7 Ways mindfulness unlocks the door to your authentic life
(Collective Evolution | Christine Horner) In between work, family, and social media, we take few precious moments to reflect upon our lives. Perhaps you purposely avoid looking at your life, because if you’re totally honest, it can be brutal.
7 Ways mindfulness unlocks the door to your authentic life
Notice the tsunami of judgmental thoughts that overwhelm your mind, causing stress and anxiety.
Unsurprisingly, a lot of worries are society’s programming as a byproduct of our modern world. Greater still is the personal dissatisfaction that arises out of internal turmoil driven by confusion.
Are you feeling confused?
You’re not the only one. Notice how confusion is self-evident all over the world.
Research scientist Kathryn Tristan says in her book Why Worry?: Stop Coping and Start Living that at some time in our lives, half of us in the U.S. will suffer from anxiety, depression, or addiction — the very opposite of an authentic life.
But then, something miraculous happens.
On your way home from work or a rushed meal out, dusk’s rising luminous moon captivates you, and you experience a moment of ecstasy and utter peace.
All is right with the world — and you weren’t thinking about a thing. You were just alive — and brilliantly so!
“Many people are alive but don’t touch the miracle of being alive.”
— Thich Nhat Hanh, The Miracle of Mindfulness
From mundane to miraculous
What was the shift?
The clouds of confusion lifted. For a moment, you were in perfect balance, consciously mindful of the miracle of life which includes the miracle called YOU!
You were being your best, most authentic self instead of listening to habitual, self-limiting thought patterns.
In simpler terms, even Austin Powers knew his authenticity = his potency = his mojo.
Authenticity emerges when you live not just from mind and body, but from the heart, which is your natural state.
Done consciously, it is mindful living. It is mastery.
A life lived without heart and soul is a life filled with confusion that manifests as problems in your personal life.
“If quality of life is important to you, mindful living trades confusion for life’s magical moments—every single day.”
In his book Living from the Heart, Nirmala explains, “What you are seeing, smelling, hearing, sensing, and pondering is limited by and filtered through your thoughts. Your thoughts mediate between you and reality and interfere with seeing it more fully and purely.”
According to neuroscience, what thoughts are and what gives rise to thought is still very much a mystery.
Think of thoughts as one of many useful tools used by the brain to navigate our physical world. By themselves, thoughts are two-dimensional mind fences.
An expanded awareness that includes the heart means a far richer life that is fulfilling regardless of circumstances or what you are doing.
Shocking to some, you don’t have to be doing anything at all to experience an authentic life.
But, ask yourself . . .
Would you rather run through a meadow at sunset with fences, or the meadow of your life unhindered as far as the eye can see — even beyond?
When we live from the more inclusive reality of mind, body, and spirit (heart), we open our lives to the miraculous on a daily basis.
Yes, thoughts still appear, but you see them as just a few brushstrokes on the infinite canvas of your life.
Here’s how to enjoy the miracle of your authentic life daily:
1. Slow life down each day
You’ve been practicing mindfulness intermittently throughout your life without realizing it.
Immersing yourself in nature, going for a walk, even hand-washing dishes are forms of mindfulness.
Recall how you felt a sense of calm and well-being within your body. Notice how balanced your world became.
Now do these things consciously or with great care — with heart. Add yoga and meditation.
Life itself is immensely satisfying when we let go of mental expectations and enter the “Zen” or the flow.
2. Mind the gap for miracles
Thought devoid of the heart and soul is a form of insanity. No wonder so many are confused.
You have the ability to move beyond whether the glass is half empty or half full, tapping into your highest wisdom within.
“When you allow your thoughts to breathe by paying attention to the gap in between, you move out of reactive-ness to being response-able.”
Minding the gap is how you go from continually making lateral moves in life to sky-high-vertical limitlessness.
Whenever there’s a challenge, rather than carelessly and spontaneously reacting, surprise everyone by saying you’ll give it some thought — which means you’ll give your initial thoughts some space to breathe.
Silence without judgment is extremely powerful and contains miracles. It shifts, even breaks, habitual destructive patterns.
3. Give up planning for 90 days
What?!? Why would you do such a thing?
In Western culture, planning is thought to be one of our greatest assets. Google “the power of planning,” and you’ll be inundated with reasons why a plan is paramount to reaching your goals.
Are you willing to open the door to the even higher power of synthesis that occurs out of what the Harvard Business Review calls “strategic thinking?”
Strategic thinking lets go of planning initially, integrating intuition and creativity to allow spontaneity to appear naturally.
Albert Einstein said, “The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.”
Rather than projecting different possible scenarios, be a blank slate by asking, “What’s next?”
Leaving infinite possibility open is to create a vacuum that life must fill.
It’s more powerful than projecting imagined preferred scenarios that contain limits.
4. Say “I don’t know” often
At least to yourself!
And then sit in the space of I don’t know, even if it’s uncomfortable.
Emptiness is very challenging when you are pressured by society to fill every nook and cranny with busyness. Your brain will be sure to scream it to you every chance it gets.
Emptiness removes all barriers, including you getting out of your own way.
You do know — it just hasn’t appeared in your awareness yet. Wait for it…
I can tell you from my experience as a writer, and any artist or other creative type will tell you: The muse is within. All inspiration arises from the void of emptiness.
Get comfortable with emptiness, learning to play within unlimited possibility.
I personally now prefer being a blank slate every chance I get throughout the day, like the unofficial Buddhist mantra, “Empty, empty. Happy, happy.” I easily put myself into a state of emptiness by watching trees blow in the breeze.
5. Open yourself to higher consciousness
In Practicing the Power of Now, spiritual teacher and author Eckhart Tolle extols the value of mindfulness by acting as witness to your thoughts: “So when you listen to a thought, you are aware not only of the thought but also of yourself as the witness of the thought. A new dimension of consciousness has come in.”
Have you tried being a witness to your own thoughts? It’s life transforming.
The beauty of learning to be mindful at any age is that you express your thoughts at your personal level of truth and authenticity while continuing to dig for deeper understanding.
Don’t stop there. Yes, keep going. There is always more inclusive wisdom to discover.
“Let us honor one another where we stand, knowing we each travel a unique journey toward higher consciousness.”
6. Be bigger than your body
Ask any Zen Master or Yogi, and she or he will tell you your identity is not wrapped up in your thoughts.
Yet, it’s the bane and suffering of human existence — the existential crisis — to believe your thoughts define who you are.
As you climb Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs toward self-actualization, you will come to know you are much more than your body.
Only in the complete synthesis of mind, body, and spirit can you see beyond basic survivalism so that you finally begin to thrive!
7. Know you are enough
Mind, body, spirit realization is fulfillment in and of itself!
There is no greater authenticity than to know who you really are as part of the infinite.
Greater is the gift of YOU, boundaries removed. As a guiding light, you now offer others, by example, the same freedom and opportunity.
No longer confused, “doing good” naturally follows as you move from a place of selfishness to one of service to humanity.
Are your choices today filled with love?
Your authentic life
As part of evolution, aided by the tools of technology, human consciousness is expanding faster than ever.
Living multi-dimensionally in mind, body, spirit is your brilliant future here, now.
Embodying unity consciousness, your new, authentic life will change everything for you.
Your mojo is now working for you, instead of the other way around.
You will wake up energized in the morning, excited to be alive because you express yourself authentically.
You will feel empowered like never before as things you despise begin to disappear.
Freedom and prosperity will flow more abundantly in your life.
You will see the world and the Universe supporting you every step of the way.
It got you here, didn’t it?
Source: Collective Evolution
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