focus the mind.  Your project doesn't need to be big or artistic. Something as simple as doodling on a piece of paper can be incredibly successful in cultivating mindfulness and focus.

Gardening

When you consider the process of gardening, it isn't surprising that gardening is considered to be an extremely relaxing past-time.  Surrounding yourself in nature, absorbing its tranquility, eases stress and offers mental clarity.

Express Gratitude

Gratitude is one of the most powerful ways of achieving the law of attraction, by thanking the universe for our blessing in our life.  Which in turn opens us up to receive more.  I try and express gratitude in my daily life, in those little moments when life brings a smile to my face, moments when I notice the beauty of nature or feeling love and warmth from my nearest and dearest.  I also express gratitude for the lessons I learn in my everyday life.

Gratitude and affirmations come hand in hand, use them to shine love and rewrite your mindset.

Express Love

Expressing love in everything that you do is a massive turn around for your mindset.

Conclusion

Mindfulness won't eliminate the stressors from your life.  That part doesn't change.  

But a lot of things DO change.

With mindfulness you discover, that there is a way of being, a way of looking at problems, a way of coming to terms to catastrophe's life throw's at you that can make life more joyful and rich that it otherwise might be.  

Enjoy the journey and reap the rewards of a more mindful lifestyle.

And that's life changing!

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