Day#1 | What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness means maintaining a Present Moment Presence – being in a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, actions, including bodily sensations, and surrounding environment, through a gentle, conscious presence.

It is a foundational and fundamental process of connecting 'The Source' while nurturing our essential ability of simply being in the present moment, not doing anything except just Being Aware & Awake of what all is happening, in and around you.

The word "retreat" comes from the Latin root meaning to "draw back." The true meaning of retreat is to withdraw, retire, or draw back, especially for shelter or seclusion; to recede: It is an act or process of withdrawing especially from what is difficult, dangerous, or disagreeable. Technically it is the process of receding from a position or state attained.

In spiritual retreats we withdraw from the periphery - "the material" world - from surface living - and enter the deeper inner realms - the centre. For most of us the inner journey is an abundant adventure that remains vastly uncharted and unexplored.

The Micro Retreat is our new format of doing it solo - a Do It Yourself (DIY) format of revisiting life.

The Mindfulness Micro Retreat is an online, virtually guided individual retreat, run over the course of 10 Days. On 11th Day we’ll go for an online Virtual Meeting and share our Experiences

How to Practice Mindfulness

Today we will LEARN about BREATHING EXERCISE. During this practice step we'll FOCUS on our breathing process, use it as a medium to ground ourselves in the PRESENT MOMENT.

AWARENESS OF BREATH

We are breathing from the day we are born. The sensations of breathing are always present with us. Now we are consciously using that sensation as a medium to help us Practice Mindfulness. It is used as a tool to help bring our FOCUS on Present Moment.

TASK#1: Start by settling into a comfortable position and allow your eyes to close or keep them open with a softened gaze. Begin by taking several long slow deep breaths breathing in fully and exhaling fully. Breathe in through your nose and out through your nose or mouth. Allow your breath to find its own natural rhythm.

Do not try to Control the flow. Be with the Flow

To become aware of our breathing just notice the sensation of air entering our nose or mouth. Also notice which side of nose it is entering. No need to control it or regulate it. Just observe (feeling) the process of air entering our body and air being exhaled, back into the atmosphere.

Also notice the rise and fall of your belly or chest. Though we should inhale air into belly, but at this point if time, our focus is only on our breath.....

Also listen the sound it produces with each inhalation and exhalation.

So now we are being in awareness of its flow, sensations and sound energy produced during the process.

Let’s DO IT NOW | Take a PAUSE from reading and Practice it now.

BE MINDFUL | Keep your Attention & Awareness on Breathing Process

Mindfulness is a moment-by-moment awareness of our physical (body sensations), mental (thoughts), and emotional (feelings) experiences. It also involves non-judgment, meaning that we pay attention to our thoughts and feelings without believing that there is a “right” or “wrong” way to think or feel in a given moment.

Indian Saints, Buddhist Monks, Philosophers and Researchers + Subject Experts technically defines mindfulness as “paying attention; on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally.” This definition highlights the three specific ways we treat our attention and shifts gears when we are practicing to be mindful:

On Purpose : a consciously choosing direction of our attention
In the Present Moment : bringing attention to the Here & Now
Being Non-Judgmental: paying attention to our experiences without judging or labeling them, just notice - simple observations

Important Point:

1. Reading is not enough. Plan and Practice it.

2. It is normal that we'll lose the focus when our mind will wander. Simply bring your attention back into the moment by refocusing on your breathing, again and again.

For beginners – Start this Practice for 1 minute and slowly add 30 seconds when you are able to maintain your focus for complete 1 minute, without any break or distraction.

Keep adding chunk of 30 seconds on every successful completion till you reach a level of undivided attention for 10 minutes.

3. Write down your Reflections / your observations for clarity.

4. If you can achieve this First Step successfully, you can do anything in life, if you divide that task into simple, smaller steps. Celebrate the Success. Share it with others.
   

Share Excellence Tips

Thanks for your time and energy.
Be Happy & Abundant Always | Enjoy your day

Gopi Krishan Bali :)