Here and now, breathe and relax – the words of Dan Millman author of the popular spiritual novel The Peaceful Warrior and a number of other books. In the Peaceful Warrior, Dan shares his learnings about the importance of understanding that the mind is a tool that is not necessarily to be believed a lot of the time! He explains that our minds are idea factories and many of its ideas and thoughts are unhelpful repeats of what we have seen before, that don’t help us now and didn’t help us in the past.
I must say that I read The Peaceful Warrior somewhat reluctantly, the book had been trying to get my attention for a while; it kept coming up on my Amazon recommended reading list, a friend had given me a copy when he accidentally ordered two copies instead of one and it fell off the shelf in the bookshop (well, maybe that last one didn’t actually happen but you get the idea).
While reading the book I realised how much time and energy I was actually wasting engaging with the constant thoughts my mind was generating – mostly about the past and future.
As I practised what I learned in the book and started observing the content of my mind, I realised how often I was completely immersed in my thoughts and oblivious to my surrounding.
I now knew that I wanted to spend less time in my head and more time being mindful and engaged in my life – in the present moment. Knowing I wanted to be more mindful was one thing but how could I remember to practice throughout the day?
Remembering to be mindful
Over time I have come up with a number of ways to bring myself back to the present, here are some of my favourite ways:
1. Phone reminders – I set a reminder to pop up several times a day that says “here and now. breathe and relax” – when I see it I push my feet into the floor take a slow breath while noticing three objects in my environment.
2. Streaks app – this cool app can help with any habit you want to improve – I use it every day to help remind me to eat my breakfast mindfully, recording my progress and getting a nice long ‘streak’ of mindful eating motivates me to keep going.
3. Insight timer app – I do a short mindfulness meditation each day and this app offers a free timer, heaps of free guided meditations and also has a built-in reminder that ensures I never forget to practice.
4. Visual cues – I keep a few crystals on my desk when they catch my eye, I hold them gently, roll them around in my hand and take a deep breath before getting back to my busy day.
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