I have never been able to sustain a daily straightforward meditation practice, and if I am going to be honest, I have not always enjoyed sitting silently in the lotus position. But just like everybody else, it’s all too easy to get swept away by anxious thoughts about the past or the future. Mindfulness, as you know, is about being FULLY present in the here and now without judgement. This state of being frees us from suffering and allows us to make the most of our present and create a more positive tomorrow.
Meditation does not need to be done in stillness, but should embody loving kindness and compassionate awareness; it is any action which quiets the mind and allows for the flow of awareness to the presence of the present moment.
Art practice has always increased my mindfulness, and for many of my clients a major benefit of our art therapy work together is an increased ability to be mindful, present in their lives, more able to operate from a place of reality based calmness rather than from a place of anxiety and fear about the past or future. Art making is method of increasing a person’s ability become more present, and as a result, to increase their ability to regulate their emotions, but there are so many ways we can increase our mindfulness throughout the day.
For me, in recent years, one of the ways has been cooking. I used to look at cooking as a means to an end, dreaded all of the prep time and especially the cleaning afterwards. But when I slowed down and my perception shifted, I became more able to interact on a different level with the beautiful, colorful ingredients in front of me, the variety of interesting aromas, and even the loads of dirty pots and pans afterwards. Choosing the ingredients, washing them, cutting them, cooking them, presentation, and, SOMETIMES cleaning up is truly a relaxing and pleasurable experience.
For me, cooking, along with art, are some of the ways that I regularly integrate mindfulness into my daily life. For others, it could be gardening, a walking meditation, playing an instrument, or even housecleaning, just to name a few.