Being Centered Through Mindfulness

Do you find yourself becoming increasingly agitated as the United States moves closer to the 2016 Presidential Election? You’re not alone. I’m hearing from people locally, throughout the country, as well as abroad. They are feeling everything from disgust to sincere fear.

This writing is not to affect your vote for one particular candidate. It is, however, using the election, the debates and the misinformation of the media on all candidates as an example of how easily we can become hot and bothered by the opinions of others.

Being centered – meaning we are calm, confident and secure in life – is not what we are seeing around us with any regularity. That doesn’t mean we have to buy into the terror and the turmoil of the world around us. That goes for the latest office gossip, to family drama, to presidential elections and world crises. But how do we do that?

The Buddhist path has been one to lead us in the practice of mindfulness for thousands of years. And what is mindfulness? In its simplest form it’s to be aware, to be in the moment and is the diametric opposite of multi-tasking. In his book, “Mindful Living: The art of remembering to remember,” author Dennis Merritt Jones tells us:

“Mindful living is a lifestyle – it is a way of walking a sacred earth, incorporating purpose and an awareness of God’s presence in all we say, think, and do on our journey of a lifetime.”

We live in an ever-increasingly busy world. However, how busy we want to be is up to us, not the world or society. We have the ability to put down the mobile device during dinner; to choose television programs and films that are uplifting; to insure that we get our information at our pace, not on the news outlets schedule; and, to step back from the bait when those outrageous and annoying postings occur on social media.

Give yourself the gift of creating a centered life through mindfulness in everything you do. Yes, take time to smell the roses. Love yourself enough to enjoy where you are, because like it or not, this moment will never be here again.

In Spirit, Truth and Playfulness,
Terry

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