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- Intro to Mindfulness
Intro to Mindfulness
Monday Musings - Mindfulness 101
Musing
Mindfulness has become a buzzword in the past couple of years, between"Mindfulness Retreats," yoga, the psychedelic revolution, the self-care industry, the word mindfulness has started to become an add-on to any product created by some Californian "spiritual guru" who goes to Equinox, makes smoothies from fruits you can't even pronounce, and is now "enlightened." But let’s dive into what mindfulness really means.
Mindfulness is a practice that involves being aware of one's thoughts, emotions, and surroundings without judgment or attachment. It has its roots in Buddhism, but now has been integrated into many therapeutic and self-development spaces. A scenario which would require mindfulness, or awareness without judgement, is when dealing with our shortcomings.
Imagine you stood up all night studying just to receive a shitty test score. Here’s a mindful approach:
1: Recognize and be aware of the shortcoming.
Take responsibility for the poor grade. Ask your professor if there’s any technique or method to help you study better next time - thus showing your dedication and initiative to do better. This proactive action displays you’re willing to ask for help after realizing your limits, thus displaying self-awareness of your own abilities. Now, the awareness part of the mindfulness is a little easier than this next part.
2: Don’t beat yourself up, stop the endless judging.
It’s easy to feel inadequate in this position. Easy to feel that you will never amount to anything and you’re a failure inside. That’s the doom spiral, and here’s the self talk that can stop it, “Okay, wait, I'm not going to fall down this loop of pity, self-doubt, and sorrow. These thoughts of inadequacy and failure are just one moment in time. And in fact, they are not indicative of everything I am as a human being."
Mindfulness is about creating a little bit of space between you and your thoughts, realizing that you don’t have to accept EVERY negative thought which pops into your mind. We take responsibility and acknowledge that our past self made mistakes or did not perform up to standards; however, we do not hold our present and future selves to that same label, degree, or standard. Instead of saying WHO I WAS is WHO I WILL ALWAYS BE, mindfulness gives us the key to say "No!" To realize that our past self is in the past and that who we want to be now is up to us.
We’ll dive into HOW TO CULTIVATE Mindfulness next week :)
Media
🎙️Pod of the Week -
This is one of my favorite episodes by Chris Williamson. Whether you’ve been listening to him for years or this is the first time hearing of him, you’ll enjoy this episode packed with interesting anecdotes, lessons, and ideas he’s gleaned over years of interviews and research. You can find his podcasts on Spotify, Apple, and whatever else you use, but I just linked his website above.
🎵 Songs on Repeat -
I’ve been listening to a lot of Japanese Jazz Fusion recently. Odd genre, but trust me, it’s heaven to your ears. If you’re a fan of funk, blues, jazz, or any other similar genres, you’ll find Casiopea quite an interesting band. And even if that’s not your cup of tea, try it out :).
📺 What I’ve been Watching -
Being on prep for a bodybuilding show requires a lot of cardio. And to make it go by quicker, I’ve been watching a show that I’m definitely a few months late to, but nonetheless, it’s really fucking good. Physical 100 is a Korean game show in which the 100 most fit Korean athletes(olympic-level gymnasts, mountain rescue, bodybuilders, strongmen, martial artists, MMA fighters, etc) compete against each other in challenges. Seeing 100 jacked people throw each other across dirt arenas(yeah) is definitely inspiring and entertaining as I’m sweating beads on a college-gym treadmill. Basically u should check it out, it’s on Netflix.
Thank you for reading - ur the best.
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