Tag: #mindful practices

Things That Cultivate Peace In Life

by Ana-Alicia

It is a stressful world out there, so it is important to find ways to bring peace into your life. Instead of increasing negative energy into your aura. Put that energy into cultivating positive energy. I will list a couple of things that have been helpful for me.

1.Let Go-This is a big one. Learning you cannot control others, or life situations is important for your peace of mind. Getting angry at how others behave won’t help you. Everyone does not think or act the same way, it is how it is. Move on and let go. It serves you no purpose to dwell on it.

2.Listen to calming music-There are plenty of Youtube videos on calming the mind, releasing negative energy, reducing anxiety etc,. The music can help put your mind at ease.

3.Journaling– One of my favorite things to do.It is nice to let your thoughts out. Venting can be therapeutic, but there isn’t always someone there to listen, so letting it out on paper can be helpful. It helps me bring peace to the situation. It also allows me to work through whatever struggles I have.

4.Do a hobby you enjoy-Immersing yourself in something you enjoy, and living in the moment. Allows one to forget the harsh realities of the world, or our struggles. You can just focus on the thing you enjoy. I get this sense when I do plant care, read, or color. I just live in the moment. Not focused on the time at all, or anything else really.

5.Go out in nature– I am sure this is mentioned a lot, but there is a reason for it. It is very refreshing and rejuvenating to be outdoors in nature. I have a sense of peace and energy after a walk outside.

6.Perspective taking- Learning to see things from another person’s perspective can help you live in peace. Your thoughts, ideals, values, or behaviors are different from most others. When you learn to understand others. You let go of judgment and criticism. 

7. Deal with emotions-Allowing your emotions to be, rather than pushing them away, or fighting it can be helpful for your well being. Emotions are part of being human. Accept it for what it is, allow it to be, and it will eventually fade. Adding thoughts and storylines to the narrative will make it worse. You feel lonely, sad, angry, stressed, annoyed etc,. Feel it, let it be, move on. Peace will ensue. 

8.Staying away from SNS– I just recently deleted Twitter. This has been wonderful for my peace of mind. I no longer have much need for validation, or have information overload. It allows me to just focus on myself and my thoughts.

You won’t be at peace 100 percent of the time, because that is unrealistic. These things help me be more at peace in general, not all the time. As long as you’re more at peace. That is what matters. Trying to bring more peace into your life is what matters. Just remember there will always be disturbances, it is how one grows and learns. It is part of our life journey.

Cycles

by Ana-Alicia

I continuously cycle from filling my days with distractions to being more mindful and spiritual. I recognize my obsessive patterns. The great thing about being aware is noticing these bad habits, after awhile.

Being on Twitter constantly does nothing for me, or watching random YouTube videos. Although it is fun to be distracted once in awhile. It is important to get back to yourself. Reminding myself if it doesn’t serve me, than it isn’t something I need. I am starting to focus the energy back on my self, rather than be entertained by others.

I will always cycle back and forth. Distractions, to mindfulness, to spirituality. I will say, I am always in a better place when I am more mindful and spiritual. I cling to obsessive patterns, but I learn to acknowledge them, and come back to reality.

Dive into Stillness

by Ana-Alicia

My days have been filled with distractions. Creativity and ideas has been blocked. Space and stillness is needed for new ideas to form. It is hard to sit still. Our ego wants to be entertained at all times, but we need to reduce the ego’s power. Get back to a place of peace, ideas and creativity. Ovrrstimulation does nothing for us.

Being Awake

by Ana-Alicia

I really liked this passage in my Mindful Journal. I distanced myself from mindful practices for a bit, but I am starting to tune myself back to the moment more.

I never thought of being mindless or distracted as ‘being asleep.’ But I can see it. Being present is truly being awake. You awaken your senses, your mind, your creativity, your inner peace and more.

I would like you all to read this passage, and answer the questions for yourself. This can make you more aware of your own mindful practices, and what can keep you in tuned with it. Let’s bring us back to being awakened and alive.

Slow Down

by Ana-Alicia

This is a practice I need to remind myself, during work. Rushing reduces quality, and it also burns us out quicker. The work always gets done. Just pace yourself. You are only one person, just do what you can. It is important to have these reminders to calm ourselves down, and practice the art of slowing down.

We live in a rush society that can quickly burn us out. As I have heard, we all can be replaced, so try not to overwork yourself when you can, not easy, but can be done. Remind yourself that your health comes first, so slow down, take breaks when you can. Lets hope I practice this today, and you all as well.

Sharpen the Saw

by Ana-Alicia

I was reading the book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. There is a chapter about sharpening the saw, and it really resonated with me. I found this concept to be similar to mindful time. The story behind this is that there was a competition between a younger and older lumberjack to see who can cut down the most trees. The younger one continued to cut the trees without breaks, while the older one took breaks throughout the day. The older lumberjack ended up winning, despite being older, weaker, and less energetic. The reason is because he took breaks to sharpen his saw. A sharp saw will win over a dull one anytime.

This story and concept show how important it is to take breaks to sharpen the saw, meaning to gain clarity. Constant working leads to exhaustion and cloudiness of the mind. You will be much more effective when you give yourself space. I have to say my best ideas comes from taking time to breathe and be mindful. When I am journaling, taking walks, reading, watching inspirational vloggers, or on vacations. It is important to be present, and in the moment, so that your mind can breathe and gain insight. Our minds need breaks. The mind won’t work well with continuous work and overload. You may think it is a good idea to keep going, but doing that just weakens your clarity and creativity.

I am staying indoors today, due to another snow storm, thankfully not as bad as the last one, but I wanted to be productive and mindful today. This is where this idea came from. I didn’t want to waste my only day off for the next 10 days on distractions only. This is where mindful practices come in handy. I did some reading, some yoga, some writing as you can see. I even found going outside to clean my car therapeutic. Most may see it as a chore or annoying, and I do majority of the time as well, but today I didn’t mind going out. I put some music on, and cleaned the snow off, it was kind of nice. The snow is really fluffy, so it came off easy, and it gave me a nice workout. It was nice to just do something, rather than just sitting inside.

I know this topic has become a recurring theme of my posts, but that just means how important this concept is, and how it never gets old to be reminded of it. Breaks are really important, sharpen the mind, like you sharpen the saw. This can only come from giving yourself the space to think and relax. To be in the moment and enjoy life as it is. Work will always be there, but the moment will not.

My Week off the Grid(Mostly)

by Ana-Alicia

I just wanted to write about my experience of less online distractions. I didn’t plan on not going on social media as much this week. It just happened. I believe I spent a total of 2 hours on SNS. On Monday I was feeling somber, unmotivated, uninspired, and mood was low. I honestly did not want any distractions from the online world. I just wanted to be in my own world. I did some journaling, some reflecting, some yoga, some sudoku, just mindful stuff. I spent the whole day offline, and I really enjoyed. I just felt being online would just bring me down more, and I wanted to immerse in my feelings to get an understanding of it. I didn’t want to distract myself with outside information and thoughts. I wanted to work though my own thoughts. It worked.

I felt much better on Tuesday, but I also wasn’t in the mood to go back online. I enjoyed my time away, and didn’t want to go back, so I used that time to plan a trip to Ocean City. I booked my hotel, and will be going in late September. That just put me in a better mood. I always wanted to have an ocean view and just listen to the sounds of the waves. I wanted to experience something exciting, since I wasn’t able to experience much this year, due to COVID. I was now in a better mood.

Now Wednesday and Thursday I scrolled a bit to catch up, but loss interest quickly. I did watch a couple of videos on Youtube, but did not engage in any comments. Now Friday I took the day off, since I wasn’t scrolling as much. I used that time to continue writing my book. I hit a wall about a week ago, but found inspiration again.

It is now Saturday, I just finished my walk, and I still have no urge to scroll. I have found much inspiration, during this week. I have used my time much more wisely, and used it to be productive. I end the week feeling motivated, inspired, excited and content. I written a draft for my next blog post, and I also decided to write this post.

I have also meditated more than I have had in awhile. It has been nice. Also, I tend to get a bit too attached to these idols I follow, and this time apart from SNS, especially Twitter has removed that attachment. I also don’t have the urge to post my experiences as much either. I usually post some pictures of my walks in nature, but did not think about doing that at all today, during my walk. I just wanted to experience the moment, and did not care to let others know what I was up to. This time off the grid has brought much peace to my inner being. It has inspired me. It has allowed me to just focus on me, and I really needed that in the beginning of the week. I come out at the end of this week feeling rejuvenated, content, at peace, relaxed and happy.

I hope whenever you are feeling sad, uninspired, somber etc,. You also take the time to be mindful and focus on yourself. You might be surprised what that time can do for your well-being.