10 Unusual Places To Master Mindfulness

Focus and attention are at the heart of learning mindfulness and washing dishes is a perfect opportunity to practice becoming more mindful while doing something that seems mindless.

When washing dishes mindfully remember to breathe and focus on what you are doing. Watch as you rotate a soppy sponge around the face of the dishes, pots and pans and watch the water come crashing down upon each item as you rinse them.

If thoughts occur (they will) refocus on what's in the sink and what your hands are doing, no need to label your thought good or bad just gently being your attention back to the washing of the dishes and repeat.

Becoming mindful of your actions and surroundings is something we all do when we get into a car, we could be driving or maybe we're a passenger, but once in a car we tune our minds and senses to what's going on. Mindfulness practice while in a car takes our focus and awareness up a couple of notches and makes the ride more purposeful.

Leave your radio in the off position and maybe turn off your cellphone for the duration of your trip. Focus on your actions of steering, braking and of course all the cars around you. Ask yourself, isn't this a magical moment where I'm speeding down the road to a new place relative to where I just was. Remember to Breathe.

Being outside and especially being outside and aware of nature is not only magical and refreshing it's the perfect setting to practice mindfulness. The tress, bushes, flowers and of course the wild life darting in and out of their hiding places.

Breathe deeply and walk with a deep mindfulness of focus being aware of not only what's right in front of you but also being aware of your body movements. Your thoughts will stream in and out of your conscious awareness like leafs floating on top of a stream, allow them to move freely without commenting on them to yourself. Let your thought flow while you awareness becomes part of the nature around you.

Journal Writing can be a hugely enjoyable and productive mindfulness practice one you get the hang of it. What's the secret? The secret to successful journal writing is to write everyday rain or shine. Set a goal of say 10 minutes each day and start writing. In the beginning you may find yourself blocked, write about that. Write about the weather, what you had for dinner last night, the people who walked by your window, what you write about will in time become easier and clearer but in the beginning just write and don't stop for the full time you've set.

I'm serious about writing about anything, the focused writing is the practice and given some time your imagination and mind will catch up with your hand. Oh, I forgot to mention write in a notebook with a pen or pencil not on a tablet, computer or a cellphone. The connection is developed much stronger by having a physical connection to what you write.. And lastly, don't erase and rewrite because your grammar sucks or something is misspelled.

The journals are only for you to see. I hope you'll keep them for a while and thumb through them in months down the road, if you must destroy them try waiting a week and if you still must make a small ceremony out of it such as a small fire (Outdoor of course) Bring your awareness to this part of your mindfulness practice as well.

Waiting, now there's a word that we are all familiar with. Right? You'd almost think that in this the 2st century with daily introductions of new technology it would be a word long ago erased from the dictionary. but surprise, it seems that waiting is popping up more and more each day.

We can use the overwhelming nature of waiting to expand and enhance our mindfulness practice, it's almost like they are made for each other? Don't you think?

Waiting ina ticket line, sitting at the doctors office or maybe waiting for that fresh cup of coffee in the early morning, you're waiting. You can transform that time out of frustration and into a mindfulness practice. Think about it.

For centuries people have flocked to gardening as a way to get some relaxation time in their lives, but using it s an active mindfulness practice has been rare. Think about all the opportunity to focus and give your attention to the intricacies of gardening, Watch each movement as you move dirt, plants and tools to great your work of art. And remember to breathe.

I use to ride my road bike for hours at a time and one of the best ways I found to be mindful was to be aware of how I was pedaling. I'd make sure my feet were level with the ground at all times and each time one foot reached the bottom the pedal motion I'd lift with that foot as it came back up and I'd continue to mindfully repeat. What I was doing was using my pedal motion instead of watching my breath as in traditional meditation. It also made me a better rider as well, so lots gravy while riding.

If there is one activity that's bound to send a cascase of thoughts directly at you it's gotta be looking in the mirror, conversely it's the perfect challenge to test your mindfulness practice.

When first looking in the mirror try talking to yourself out loud, try responding to your stream of thoughts with nonjudgmental states. Your statements will help ease you into a probing look at your construct of self. Ask, is that me I see in the mirror? Or ask, who is that I see in the mirror? Have some fun while you keep trying to dig deeper into your thought stream. Once you've done the talking practice for a while bring your focus to your breath while you watch the image in the mirror.

Hiking lends itself to a spiritual level of mindfulness and I don't say that lightly. For me climbing a steep hill or mountain deep within the forest is a wonderful communication that can't be put into words, But the experience becomes transcendent when I become attentive to my journeys current reality, it's magical, spiritual and transcendent all rolled up in a breath.

The key to this idea is merging of mindfulness practice with active change. As part of your mindfulness practice change and rearrange things in your life frequently. Move furniture, pictures on the walls and the routes you walk on a regular basis. The simple act of mindfully doing things different is a great practice that will deepen your mindfulness. Embracing active change is embracing impeccability in your life.