July Daily Vibes | Mindfulness Day 17

Day 17 Law of Attraction Centering Thought

I shift my attention to what brings a pleasant feeling.

Some say, “Well, Abraham you teach selfishness.” And we say, yes we do, yes we do, yes we do, because unless you are selfish enough to reach for that connection, you don’t have anything to give anyone, anyway. And when you are selfish enough to make that connection—you have an enormous gift that you give everywhere you are.  ~  Abraham

Strange as it may seem today to say, the aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware.  ~  Henry Miller


Mindful Living On the Rise

The article, No Blueprint, Just Love in the February 2015 Mindful magazine tells us that mindful living is catching on.

In 1979, Jon Kabat-Zinn recruited chronically ill patients not responding well to traditional treatments to participate in his newly formed eight-week stress-reduction program. Now, 36 years later, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and its offshoots have entered the mainstream of health care, scientific study, and public policy.

High Hopes

His hope was that by starting a stress-reduction clinic based on relatively intensive training in mindfulness meditation and yoga – and their applications in everyday living – they could document how these practices might have a profound effect on the health and well-being of individuals. The larger purpose was to effect a kind of public-health intervention that would ultimately move the bell curve of the entire society. Now it is clear that mindful living manages stress, boosts concentration, reduces blood pressure and builds the immune system.

Going Deep

Those involved in the work have paid attention to the essential element that mindfulness is not a special state you achieve through a trick or technique. It is a way of being. If there is an instruction manual for being human, then Western science and medicine have supplied one part of it, and the contemplative traditions have supplied another – the part that has to do with discovering and cultivating our deep interior resources.

Lots and Lots of Mindfulness

MBSR has grown to the point where they now talk about mindfulness-based interventions in all sorts of areas – depression, childbirth, education, addiction, to name a few. People can receive MBSR training in more than 500 locations in 42 of 50 states in the US, with more being added monthly.

Mindful Schools – one of a growing number of programs presenting mindfulness for students and teachers – has presented its in-school program to more than 18,000 students in 63 schools since 2007. In classrooms that implemented mindfulness programs, early results show an estimated 50% reduction in reactive behavior.

More than 80 corporations, small businesses and institutions worldwide have made mindfulness-based training available within their organizations.

Process

Walking Meditation ~ 10 minutes

There are many forms of walking meditation. This is a simple one that relies on a pace that is close to how we might walk in everyday life so it can be adapted for walking in the street – just as long as you remember to pay attention to street lights and other people.

  • Stand up straight with your back upright but not stiff. Feel your feet touching the ground and let your weight distribute evenly.
  • Curl the thumb of your left hand in and wrap your fingers around it. Place it just above your belly button. Wrap your right hand around it, resting your right thumb in the crevice formed between your left thumb and index finger. (This creates some balance for you and keeps your swinging arms from being a distraction)
  • Drop your gaze slightly. This helps you maintain focus.
  • Step out with your left foot. Feel it swing, feel the heel hit the ground, now the ball, now the toes.
  • Feel the same as the right foot comes forward.
  • Walk at a steady pace, slightly slower than in daily life but not funereal. When your attention wanders, bring it back to the sensations of your feet touching the ground.

From Barry Boyce, editor, Mindful Magazine