So here we are in 2022! I am excited for this new year and I am happy and grateful to be here with you in this newsletter. I can hardly believe that we have been doing this newsletter and sharing tips and self-care information with you for over a year! Where did the time go? I have come to so enjoy sharing this information with you every week and have actually increased my learnings as well, so pretty cool.
Today we will be discussing mindfulness and meditation. This pillar of course is the one that is near and dear to my heart. This pillar in my opinion is one that is foundational for success in all of the pillars of health. It is exciting to me how mindfulness and meditation, and from that self-care, have become more mainstream. When I began my mindfulness and meditation journey it was not so widely accepted.
That’s said, definitions vary for mindfulness and meditation. In my view, meditation is one of the tools that we use for mindfulness practices and creating a purposeful life. I define mindfulness as the ability to be purposefully present in what you’re doing, by allowing yourself the space to respond in a conscious and loving manner to what you are experiencing in the present moment. Mindfulness is a way of creating spaciousness to support you in living your best life, your best intentions, and your desire to live a conscious life, full of light and full of love.
The most widely known definition of Mindfulness comes from Jon Kabat-Zinn a world renown mindfulness expert. “Mindfulness is awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally”
My mentor Deepak Chopra said this about meditation, “Meditation is a simple yet profound practice that helps the body release accumulated stress and return to its natural state of balance and health and allows us to respond to potentially stressful situations or encounters from a place of calm, centered awareness. Instead of reacting in a knee-jerk way that only increases the stress in our lives and disharmony in the world, we’re able to tap into our infinite potential for compassion, creativity, insight, and gratitude.”
So, let’s get to those benefits. First, I want to acknowledge that there is no way I can list all of the benefits of mindfulness and meditation. I am giving you a few. I also want to point out that mindfulness and meditation are not things that we do. It is a lifestyle. The more we practice the more it is integrated in our life and our experience. The goal is not to do but to be.
Benefits
- Reduced stress
- Enhanced performance
- Increased insight and awareness
- Attention to our wellbeing and the wellbeing of others
- Allows spaciousness to respond to situations rather than react
- Helps ease anxiety and Depression
- Improves focus, attention and results in increased efficiency
- Improved sleep (one of the 6 pillars of health)
- The quality of our relationships is improved
- Improved Physical Health
- Slows the negative effects of aging
- Gives you access to self-compassion
- Increased objectivity
We will be exploring each of the benefits of mindfulness and meditation in further detail in the coming weeks.
Much love and Light!
Deborah