Healthy Intentions Community

MINDFULNESS MONDAY

In building from last week’s post concerning the 8 attitudes, let’s look at cultivating them within a simple activity or task. We will use baking a cake as an example for practicing them during a task.

· Begin the task with a learner’s mind and experience the texture of the ingredients as you are gathering them.

· Whether you are beginning from scratch or from a box, do so without judgement of yourself, the cake of your baking ability.

· Acknowledge that you are self-reliant. That in baking this cake you are caring for yourself and others.

· Practice self-compassion in knowing that you are doing your best, and don’t get discouraged if the cake doesn’t turn out the way you want it to.

MINDFULNESS MONDAY

As we begin a new year, let’s look at another important aspect of Mindfulness practice. It’s practice often embodies 8 attitudes. These attitudes contribute to the growth and nourishing of your mind, heart and body and it is important to understand them and to be able to recognize them in your practice. They are:

1. Learner’s Mind- seeing things as a visitor where everything is new and curious.

2. Nonjudgmental- becoming impartial, without any labels of right or wrong, good or bad, simply allowing this to be.

3. Acknowledgment- recognizing things as they are.

4. Settled- being comfortable in the moment and content where you are.

MINDFULNESS MONDAY for this week!

With this being the final Mindfulness post for the year, lets finish the year with Loving-Kindness in our heart. If at some point over this past year you found yourself upset with either yourself or with another then this affirmation to use with meditation is a fantastic way to begin settling and restoring your balance. We have all been on both the giving and receiving side of hurt. Forgiveness is a practice that can help to free us from the hurt that we have experienced as well as the hurt that we may have unknowingly caused.

A suggestion for this week: Settle into a safe and quiet space, sitting in a comfortable position. Over your meditation repeat each of the following affirmations slowly (either silently or out loud) moving through the list at least 3 times before moving on to silence.

· May I f…

MINDFULNESS MONDAY

Merry Christmas week!

Over the last 2 weeks we have been learning about meditation and practicing simple seated and walking meditations. Here is a list to assist you with your focus as you continue on that journey.

Four main objects of attention to help you to focus on the present during meditations:

1) Physical sensations (hot, cold, wind, sunshine, pain, etc). 2) Feelings (pleasant feelings, uncomfortable sensations, etc) 3) Mental state (sadness, joy, peace, contentment, envy, anger, etc) 4) Objects of consciousness (including the 3 factors listed above).

As we are in the final steps with holiday preparations, one thing that is on all of our preparation lists is food- whether it is baking cookies or a dessert, a main feast to share with friends and family, a religious / traditional meal or our normal food preparations. Today we are going to do a different mindfulness activity centere…