7 Lessons from Practicing Mindfulness

Being mindful…isn’t that hard.

Building a mindfulness practice requires just a few minutes today. Thanks to technology, developing a mindfulness practice is easier than ever. Long gone are the days of having to travel to ashrams or pay exorbitant amounts of money to guru teachers. These are still options, but a smart phone is just as handy. Mindfulness is nonjudgmental and noncompetitive. Simply learning to notice takes little actions.

Being mindful….isn’t the same as zen.

Zen meditation is a discipline in emptying the mind. Mindfulness is about filling the mind with focus, rather than noise. Mindfulness creates a holistic concentration that may feel like emptiness but is quite the opposite.

Being mindful…shows you how busy your mind really is.

Starting a mindfulness practice is going to reveal the chaos your mind experiences everyday. As you learn to breathe and focus on the breath, you’ll realize how many thoughts you have every second. Mindfulness is about acknowledging those thoughts without criticism and just letting them pass.

Being mindful…guides you in your own thoughts.

As you learn to notice your thoughts, accept them, and let them go, you notice what it is you are thinking about. You might notice you really think about one thing in particular a lot. Practicing loving kindness and compassion toward the self unearths the deeper meaning beneath these thoughts.

Being mindful…puts everything in it’s right place.

Examining your thoughts one thought at a time is like sorting laundry. Organizing without giving too much energy, you recognize what thoughts take priority. You recognize where your energy really gets spent. Without judgment, you can choose to put that energy elsewhere.

Being mindful…helps you stay calm.

Mindfulness based stress reduction is a proven technique for treating depression, anxiety, addiction and PTSD. Taking just thirty seconds to breath can slow your heart rate which quiets your mind. Scientific research reveals that mindfulness practices change your neurochemistry.

Being mindful…can be a trip.

When we quiet the mind we open ourselves up to experiencing our other senses more fully. Some people witness beautiful visualizations when they practice mindfulness. Others hear sounds they’ve never noticed before. Many people who practice mindfulness regularly exclaim, “who needs drugs!”

Enlightened Solutions encourages the development of mindfulness practices as part of a recovery program. We utilize MBSR in treatment along with meditation and yoga. Our program is based in holistic healing modalities to treat the mind, body, and spirit as one.

For more information on our treatment programs for drug and alcohol addiction please call 833-801-5483.