Mindfulness Challenges

Deeper Meaning Behind Mindful Waiting

There is no question about it; we all carve ruts of irritation in our neurological system. I use the word ruts intentionally. We all become irritated over and over, oftentimes at the very same circumstances that, for whatever reason, drive us up the wall and make us crazy. These patterns of behavior are repeated frequently. Such patterned and habitual responses create an elaborate infrastructure of pathways that are irritants to our neurological system. We carve out ruts in our sensitive neurological pathways much like the stream of pioneers created in the dirt roads which led westward. It doesn’t take much for us to re-enter these well established ruts in our neurological system. This rut is in part what aggravates the neurological challenges that individuals who currently have a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease experience.

The mindfulness challenge this week then is to basically craft a new roadway to get out of those same old ruts which continue to irritate that sensitive neurological system of ours. When we engage in negative thoughts like,

“Why can’t that idiot hurry up and get done. I’ve got something important to do and I’m going to be late.”

The body’s neurological system does in fact become irritated as we process the signals of irritation and anger through the very same pathways.

How do you create new neural pathways that calm the neurological system rather than upset it? Learn how to offer a different response to situations that are likely to irritate you such as standing in long lines. Instead of accessing the same neurological ruts, craft new pathways. Calm your body with a focused intention to respond differently.

Shift your awareness from one of outward projection to inward reflection. As you are waiting in line, breathe and notice the deliciousness of what it really feels like to take on the critical source of life itself – oxygen. .

Relax all the tension in your body as you wait.
Notice how you stand
Observe where you stand
Re-positioning your weight if it helps you become more comfortable
Silence all angry thoughts of people ahead of you who may simply be having a bad day.

As you engage a new response to a circumstance that can be irritating for anyone you get the added benefit of forging a new neurological pathway. As your stress level dissolves, notice how symptoms you might have been experiencing are suddenly not as troublesome or perhaps even do not even appear to present themselves. A body that is calm and stress free is not capable (or interested) in creating neurological difficulties for you.

Switch on a mindfulness practice as you wait –

Become aware of each and every sensation
Look up at the ceiling.
Look down at the floor.
Notice the walls;
Notice the texture of the walls.
Appreciate the colors on the walls.
Smile at the people who wait with you.
Hear the sounds
Smell the scents

Take in sensually everything in your surroundings. Notice how delicious it can be to become aware of where you are standing in the moment.

Mindfulness practices do result in an alleviation of neurological symptoms. The more you practice, the more you will be delighted with the result. We are the ones that manifest our own destiny. Make it so this week as you wait in line patiently and mindfully for the service that you need to receive

Robert

Mindful Waiting

The mindfulness challenge this week will be triggered each and every time you find yourself waiting in a line for service. A companion challenge I extend (if and only if you choose to accept it) is to stand in the longest line when you have a choice. Whatever line you choose, be attentive to what is happening with your body as you patiently wait.

Relax all of the tension that you may be holding deep within your tissues and muscles.
Pay attention to how you stand as you wait – on one foot or both feet?
Notice how you are breathing.
Quiet your thoughts of irritation toward the person ahead of you who is taking longer than necessary.

If impatience emerges and your mind becomes noisy with angry thoughts – silence them. Re-direct your attention and focus to your physical body. Become aware of the heat that rises from your skin or the cold that sinks into your bones. What signals does your body send as you wait?

Most importantly, relax all of the tension in your muscles whether that tension be in your

Calf muscles

Thigh muscles

Chest muscles

Neck muscles

Eyebrows
Ears

Become aware of all the tension in your body from head to toe as you patiently and mindfully wait for the service that you seek.

Notice your body settling down into a state of calm. Become aware of how it is possible to reverse neurological symptoms as you calm down the irritation that sizzles within the tissues of your body.

Wait patiently
Wait mindfully
Shift your focus from irritation and impatience to a patient practice of mindfulness.

May you relish the challenge of waiting patiently in long lines this week.

Robert

Deeper Meaning Behind Mindful Eating

Many people view eating as a time-wasting activity. The idea is to eat food quickly so you can get on with the business of living your life. Eating takes time away from what you really want to accomplish during the day. Eating takes time away from earning money, from improving the quality of relationships with family and friends, from earning prizes and accolades and from manifesting our passions. In other words, eating is viewed as a time-wasting activity that is required because we simply happen to have a body that requires nutrition each and every day. We cannot keep going if we do not feed ourselves. It is all a very practical matter you see.

Does this describe in whole or part your approach to eating? Think about eating from an entirely fresh perspective. What if the most important and critical action you can take each and every day is to be totally and completely mindful for a mere 30 minutes? This one action will ensure your body will be brought back into a place of centeredness and balance, a place where neurological symptoms have great difficulty creeping in.

When many people eat, they actually swallow their –

Sorrow or

Guilt or

Anger or

Fear or

Anxiety or

All of the above

Some people swallow their past as they reflect on past experiences that were unpleasant. Other people anticipate and plan out the future when they eat. Still others like to mix and match. All three of these eating rituals allow us to “space out” when eating. The magic of the present moment is lost. The taste and succulence of each and every bite is missed.

Consider recovery from any neurological condition seriously (and particularly from a condition associated with the diagnosis of Parkinsons Disease). What more critical action can be taken than to focus your full attention on what you are putting into our body and to be mindful of how you ingest each bite of food?

When we take medicines or supplements we are also eating! Do you like to get the business of swallowing medications over and done with? Is it an unpleasant duty to be tolerated? Most people just pop pills and that is the end of it.

I have a mindful ritual to suggest when you take medications or supplements. The ritual takes only 15 seconds. It is analogous to a blessing before you begin eating a meal. The practice has a profound impact on the effectiveness of whatever supplements or medications you might be currently taking. Try it out and you will see what I mean for yourself.

Place the supplement or medication into your hand. Say silently to yourself or out loud:

“May this supplement (or medication) do for my body precisely what my body needs – no more and no less.”

Pause.

Take a short breath.

Ingest the supplement or medication.

In other words you ask that the medication or supplement do for your body precisely what it is that your body needs now, no more – that is, no side-effects – and no less – meaning that is it has precisely the effect that you intend for it to have. This practice insures that you treat your body’s response to taking the supplement or medication with respect.

Be mindful with each and every bite you ingest if it is food. Be mindful when you take medicines and supplements. Be mindful when you drink liquids. Notice when you ingest anything and, at the very same time, do something else like talk on the phone or drive or walk. Catch yourself when you tag an extra activity along with eating.

When you realize you are doubling up and doing more than just eating – stop. Eliminate the other activity. Direct your full attention to eating. Be mindful of every aspect of the food you eat – its color, smell, taste, texture and feel. Be mindful of the liquids you drink – their color, viscosity and taste.

Notice how it feels to enter into that most precious, sacred vessel of yours – the human body. The body is precious. It is a miracle in the making. Treat it as such. May you have a magnificent week as you eat each bite of food mindfully.

Robert

Mindful Eating

The mindfulness challenge this week will be admittedly be a horrendous undertaking for most of you if indeed you decide you would like to run with it. The challenge is simply this; when you eat or when you drink anything, just eat and just drink. Do nothing else at the same time.

What do you typically do when you actually eat something? Are you walking or driving or watching TV? Perhaps you are watching a movie or reading, or working on the computer or texting someone. Many people like to eat when they listen to music or play video games. Do you eat when you exercise? What do you do typically when you eat? What do you do in addition to eating besides the simple act of placing food into your body?

For this week the challenge and the invitation is to remove all of those extra activities that you add to the activity of eating and consuming food and liquids. It goes without saying that many of us like to eat in the company of another person. We love to have conversations with those we love. Please do not eliminate that activity. But when you do talk with loved ones, stop eating. In other words, disentangle the two activities.

When you eat, focus your full attention on the food itself –

on the chewing
on the taste
on the sensations in your mouth
on the feeling in your stomach

Treasure each and every bite as if it were your last. Add no other activity as you eat. This may well add considerable time to how long it takes to finish a meal. If you have to eat and run, you will have to set aside this challenge temporarily.

Try it and see how this alters the entire experience of ingesting nutrition into that most precious, sacred body of yours.

Notice when your body likes the food you eat.

Notice when it does not like the food you eat.

When we notice, we become aware in the moment of precisely what our body needs to heal. If a cow can eat mindfully, so can we!

I have my fingers crossed that this challenge will not become too horrendous for you. But be warned, it will be difficult. You will likely be surprised at how often you do much more than simply eat. My favorite “add on” activity to eating is thinking. It is so easy to divert our attention from a place away from the most important activity of the day.

Robert