Mindfulness
We all have to learn to be able to sit with ourselves during difficult times – we need to lean in to whatever it is we are experiencing. To be able to do that, we need to practice mindfulness. Mindfulness is a gift we all received. To be mindful, means to be fully aware of your inner experience (thoughts, feelings, body and breathing) and outer experience (to see, hear, taste, smell or touch your immediate surroundings), with non-judgmental acceptance. It can only qualify as mindfulness, when all this is done with kindness and compassion… without judgement to what you are experiencing, or judgement toward others or your surroundings – whether it is pleasant or unpleasant. Self- and other compassion while being mindful takes practice, grace and patience.
Only when we learned to become emotionally aware, we can learn to regulate and transform our feelings.
Being mindful requires from us a mind shift to self-and other compassion and self-and other awareness, sometimes with radical acceptance. You can have a look at The Free State Institute’s mindfulness courses on fsmindfulness.co.za