Lets Talk Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a term that has become commonplace in our culture. Mindful walking, mindful eating, mindful breathing are practices that we hear about all the time. These all refer to being present and aware of the actions we do. But let’s consider a different aspect of mindfulness: mindfulness of body, mindfulness of speech, and mindfulness of mind.

To be fully present we must be fully in our human bodies. Mindfulness of body is noticing our physical sensations, from the touch of our clothing to noticing the emotional states that course through our bodies moment to moment. Mindfulness of speech and mindfulness of mind are noticing how we respond to these bodily sensations. Do you hide from your emotions by harsh speech, too much speech, or shutting down with no speech? Do you run from your emotions by eating, drinking, social media, or loads of activity? If our speech is directed inward and harsh, do we recognize the plethora of thinking we generate to fix or change what our experience is?

This is an invitation to be present with what we feel, noticing what we do, and being mindful of what drives what we do and what we think. Please do this with love and compassion for self. As one of my dearest teachers always says, “Awareness is everything! Just bringing awareness to what we find within ourselves begins to change what we find there.”

Renée Pitts; MSEd, LPCC-S, CDCA