Practicing mindfulness should be an absolutely crucial part of all our lives.
We live in such a busy world of constant activity, both on-line and off-line. We are bombarded by messages, images, opinions, news alerts, etc. all day long.
It can be utterly overwhelming, and at times, a real energy suck.
I believe that constant distractions do not help us to stay aligned with our true desires, and can contribute to lowering our energetic frequency if we are not careful.

The problem is that it’s so easy for us to be distracted.
Of course, the internet has its benefits and conveniences, but it does also mean that we do not need to ever experience just being still anymore.
We can avoid boredom at any moment by taking out our phones and scrolling. Any feeling of restlessness can be a trigger for getting online and keeping busy. The extreme end of this is that most of us (as research shows) reach for our phones first thing in the morning and last thing at night. They have truly become an extension of ourselves.

It’s becoming increasingly challenging to switch off when being plugged in is such a normal part of life, and the anxiety that arises from this is significant.

I often have days where I feel I need to take a breather from the Internet for a while and try to schedule the occasional ‘offline’ weekend for myself. Of course, the Internet is also a wonderful tool and many of us rely on it and need to be plugged in for work and staying connected, particularly with the pandemic.

If it’s not possible for you to take yourself temporarily off-line, the best alternative is to ensure you have regular breaks for mindfulness practices.

Mindfulness provides us with the chance to reconnect with our bodies, emotions and sensations. It is a tool to allow us to drop into the present moment and start changing the way we experience that moment, and in turn, our entire life.

When we practice mindfulness we wake up to all the sounds, sights, smells, and tastes of each perfect, present moment of our lives. Making mindfulness part of our lives can make huge, positive changes in the way we see ourselves and in the way we live our lives.

Benefits of Mindfulness

Research shows that mindfulness reduces anxiety, unwinds the harmful effects of our stress response, and activates parts of the brain that are related to feelings of happiness and wellbeing.

In my personal experience, mindfulness can be the difference between a good day and a bad day. It can literally stop me from having an intensely negative reaction to something or someone. Over time, it has helped me be calmer, wiser, and more in tune with my higher self and, ultimately, my ability to attract more abundance.

If you have been experiencing anxiety, that emotion is not to be ignored. It’s your body’s way of telling you that it feels overwhelmed by stress. The best way to deal with it is to recognize it, and then transmute it by focusing on the present moment.

I’m going to share some of the ways that I use to channel my own anxiety and become more mindful each day.

I Am Presence

A short meditation that I do every morning upon waking is simply checking in with myself for a few moments and feeling the essence of who I am beneath my name, gender, and role in life. I simply feel a sense of my soul, eternal, always there. It really helps me to go out into my day with positivity, and a sense of sovereignty.

Drop into the Moment

It’s best to do this any time you remember, not only during difficult moments. That way, you build up a practice of doing it. Just stop whatever you are doing or thinking about to notice what you smell, taste, see and feel in that moment. There’s nothing like doing this to bring you instantly to a place of stillness, and if not total peace, at least a sense of awareness and increased focus.

Check your Thoughts

Just become aware of your habits of thought. Mindfulness is not about making thoughts disappear, but rather about not letting them control you. You can become aware that they are there, and label them for what they are.

So if you are panicking about a future event, you can simply say ‘Oh, that’s anxiety.’ Or if you are ruminating on a past experience that upset you, you can identify it and say, ‘Okay that’s anger’ or ‘that’s sadness.’

When you repeat this often enough, you start to understand how thoughts and emotions are fleeting things, and they do not have to define you and your true self. In fact, this practice really highlights where we spend time focusing our attention on the past or the future, and not really living in the moment.

Mindfulness Helps you Manifest

It truly does. When you are calmer, and more tuned in to the present, you are far more likely to manifest your desires. Why? Because your attention is pure. You are not caught up in worry and you are not directing your thoughts to things that mess up your vibration.

If you can regularly check-in with the present moment, you will feel more confident and more capable of directing your life the way you want to be. There is a certain surrender in practicing mindfulness. It requires you to be comfortable with just being for a few moments. It forces you to stop doing, hustling and scrolling. It brings you back to your true self.

I hope that you can gain some perspective and increase the positivity in your life with these tips. They will help you to prioritize your mental wellbeing and increase your sense of self.