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Dear students of The Mindful Path, Last night we officially kicked off your journey with our introduction to mindfulness session. Each week, we will be sending out a brief email to recap the class and remind you about your weekly actions. In Session 1, we went over some housekeeping for the program and introduced mindfulness as the practice of paying attention to your feelings and how your mind and body experience them in the present moment. It’s the antidote to autopilot, and a gift that’s always available to us, right now. We also spoke about how being out in nature allows the practice of mindfulness to naturally unfold. We introduced formal and informal practices. A formal practice is when we dedicate a specific time to close down our eyes and go through a mindfulness practice, often referred to as meditation. An informal practice is when we bring our keen sense of present moment awareness to something we are already doing, like petting a dog, drinking a cup of coffee, washing the dishes, taking a shower, conversing with others, or feeling the warmth of the sun on your skin on a warm spring day. For this week, we asked that you tune in to this idea of an informal practice, to make a conscious effort to bring yourself back to your present moment experience when you feel your mind has wandered off, or you feel triggered by sudden emotions, thoughts, sensations, etc. Creating these mini mindful moments can often feel groundbreaking in our lives. To help, you can use a phrase, word, or simply your breath as an anchor to come back to the present, for example, “Be here,” or “Come back.” It could be a word or phrase that has special meaning to you. In the end, it’s important to explore what works best for YOU. Here are a few key highlights from our discussion: Mindfulness is a way of life that means being fully present while meditation is just a tool to become more mindful—this distinction is important to keep in mind as these words are often used interchangeably Mindfulness is more than just BEING in the present moment, it’s about HOW we are being in the present moment, with attitudes and qualities such as acceptance, kindness, gratitude, and patience However we choose to practice mindfulness in our lives, consistency is key—it’s the consistency, the constant coming back that rewires our brains to be more in the present moment (neuroplasticity) The real change occurs through the commitment you make in the time between sessions. Always remember, practice makes progress, we’re not striving to reach a place of perfection here, or any destination for that matter as that goes against what it means to be in the present moment
You can download a PDF of the session slides as well as rewatch a recording of the session here. Please don’t forget to use our resources page to your advantage as you embark on this journey, and email us if you have any questions as you continue along. We look forward to seeing you again next week for Session 2: Paying Attention. Good luck this week! With so much love and gratitude, Ryan & Jason Benz
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