"Life is a dance. Mindfulness is witnessing that dance." Amit Ray
"You cannot stop the waves, but you can learn to surf." Jon Kabat-Zinn
thank you:
Mindfulness techniques are wise choices that lead to wise choices. Mindfulness techniques
tend to promote groundedness, presence, & wellness. That makes the techniques wise in-and-of themselves. When we're grounded, present, & well, we tend to choose more wisely. That's how mindfulness techniques lead to wise choices.
Think about recurring choices you make. What to eat. How to reply to a loved one. How to spend a stretch of free time. We tend to make wiser choices when we're balanced & feeling good. We see the bigger picture. We balance competing priorities. We choose more from the heart than from habit or reflex.
Mindfulness techniques help us feel balanced & well. They set us up for wise decisionmaking by putting us into a healthier state. They help us feel better, they help us feel more like our true selves. They help us reconnect to a richer, deeper sense of who we are. It's a better way to be. And it's a better foundation for good decisionmaking.
I offer a variety of mindfulness techniques on this website. You can find many more through a brief internet search.
Find a few that resonate with you. Memorize them. Keep them in your pocket. The next time you're feeling outta sorts, try one. Notice how you're feeling before, during, & after. Notice how the technique affects your thoughts, emotions, & mood. Notice how it affects your decisionmaking. Give yourself real-time feedback so you can gradually refine your methods.
Watch for compulsiveness. Especially if a technique is working, we naturally become tempted to do it again-and-again, like a kid riding and re-riding a favorite roller coaster. In my experience, this cancels out the benefit, and even becomes counterproductive. Because now we're not doing the technique mindfully. We're doing it on autopilot, with a sense of necessity. Keep the methods fresh. Use them only so often. Each time you use them, do so in the spirit of choice. This will help you get the most out of the techniques, & it'll prevent them from becoming compulsive & draining.
Strengthen your mindfulness techniques through mindfulness practices like meditation, Using mindfulness techniques are like playing a sport; mindfulness practices are like fitness training. Each benefits the other, and they're better off together than apart. Mindfulness practices like meditation help us connect deeply & intricately with our space of inner stillness, the source of grounded presence & wise decisionmaking. Mindfulness techniques help us re-touch this source throughout our busy & unpredictable days. Meditation is a long, refreshing plunge in a clear mountain lake. Mindfulness technique are vials of water we sip for refreshment back in town. To get the most out of each, do them both. Notice how practicing one affects the other. Gradually, discover combinations that work well for you. And periodically rotate in new techniques & practices to keep your methods fresh. See what happens.