Let’s be mindful as Christmas approaches!

For this Christmas-New Year blog, I thought it would be helpful to reflect on ‘mindfulness’. This blog is as much for me as it is for you. It has been a full few months, and Christmas-New Year is often busy too, with lots of demands and commitments. It is very easy for all of us to NOT focus on the moment, but on what is coming next and next after that. We all need to remember that this moment is the only moment we have – not the one a moment ago, or the one coming. But this one … and we don’t want to miss it. Moments are precious and joyful things can happen!

Let’s reflect on mindfulness for a short while. Mindfulness is all about being aware and paying attention on purpose, so that we can experience the present moment as opposed to being caught up in thoughts or feelings. It also means being non-judgmental about what we are experiencing. For example, when having a cup of coffee in the sunshine, we can mindfully pay attention to the taste and smell of the coffee and the warmth of the sun, and in doing so, enjoy the moment and feel relaxed.

Benefits of mindfulness

There are many magical things about mindfulness. A key part of the magic is that in a mindful state that the nerve cells in the brain are activated and growth is stimulated. This is what is called ‘neuroplasticity’. And mindfulness has been shown to be helpful to many aspects of our physical and mental health.

To benefit our mental health and wellbeing, you can be mindful or our thoughts and feelings, noticing them, rather than getting caught up with them. Through mindfulness we can learn that thoughts and feelings come and go. In this way mindfulness can also assist us to develop greater self-acceptance, as we experience less judgment about ourselves.

Mindfulness plays a part in growing our self-compassion and self-belief. When we are compassionate to ourselves, it means we accept our humanity (we have strengths and weaknesses) and are kind to ourselves in our thoughts (not saying something in our own mind that we wouldn’t say to a friend). But to be able to achieve this we need to be mindful of any self-critical thoughts, and either challenge them or let them go.

We can also grow our emotional intelligence by being mindful of our feelings and connecting with how emotions show up in our body. Where do you feel them? What do they feel like? Also, recognize how your emotions relate to your thoughts and behaviour. For example, you might be feeling sad and notice the feeling, associated thoughts and what you do in response e.g., isolating yourself. Equally you might be feeling excited, and your thoughts might be about an event coming up.

How do we become more mindful?

Mindfulness doesn’t have to involve a great deal of time or effort. You can practise mindfulness in everyday activities (be present in the shower, for example, and notice the sensations), Or you might watch a child play or be out in nature with them and use your senses to enjoy the moment. Music or art can be very mindful. Recently I read a student paper on the health benefits of colouring in mandalas, and a significant part of this related to being mindful as well as creative.

You can utilize mindfulness meditations, including via apps (e.g. Smiling Mind) or recordings (you can find some on my website). There are very effective meditations, which incorporate being mindful of the sensations in different parts of the body (e.g., when sitting, noticing the sensations in our feet as they rest on the floor, and in our hands as they rest on your lap), being mindful of the breath (the feel of it, the movements of the chest) or being aware of the sounds around us.

Remember that even a few minutes of mindfulness via meditation is beneficial. And you may notice your thoughts straying when practising mindfulness. This is very normal, as this is what the mind does. The aim is to bring our minds back to our senses and the meditation and avoid getting tangled up in our thoughts or struggling with them. We can practise observing our thoughts or feelings without engaging with them, in meditation. This allows them to move through our mind, a bit like clouds floating across the sky.

Mindfulness in therapy

Because it is so effective, mindfulness has been combined with various therapies such as

• Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy which fosters awareness of thoughts and learning to challenge them, as well as self-compassion.
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy which also takes up the idea of relating differently to our thoughts and feelings. We can become hooked on or ‘fused’ with negative thoughts, especially about the past. This can cause unpleasant feelings, which we might then try to avoid. We need to work on being less ‘hooked’ by our thoughts and feelings, and we need to not avoid uncomfortable feelings and ruminate less by focusing on the here and now.
• Dialectical Behaviour Therapy also incorporate mindfulness as a key strategy.

Final words

You may well be busy in the lead up to Christmas, and then hopefully have some quieter time. Either way, it is a great time to practise more mindfulness – for your enjoyment, and for your health and wellbeing. I hope that you have a peaceful and mindful Christmas and New Year.

References:

Howell, C. (2023). The Flourishing Woman A mental health and wellbeing guide, Exisle, NSW.

Resources:

Smiling Mind (mindfulness app): www.smilingmind.com.au