Nice word. What does it mean?
I use the term ‘mindfulness’ which is based on the concept of mindfulness in Buddhist meditation, but take it broader, into how it shows up each and every day. As numerous ‘smart people’ have told us over past millennium, we only have ‘this moment’. The past is gone, and the future is yet to be shaped. So it is the sum of our moments, and how we use them, that ultimately determines what quality of life we have and the level of results we achieve.
The other word that pops up when we talk about mindfulness is ‘consciousness’. Being conscious of the big picture, the small picture, our place in the picture, other peoples place in the picture, the possibilities, the reality of where you are right now, the place you want to arrive at, and your inner dialogue. So for me, mindfulness is a heightened level of consciousness of our thinking, feeling and behaving.
Consciousness 101
I am sure you have heard talk about the conscious and unconscious mind. The conscious mind is the one we are aware of, and the unconscious (or subconscious) mind is the part of the brain that runs all of the body’s functions automatically. When it comes to optimum health (and all levels of success in life) it is about a few key things:
- With a high level of consciousness we are clear of where we are and where we want to go (optimum health).
- With a high level of consciousness we can make better decisions about how to achieve optimum health.
- With a high level of consciousness we can make better decisions at any point along the path to optimum health (if what we are doing is not working).
- It is essential that the conscious and subconscious minds are in alignment. That is, they want the same thing.
The 4th point is absolutely essential given that research suggests that we are only consciously thinking, feeling and behaving about 5% of the time. The remaining 95% of the time we are on autopilot, with past programs, beliefs and behaviours.
What is What do I ‘believe’ is possible?
What we believe is possible plays a HUGE part in our health. For instance, I know the body performs billions of actions every single second. Or to make that more graphic, that’s well over 1,000,000,000 things every second. That is frikkin amazing!! So my belief is the body is incredible. It has an amazing level of intelligence, the ability to self-heal, the blueprint to create any type of cell required, and amazing adaptive (learning) abilities.
So my belief is that the tools and specialists are there, within our bodies, to perform miraculous feats and create optimum health.
However, if you believe the body is limited in its abilities, or you are limited by your ‘genes’ (which epigenetics shows otherwise), or you will only live to 65, or you get sick every winter, or you will die of a heart attack at 60 because your grandfather did, then you are limiting the healing potential of your amazing mind and body. None of the ‘beliefs’ I mentioned are FACTS. They only become facts when you believe them down to the cellular level. Your beliefs, significantly affect your results. Also known as the ‘placebo effect’.
To determine what your own beliefs are on your health, just finish the following sentence.
“My beliefs about my health are…”
And remember. Beliefs are not FACTS. Beliefs are perceptions, based on the past, and often based on things that make no sense, which can be easily dis-proven. Just ask the 1000’s of people who have experienced ‘spontaneous remission’ from (apparently) terminal illness.
Change your beliefs if they do not serve you. Just as you would replace an old program on your computer when it is out of date and has too many glitches.
The best mindfulness practice
The best mindfulness practice you can do to enhance your health – mentally, emotionally and physically is meditation. One of the reasons why meditation is so effective is it deactivates the ‘stress response’ (the sympathetic nervous system) and activates the ‘relaxation response’ (the parasympathetic nervous system). The relaxation response is responsible for repair, regeneration and rejuvenation of the body’s cells.
Our body cannot repair itself effectively if we are stressed. Also prolonged stress can lead to chronic breakdown of the body. So we need to practice a specific activity, in our modern lives, to negate or reverse the adverse effects of too much stress. That is where meditation comes in.
The basics on meditation:
- Do it daily (create a habit of showing up for it).
- Start small and build up (2-5 mins a day as you create the habit).
- The target is 12-15 mins daily.
- Do it at the same time, in the same place, in the same way each day. This creates a physical and mental habit, and allows you to go deeper, quicker.
- A basic practice is to pay attention to your breath.
- Don’t judge the meditation. Your mind will drift. Just bring it back to the breath.
In summary
Meditate daily.
Get clear on your beliefs about health. If your beliefs suck (and create stress in the body), the chances are your health will be dragged down with them. The mind and body have untapped potential. It is our beliefs that release more of that inherent potential.
Here is a great belief:
“My body is self-healing when I create the right environment through physical activity, good nutrition, rest and detoxification.”
Make sense? What are your beliefs on health? Do they need updating or reprogramming? If you ever need a hand or help, just hit the Reply button or get over to my Facebook page to connect up.
Also if you want to work with me personally, I am teaming up with one of Australia’s leading Raw Food Chefs, Cat Cannizzaro in Raw and Radiant Retreat (R&R for your Body, Mind and Soul) in Bali, for an amazing 4-days of gourmet raw food, master cooking classes, personal transformation workshops and even personal coaching.
