Mindfulness

Mindful I Techniques

1. Sitting Quiet Time – silent, sound and/or guided visualization*
2. Walking Quiet Time – silent, sound,
3. Intentional Notice Quiet Time – silent, sound

Before commencing any form of Mindful activity it is imperative that you learn to breathe in a manner conducive to relaxation and reduction of stress. Diaphragmatic breathing is what must be adopted. In order to determine if you are breathing from diaphragm put one hand on upper or middle chest, the other on abdomen below belly button. Now, breathe. Which hand rises? If the hand on chest rises, you know you are breathing from top part of your lungs. Your objective is to raise the hand on your belly. Become comfortable with this form of breathing and you will be surprised at how much more oxygen you will bring into your body, which will help calm stress responses, decrease muscle pain/discomfort and slow anxiety reaction.

SITTING QUIET TIME

1. Set an alarm clock, cell, tablet or another device for 20 minutes. You do not want to be watching the time while you are sitting in your quiet time Select an alarm that is soft and gentle, possibly a sound or music that is pleasant. Set the device just before you close your eyes.
2. Sit in a comfortable position. It is best to sit rather than lie down. It is very easy to fall asleep, which may be helpful if you need the sleep, but you will gain more by using this time for quiet time. And, if you fall asleep it’s OKAY! Remember your objective, and try again. If you feel as if you have to move during your quiet time, it’s okay. Just shift or move and settle in again.
3. Your intention is to sit quietly for 20 minutes with your eyes closed. Initially, you may only be able to sit for a few moments before you become agitated or experience some other emotion or thought and feel that you have to move or open your eyes. When I first started my quiet time sessions, I would itch and it was impossible to continue to sit quietly unless I scratched the itch. Whatever happens is OKAY! Keep on your plan. Avoid giving up.
4. When beginning it is helpful to have some sound or music playing. You may use the Biosome Vibrational Sound or any other easy, quiet music or sound. When you can get to the place where you can sit in silence, you will have accomplished quite a task, and you can move to Mindful II, if you choose. Or, just continue doing what you’re doing. More insight will follow.
5. As you close your eyes focus on your breathing. You should be “belly” breathing (diaphragmatic) rather than “chest” breathing. At first, practice this. As you continue to enter your quiet time, you will find that you will automatically breathe deeply and easily. Also, you may notice that your shoulders or other areas of your body that might feel tension will relax on their own.
6. Notice your thoughts. Recognize that you are engaged in sitting comfortably with an intention to give yourself some quiet time, but thoughts continue. It’s OKAY. Just notice the thoughts and return to your deep breathing. AVOID focusing on a thought, concept, emotion or anything else. Just NOTICE that you are thinking, feeling or sensing and say “Aha, thinking”, then breathe and go back to focusing on your deep breathing. Some days it will be easy and you might find that you can actually smile at the thoughts that occur as to return to your focused breathing. And, some days you could feel like blowing up the pentagon, painting your neighbor’s house or flying to Tahiti. Remember, it’s OKAY. Just NOTICE that you are thinking or feeling and go back to your breath.
7. Avoid engaging in any of the thoughts or feelings you are experiencing! Don’t buy into anything while you are involved in your quiet time. You are providing a gracious gift to yourself and your empowerment, focus and alignment with your highest awareness is the result. You can play with thoughts, feelings and other people’s ideas and viewpoints later. This quiet time is for YOU.

WALKING QUIET TIME

1. If you are walking inside where you can hear a sound advising you that your quiet time is complete, then set an alarm clock, cell, tablet or another device for 20 minutes. If you are walking outside, you may want to put your cell phone in your pocket, set it to vibrate and/or make a soft sound. You do not want to be watching the time while you are walking mindfully in your quiet time
2. Your intention is to walk quietly for 20 minutes where you are focusing on the feeling of walking. Put one foot in front of the other. Feel the ground, your feet in your shoes or the feeling of your bare feet on the ground or carpet or wherever you are slowly moving. How do your knees feel? Notice, breathe and keep moving slowly experiencing other sensations without getting caught up in them. Just notice and breathe.
3. You will notice things around you. Your eyes are open and you will see objects around you. Notice the object and move slowly bringing attention to your breathing while you pay attention to walking mindfully. Remember, just NOTICE. No buying into the thought, judgment or opinion about anything you are seeing, hearing or sensing.
4. When beginning it may be helpful to have some sound or music playing. You may use the Biosome Vibrational Sound or any other easy, quiet music or sound with earphones. When you can get to the place where you can walk in silence, you will have accomplished quite a task, and you can move to Mindful II, if you choose. Or, just continue doing what you’re doing. More insight will follow.
5. As you close your eyes focus on your breathing. You should be “belly” breathing (diaphragmatic) rather than “chest” breathing. At first, practice this. As you continue to enter your quiet time, you will find that you will automatically breathe deeply and easily. Also, you may notice that your shoulders or other areas of your body that might feel tension will relax on their own.
6. Notice your thoughts. Recognize that you are engaged in walking comfortably with an intention to give yourself some quiet time, but thoughts continue. It’s OKAY. Just notice the thoughts, return to your deep breathing and keep walking slowly. AVOID focusing on a thought, concept, emotion or anything else. Just NOTICE that you are thinking, feeling or sensing and say “Aha, thinking”, then breathe, go back to focusing on your deep breathing and walking. Some days it will be easy and you might find that you can actually smile at the thoughts that occur as to return to your focused quiet time. And, some days you could feel like blowing up the pentagon, painting your neighbor’s house, or flying to Tahiti. Remember, it’s OKAY. Just NOTICE that you are thinking or feeling and go back to your walking and breathing.
7. Avoid engaging in any of the thoughts or feelings you are experiencing! Don’t buy into anything while you are involved in your quiet time. You are providing a gracious gift to yourself and your empowerment, focus and alignment with your highest awareness is the result. You can play with thoughts, feelings and other people’s ideas and viewpoints later. This quiet time is for YOU.

INTENTIONAL NOTICE QUIET TIME

1. Set an alarm clock, cell, tablet or another device for 20 minutes. You do not want to be watching the time while you are sitting in your quiet time Select an alarm that is soft and gentle, possibly a sound or music that is pleasant. Set the device just before you focus on an object outside yourself.
2. Sit in a comfortable position. It is best to sit rather than lie down. It is very easy to fall asleep, which may be helpful if you need the sleep, but you will gain more by using this time for quiet time. And, if you fall asleep it’s OKAY! Remember your objective, and try again. If you feel as if you have to move during your quiet time, it’s okay. Just shift or move and settle in again.
3. Your intention is to sit quietly for 20 minutes focused on an object within your view. Initially, you may only be able to sit for a few moments before you become agitated or experience some other emotion or thought and feel that you have to move or shift your gaze somewhere else. It is possible to use a moving object on a computer screen as your frame of object reference. When I first started my quiet time sessions, I would itch and it was impossible to continue to sit quietly paying attention to an object outside of myself, unless I scratched the itch. Whatever happens is OKAY! Keep on your plan. Avoid giving up.
4. When beginning it may be helpful to have some sound or music playing. You may use the Biosome Vibrational Sound or any other easy, quiet music or sound. When you can get to the place where you can sit in silence just watching an external form, you will have accomplished quite a task, and you can move to Mindful II, if you choose. Or, just continue doing what you’re doing. More insight will follow.
5. As you look at your chosen object focus on your breathing. You should be “belly” breathing (diaphragmatic) rather than “chest” breathing. At first, practice this. As you continue to enter your quiet time, you will find that you will automatically breathe deeply and easily. Also, you may notice that your shoulders or other areas of your body that might feel tension will relax on their own.
6. Notice your thoughts. Recognize that you are engaged in sitting comfortably, paying attention to an external object with an intention to give yourself some quiet time, but thoughts continue. It’s OKAY. Just notice the thoughts and return to your deep breathing and paying attention to the form you have chosen for your external focus. AVOID focusing on a thought, concept, emotion or anything else. Just NOTICE that you are thinking, feeling or sensing and say “Aha, thinking”, then breathe and go back to focusing. Some days it will be easy and you might find that you can actually smile at the thoughts that occur as to return to your focused breathing. And, some days you could feel like blowing up the pentagon, painting your neighbor’s house or flying to Tahiti. Remember, it’s OKAY. Just NOTICE that you are thinking or feeling and go back to your focus and breathing.
7. Avoid engaging in any of the thoughts or feelings you are experiencing! Don’t buy into anything while you are involved in your quiet time. You are providing a gracious gift to yourself and your empowerment, focus and alignment with your highest awareness is the result. You can play with thoughts, feelings and other people’s ideas and viewpoints later. This quiet time is for YOU.

*Guided Visualization

Listening to the voice of another guiding you in a mental picture while you sit quietly with your eyes closed can be an enjoyable and easy manner of engaging in quiet time. Guided mediations or visualizations can lead you in a thought process that could be to your advantage. I like visualizations for body awareness where the mental picture of one’s physical body is focused on and different parts of the body are noticed while soft music plays in the background. I call my visualizations “Body Scan”.  There are all types of guided contemplation devices including mental attention to shift one’s perspective and center on a desirable mental attitude, such as increasing abundance, becoming aware of one’s purpose, lowering blood pressure and heart rate or falling asleep easily and effortlessly, just to mention a few.

These guided mental pictures can be purely audio or can have visual components.