Mindful or mind full?
What can we really do to live in the moment and not letting the past and the future occupy the present moment? Time is very precious and is something that doesn’t come back. Worrying or thinking about the past just makes us depressed and thinking or worrying about the future makes us anxious.
Photo by Emma Simpson on Unsplash
Now is now, now, now!
Life happens in the moment and there it is just amazing. Peaceful, calm, joyful, beautiful and all those nice things we all have glimpses from once in a while. That can exist constantly in our lives. But it is a skill and all skills have to be practiced to see some real progress!
Window in Lund, Sweden.
Simple- not easy!
It sounds so easy- just live in the moment and you’ll be happy. We all know that it is not easy at all. But I believe we do all have activities where we know we can stay more mindful than the rest of our time. What are those activities for you?
Perhaps it is in activities we have a passion for or are very interested in. For me that would be for example to be with horses, sing, be in nature, run and to do yoga. But it also happens that I run away in my thinking to the past or the future in these activities too sometimes.
So how can we put mindfulness into more and more moments of our lives?
I have no idea.
But I know what has helped me in my daily life to increase those moments and that is why I would like to share it with you. I am also super excited to hear what you have to share in this topic! Hashtag with #practicenow and share with us! Please also help me share this (since I am very new here) if you find it to be helpful and meaningful!
Lake in Falun, Sweden
1. Morning routine
To have a morning routine that works for you and that you like can be a great tool to start of a new day just a little bit better and with more mindfulness. I have just started to do yoga, breathing and meditation every morning which is helping me enormously. But it can also be something very simple, like drinking a cup of tea in your favorite cup.
Photo by Kira auf Heide on Unsplash
2. Mindfulness exercise
Choose one activity that you do regularly to consciously practice to be mindful. It could be an activity such as brushing the teeth, dish washing, cooking or eating. But just choose one and stick to that one for a while. And when you do the activity, focus om what you are doing and only that. If a thought pops up, just move on with going back to what you are doing. A tips in the beginning can be to mention in your head what you are doing, without putting any kind of thought to it. Just objectively.
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3. Breath
Breathe motherfucker! Like Wim Hoff “the Iceman” would say. Breathing is such a great tool and it is for free. It is something that just happens anyway but to do it consciously literally changes our lives. Just try to feel your breath coming in and out through your nostrils. Even though breathing is happening automatical and is something we have done all our lives- we need to practice it!! It is very hard to make something unconscious to be conscious . Be patient and practice practice practice! Check out some breathing exercise online if you need more guidance.
Photo by G. Cresoli on Unsplash
4. Alarm- stop and look around
I have about 5 daily alarms on my phone that calls and says “stop and look around”. I think the best tool, except concentrating on our breathing, could be to just stop for a moment and look around to come back to the now. You just stop to see what is around you without putting any specific thoughts about it. Mention in your head what is around you, an orange wall, a glass with purple flowers on filled with water, a brown table and chair, a window, keys hanging next to it… Without any thought. Completely objectively.
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
5. Put note on your mirror
I like to use notes. I sometimes put them on a wall where I am a lot , in the roof over my bed or on the bathroom mirror. I usually put some effort to make them nice, appealing. A tip can be to combine the previous exercise with this one. So every time you see your note, you stop and look around on what there is around you.
Examples of notes I’ve had;
"You have everything you need"
"Be mindful"
"Live here and now"
But be creative and write something that speaks right to your own heart. 
Photo by Sylwia Bartyzel on Unsplash
6. Do your favorite activity more!
I once heard a clip from a man who says that most people spend 80% of their time doing something that they have to do and 20% of the time spent on what they enjoy/want to do.
I totally agree with him that it should be the other way around! Time is something that never comes back so to make sure we use it for things that matters (that really matters) for ourselves should be number 1 in the “rules” of living! Consider how you spend your time and see if you can make some changes to make the best out of the time you have. Doing more of the things you love will benefit you in every single way! Just be prepared that it might mean that you will have to change some things in you life to be able to it.
Photo by whereslugo on Unsplash
7. Keep a bracelet
This tip is from my husband @nohurriesnopause who has tried the bracelet exercise in many different ways and with different purposes and finds it very helpful. I think its an excellent exercise to come back to the now and to be conscious of something that you wish. For example. I have an old habit of biting my lips. So, I put a bracelet (easy to take of and on!) or a hairband or something on my wrist and every time I am biting my lips, I move this bracelet to the other arm. Do is as you feel it, but the challenge is to manage 21 days without biting my lips. So if I managed to not bite them for 6 days and then bite them, I change the bracelet and I have to start over from day 1.
Will you try any of these tips, what do you have to share from your own experiences? I want to read it! Comment here below or/and post under the hashtag #practicenow
Photo by Simon Matzinger on Unsplash
Enjoy life in the moment!
Thank you for reading
/Jonna