How are you feeling today? Just take a moment, close your eyes, and really think about the answer. Too often the answer is about how our body feels or what may or may not have triggered us emotionally that day. So lets tackle those areas first.
Of course it’s important to take time out to exercise regularly, watch what we eat, and get plenty of sleep. I’ve struggled in these areas for a couple of reasons. The primary reason that many people can relate to is lack of motivation. It’s easy to get started on an exercise routine and watch it fizzle out as we fall back into old habits. It takes 30-90 days for a new habit to really settle in. If you can stick with the modified routine for that long it becomes much easier.
To make any lasting change it requires dedication and consistency. If your goal is to exercise for 30 minutes, 3 times a week, and you don’t have 30 minutes to exercise today, do something active for 15 minutes near home and think about being active while you are doing it. Being consistent matters much more than quantity. I’m using exercise here as an example but this applies to any routine that you wish to cultivate. A consistent behavior tells the unconscious mind, it’s 7AM so it’s time to get the body and mind ready for exercise. Or it’s 9PM, it’s time to get the body and mind prepared for meditation. The unconscious mind will then facilitate the unconscious preparation needed for these activities.
In my personal experience daily meditation has become a routine in the evenings for me. Around 9PM I meditate nearly every day for 20-60 minutes. If I simply can’t meditate I spend 10 minutes before bed to do some type of spiritual work. After my clairsentience (psychic feeling) abilities started to expand I now feel it most strongly as a tingling sensation in my head. These sensations are very noticeable during meditation. I know my unconscious mind, and perhaps my spiritual team, is preparing me for meditation when my head starts tingling close to 9PM most evenings.
Part of finding your joy is discovering through your experiences what you love doing, even if, in the moment, you don’t. Building a foundation for resilience and adaptation for change allows us to seize opportunities when they can seem overwhelming at first. If you know a skill or a routine can bring you to a better place in your life, determine what small actions can get you there and set a goal with regular action items that are achievable but perhaps out of your comfort zone a bit. Be consistent, even if that means for today you are doing something slightly different or for less time.
Sometimes physical or emotional discomfort can keep us from pursuing our goals more often than we like. This is where your goals can become adapted to meet your needs. If consistency is the most important thing, create a back-up plan for the days you can’t follow through on your normal routine. In the case of exercise perhaps light yoga, stretching, or Qigong can be done on the days you can’t make it to the gym. It has been helpful in my own journey to have a back-up plan and to frequently remind myself how much better I feel after I’ve been consistent for a while with whatever my routine is.
I would like you take a few minutes again to check it with how you feel. This time look past your mind and body. Do you notice the space between your breath? Can you feel the space around your body? Perhaps you notice a sense of peace without thought? This is where the fun begins!
This short exercise can be done while walking, doing the dishes, or before starting your new routine. You may notice it helps you to move past
any reluctance to move forward. Mindfulness can start with one small step and become a habit all on it’s own.