Awareness/Mindfulness/The Now…Call It What You Will, Just Do It.

So far I’ve talked about becoming aware of your little voice and practicing awareness and the importance of practicing present moment awareness or staying in the Now. Because I want you to have  and know how to use all the tools in your toolbox, I should also talk about mindfulness. Honestly, I don’t really care what you call it nor should you. If you’re getting hung up on terminology you need to let go a little.

Mindfulness is just another term you can use to think about being in the moment or present or aware or being in the Now.

One definition of mindfulness is:

A mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.

See! Even this definition talks about the present moment! While there may be nuances in practicing, the really important thing is just turning off your little voice and becoming fully present and aware of where you are, what you’re feeling, what you’re doing and what you’re experiencing (without judging any it…that part is critical no matter what you call it.)

You can practice mindfulness informally (and we definitely will talk about how to do it formally) or casually and make it part of the way you go through life. In fact, last night when washing the dishes (a chore I really really dislike), I decided to just focus on that moment. I became aware of the warm water, the smell of the dish soap, the bubbles that were forming, how squeaky clean everything got with just a few swipes. I know it sounds lame, but it made the time go by quicker and I was fully there for washing those dishes. It actually made it almost enjoyable. No really! (Ok, I still would avoid this chore if possible but at least now I have a coping mechanism instead of getting all cranky about it.)

Anyway, I just wanted you to be aware that there are many words for what is essentially the same concept so don’t be confused if you hear it being referred to differently by others or even in this blog.

I’ll post and tweet some examples of when to be mindful to help remind you when to practice! Once you start doing it you’ll sort of get hooked!