Generating Happiness with Mindfulness Practices
Mindfulness is the act of being intensely aware of what you're sensing and feeling at every moment — without interpretation or judgment.
Let’s go further. Mindfulness is the ability to direct your attention and notice what is happening in the present moment… It is knowing the difference between what you are saying to yourself that is creating a reaction and what you are observing in the moment. Interpretation, or making meaning generates emotion. The act of being aware does not.
The Mayo Clinic says that practicing mindfulness has many benefits including these:
- Reduced stress, anxiety and depression
- Less negative thinking and distraction
- Improved mood
Too often in our hectic and busy lives, we don’t notice, or even take the time to notice, what we’re feeling both in ourselves and from others. We do not actively practice mindfulness and even when we want to most of us are not sure where to start.
Here are a few mindfulness exercises that will help you engage your senses and sense what you’re feeling. Try them out over the next few weeks, and notice how you feel. Are you more aware of yourself and others?
Mindfulness Exercises
Mind/Body Awareness
We aren’t usually aware of the impact our self-talk is making. Self-talk is the cause of both joyous and painful emotions such as frustration and discouragement. Science shows that thoughts and emotions also impact physical health. We know that stress can lead to high blood pressure or a stomach ulcer.
It may seem counter-intuitive, especially when you’re in a funk, but I think the most important mindfulness exercise a person can do is to practice being aware of your thoughts and feelings both emotionally and physically.
Ask yourself, “What am I saying to myself?”
Practice unconditional love. So often we don’t realize how unkind we are to ourselves. Are you making yourself wrong for anything you’re saying or feeling? There’s something magical about “allowing”—even more so when you couple it with loving.
Without awareness and mindfulness, you allow the preprogramming of the subconscious to run your reactions and, thus, your life.
Habituate Loving Thoughts
Other common mindfulness practices like meditation help to quiet the mind and increase awareness.
In Chapter 5 of the book we cover unconditional love, take a moment to think about this...
How about allowing yourself to appreciate who you are? What would it look like to love your true self unconditionally? Here’s a hint: it looks like authentic happiness. This is allowing the power of you to come out.
Loving-kindness meditation (sometimes called “metta” meditation) is a great way to habituate loving thought. It involves mentally receiving and sending goodwill and kindness.
This article provides instruction, a script, and audio of a guided meditation from Dr Emma Seppala, Science Director of Stanford University’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education.
https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/loving_kindness_meditation
Listen to your body
Sit in silence in a comfortable position somewhere you won’t be disturbed. Now close your eyes and simply observe. Do you have discomfort in a part of your body? Do you see any shapes or colors? Do you feel anything on your skin?
Next, focus on your breathing and where your breath goes normally. Can you feel your chest expand? Does your breath go deep? Do you feel your breath in your abdomen? What do you feel in other parts of your body?
Now as you continue focusing on your breathing open your hands with your palms facing upward for a minute. Do you feel anything different in your body?
Scan your body
Sit or lie down in a comfortable position, and focus your attention on your body.
Now gradually move your awareness through your entire body piece by piece.
Start by experiencing sensation in the tips of your left toes, foot, leg, and hip, sense the tips of your right toes, foot, leg and hip, and sense both legs simultaneously.
Continue slowly moving up your body and sense your sacrum, your pelvis, and your torso.
Focus your attention on your left arm, left palm, and to the tips of your fingers, then focus on your right arm, right palm, and to the tips of your fingers. Then focus on both arms and hands together.
Move your awareness to your neck, jaw, mouth, ears, nose, and eyes continuing up your body until you reach the crown of your head.
Sense your entire body as a whole field of radiant sensation.
This exercise takes a strong level of discipline to practice. The most important thing to remember is to move slowly and take the time to notice each part of your body. It can help to tighten or move one particular body part as you move your attention.
*Credit for this exercise goes to Yoga Nidra which is a full guided practice where the body is completely relaxed, and the practitioner becomes systematically aware by following a set of verbal instructions. Read this article in Yoga Journal to learn the full ten steps of the Yoga Nidra guided meditation.
Sensory Mindfulness
Observe your surroundings by focusing on one physical sense at a time; look, listen, feel, smell & taste.
Look at the detail around taking note of things you’ve never noticed before. Then close your eyes and focus on what's happening around you via your other senses.
Focus on your ears and listen to what’s around you. What do you hear?
Now focus on your skin and the sensation of touch. What do you feel on your skin? Move your hands slowly. Can you feel anything in your palms?
Next focus your attention on your nose and the scents surrounding you. What can you smell?
Finally, focus on your tongue and your taste buds. Do you have a specific taste in your mouth?
Open your eyes and take note of your surroundings. Does anything look different? Are you more aware of how your body feels and reacts to your surroundings?
Just the Beginning
These exercises are just the starting points for practicing mindfulness. Try to bring mindfulness to your thoughts every day, by asking questions about how you’re living your life. What are you saying to yourself? Do you think more in images or experience more talking?
I’ve also found that adding some type of physical movement to mindfulness practices aids in your productivity. Try using these exercises along with a Yoga practice.
To learn more about mindfulness check out my book Generating Your Own Happiness: It's Time for Purpose, Passion, and Power which you can order through our Book page. You can also download the Mental Renovation Worksheet in our resources for more help with changing how your conscious mind thinks.
Let’s Play!
For the next 5 days in a row, agree with yourself to wake up 10 minutes earlier than normal and practice mindfulness.
- Let go of all thoughts
- Take a deep breath in your nose and release the breath out your nose releasing any negative energy you notice
- Scan your body and see what it has to tell you
- Be mindful
- Be loving
- Step into your day clear and ready to embrace the moment