Mindfulness for the Non-Meditator
Mindfulness for the Non-Meditator
Meditation is easier than you think...
If you’ve been reading my blogs for awhile you’ve probably noticed I bring up meditation a lot…
Because it works.
Meditation is one of the best habits to have on the path to live a more peaceful, calm, and deep life.
Don’t just take my word for it.
Studies show meditation can…
Improve symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Increase focus.
Make you more creative.
And reduce stress, (among many other benefits).
Meditation has been a big help for me personally in times when I was especially stressed and struggling.
Instead of turning to destructive methods of numbing the pain, I used mindfulness to work through tragedy and hardship.
But while meditation is important in my life, I also understand not everyone is into the idea of sitting on the floor and counting breaths.
I definitely encourage everyone to try meditation, but I don’t think it should be the deciding factor whether you have mindfulness in your life or not.
So I came up with a list of a few ways I practice mindfulness that aren’t formal meditation.
Try these if you’re not ready to commit to meditation yet, or use them to supplement your current meditation practice. Either way, you’ll see great results if you do them consistently
1. Journaling
Probably my favorite way to practice mindfulness is journaling. (Not digitally, but plain old pen and paper.)
It doesn’t matter much what you journal about, or how long, but just that you do it. It could be two sentences, or twenty, or just drawing pictures in an art journal… Whatever works for you.
I personally like to journal about my day, whatever is on my mind, or goals I’m working toward.
Think of journaling as clearing your brain’s RAM.
Instead of keeping a bunch of stuff in our working memory, journaling clears it out and allows thoughts to flow more freely (which is especially important in the age of information overload).
You can take it a step further and carry around a pocket journal to record your random thoughts and ideas wherever you’re at. Sure, you could do it on your phone, but that’s just begging to be sucked into the doom scroll cycle, so use analog methods whenever possible.
2. Walking
Taking walks is great because it combines exercise and mindfulness, and it can be done with other people.
(Obviously you either wanna leave your phone at home, or put it on airplane mode.)
I started taking a lot of walks shortly after my daughter was born , because it was right in the middle of the pandemic and there weren’t many other ways to keep a toddler busy.
But those walks are a tradition we still have to this day.
When you have kids, your walks might be spent noticing flowers, squirrels, bugs, or whatever catches their eye.
On my solo walks I just enjoy the sunlight, the wind, the blue sky, and let my thoughts come and go. No music or distractions, just me and my thoughts.
3. Wash the dishes
I know I know… wash the dishes? For most people this is just a pain in the a** chore you don’t feel like doing, but for me it’s a practice of mindfulness I enjoy.
The soap, the hot water on my hands, the process of watching a dirty dish become clean… it’s all very satisfying.
When I wash the dishes, it’s like my brain turns off for those few minutes, and I just focus on the task at hand.
4. Breathing
Taking a “time out” to count a few breaths when you’re stressed or angry can help you avoid a lot of bad decisions, or angry words said in the heat of the moment.
But even in calm moments, taking a few intentional deep breaths is extremely beneficial.
Even if it’s just a single breath, you’ll feel the difference.
You take a long, deep, slow breath in while saying to yourself “In”.
Then as you exhale, very slowly, say “Out”.
It’s simple, but the practice of taking a few mindful breaths each day will do a lot more than you’d expect.
5. Eating
In our busy and hectic lives, eating becomes more of an inconvenience than an enjoyable experience. Especially with work or parenting, food is just a necessity, and we scarf it down as fast as possible to keep moving right on with our day.
Slowing down our eating to really enjoy the texture, the taste, the heat or cold, is a great way to practice mindfulness.
And it also helps to improve our relationship to food, since we can pay attention to whether or not we’re really hungry, or just eating out of boredom or stress.
There’s a recurring theme here… did you catch it?
Meditation is in everything.
This is an idea I learned from Thich Nhat Hanh’s book “Peace is Every Step”.
In it he teaches how anything can be meditation. Walking, breathing, eating, and yes, even washing the dishes.
Our day is full of opportunities to practice mindfulness, whether it’s on our own, or in our interactions with others.
And taking advantage of just a few of these opportunities can be life changing.
How would the people in your life feel if you were totally present with them, instead of only half paying attention?
How would you feel if your mind wasn’t a hectic chatterbox, but instead a quiet reprieve from the sometimes chaotic pace of normal life?
Meditation offers those benefits, and more, and is fully accessible to anyone, this very moment.
So today, I hope you add a little mindfulness to your day.
Whether it’s a nice quiet walk, or a few mindful breaths before you walk in the door after work.
Because mindfulness isn’t just a gift for you, it’s a gift to everyone you interact with.
Thanks for reading,
– Josh