Keep your mindfulness intact with these 5 short and simple activities.
Human brains have been evolving since they were used the very first time. Not just humans, every animal out there has had their brains update their versions from the time of their creation. But our brain is the one that has evolved the fastest. The rate of evolution has seen a very high increase in recent times, especially after the coming of the Internet.
The expansion of the virtual world has been highly exponential in the last couple of decades and this has made us forget how to enjoy the little things that actually exist near us.
With constant exposure to a lot of information, our minds are way ahead of our actions these days.
While doing one task, we already start thinking about the next one making us lose the grip of anything that may be happening in our surroundings.
The more you let your mind do this, the more it would miss out on helping you perform the numerous other beautiful things that are very much essential for your sanity.
As a result of this detachment, a big majority of us suffer from depression mainly formed due to mental fatigue.
You can recapture this grip on your mind with some short activities that can be practiced easily within a very few minutes.
Trust me, doing this more than once in a while can make you feel physically and mentally a lot more alive than you do right now.
Before you start, I would recommend you to be in a comfortable resting position. This could be sitting on a couch, standing by your balcony with a cup of tea, or even lying on a cozy surface. Basically, anything that is comfortable for you.
Once you have decided on the place, as people do in most mind-related activities, take in a few deep breaths.
You should breathe in deep with your nose and breathe out with your mouth. Very slowly and with minimal strain.
Do the deep breaths with the awareness of the air movement.
Each breath, in… and out.
Now you are ready for the five tasks.
While you continue your slow deep breathing, make yourself aware of:
1. Five things you can see around you.
Any five things. For example,
- the chair in the corner of your room,
- the cup of coffee on the table
- the table it is kept on, your bed and the pillow on it.
Any five different objects in your surroundings. Give your eyes time to have a good look at them. Let your mind acknowledge the existence of these things.
2. Four things you can feel.
While you continue doing your long breathing, bring your mind to focus on any four things you can feel. For example,
- the brushing of the wind on your hair,
- the sunlight falling on your body,
- the feel of your clothes on you,
- the feel of your hair on your head, or the table you have kept your hands on.
3. Three things you can hear.
Some of the examples for these would be
- the ticking of the clock,
- the sound of people talking on the streets,
- the birds chirping on the trees.
If you do not immediately hear one, wait for a while as your concentration keeps sharpening itself. You will catch some sounds. Remember to keep the deep breaths going as you do so.
4. Two things you can smell.
The sense of smell is much underrated even though pleasant scents are massive mood boosters.
Take in the smell of your coffee or the scent of your garden or the smell of the season carried around by the breeze outside.
If you don’t get a smell at where you are, go pick up your bottle of perfume or a piece of chocolate.
Let the scent in calmly as you move towards the last task.
5. One emotion that you can feel.
If you have done the fourth task, your mind is ready to produce a beautiful positive feeling for you. This will mostly be induced from memories that might have come up during the previous tasks.
A feeling of happiness.
A feeling of gratefulness.
A feeling of pride.
A feeling of hope…
Let this feeling fill inside you. Let your mind produce gratitude for what you were able to do in the last few minutes, then slowly let it grow into gratitude for all that you have done in your life.
You are now a happier person.
You are now more mindful of the things around you.
You are now more alive than you thought you were.
Now go ahead and practice often. The number of beautiful things that you are capable of experiencing, yet missing out on are measureless. So don’t miss out on the little things
All the best!
References:
https://thedepressionproject.com/
