Becoming Your True Self with Mindfulness

In a noisy world, how do you release "negative" energy and emotions so you can focus on what you WANT to create instead?

If you've ever had this question, you're not alone.

As you grow in awareness and follow your own path of awakening to a higher purpose, it's easy to get derailed by the enormity of the work ahead of us to "fix" the world.

Crazy, mind-blowing idea: the world is not broken and does not need to be "fixed."

Do we have serious problems? Of course! Are there situations and systems that need to change so EVERYONE can live in the fullest expression of who they are? Of course!

You do that work most effectively, with greatest ease, when you show up as your most authentic self.

Our earth is evolving. Our collective human consciousness is evolving.

The systems we created from an earlier stage of consciousness are also evolving, albeit painfully.

Here's the thing. We wouldn't be able to create the beautiful, harmonious, powerful future we envision without every step that's gotten us to where we are.

Pain is part of the journey. It teaches us valuable lessons about what works, what doesn't, what's in alignment, what's not.

Suffering is optional.

We may think suffering is inevitable and forced on us by the outside world, but is it really? No. We create our own suffering from the meanings we attach to circumstances.

We often default to creating "negative," contracting meanings from our circumstances. We limit our own options with our beliefs and stories.

But we can change that default. We can change our meanings. We can choose a different outcome.

We can choose to respond instead of react. We can choose to expand instead of contract.

We can choose happiness.

Not the superficial rainbows and unicorns kind of happiness, but a deep sense of inner peace, calm, and contentment.

A sense of permanent underlying joy throughout the highs and the lows.

A sense of peace even in the face of pain, anger, frustration, disappointment, bitterness, grief, and the full spectrum of human emotion.

How is that possible, you wonder?

The future you dream of starts with YOU being present in this moment.

Not dwelling on the past.

Not anxiously anticipating the future.

You. Being. Here. Now.

Regularly bringing your attention to the present moment.

Taking full responsibility for your thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Practicing mindfulness: deliberate, non-judgmental, moment-to-moment, attention to and awareness of your experience.

That's a lot of words. We'll take a look at each word individually in a moment.

For now, just breathe in.

Pause.

And breathe out.

The present moment is as fleeting as footprints in the sand.

And as infinite as the universe.

It's a friend who's always here for you.

Say this to yourself: Mindfulness is deliberate, non-judgmental, moment-to-moment attention to and awareness of my experience.

Deliberate: intentional, on purpose

Non-judgmental: not judging yourself, others, situations, or your experience as good or bad, right or wrong, negative or positive; simply noticing what is; being curious

Moment-to-moment: right here, right now; this moment; and this one; and this one

Attention to: focus; where you place it is a conscious choice

Awareness of: that which emerges from paying attention on purpose

My: your experience is unique to you; through more deeply understanding your own experience, you develop the curiosity, courage, and compassion to seek to understand the experience of others

Experience: body sensations, emotions, thoughts and stories

When you notice the now, anything is possible.

Here's why I say the world doesn’t need to be “fixed:”

“Fixing” implies a backward-facing solution. It implies there’s an answer in the back of the book that we got “wrong,” so we have to go back and re-do our work to arrive at the “right” answer.

There are no answers in the back of the book of life.

There is only experimenting. Learning. Growing.

If we want the future to look different from the present, our work is to create something new from where we ARE.

Starting from where we used to be, where we wish we were, or where we think we should be is like driving from New York to San Francisco with directions that start in Chicago. No wonder we feel lost, confused, frustrated, and angry!

The answers are not behind us. We can’t solve problems from the same patterns of thought that created them.

To break the pattern, arrive in this moment. Ask questions. Listen for answers. (They won't come from your mind.) Act from a place of alignment.

When you trust yourself to experiment, learn, and grow into an ever-more aligned version of yourself, the future will be brighter, more beautiful, and more magical than you can possibly imagine.

Embrace the mystery.

Dance with this moment.

The future is now.

Here's one of my favorite resources on the power of choosing happiness to change the world: Is It Selfish to Want Happiness? (Spoiler alert: the answer is NO.)