Are You Mindful or Is Your Mind Just Full? Here's a Shortcut to Stay in the Present by Noreen Braman

Are you a time traveler? Do spend your day living in the past (what you were just doing) or the future (what you will be doing) and skipping over what you are doing (at just this minute)? The result is, your brain ends up “doing” things multiple times, creating fatigue and the feeling of being overwhelmed.

Mindfulness helps the brain not get into that "time warp." But, how to do that? Here's a way to incorporate being mindful into daily tasks:

• First, just stop where you are and take a deep breath.

• Imagine you are shrinking the world to only include the current place where you are – home, workplace, events, meetings, family activities.

• Take a look around you. What do you see? Really notice colors, smells, light, sound. Center your attention on your immediate environment and no further.

• Continue to focus on the moment and your task, making mental notes of each thing you do until you are done.

• When done, take another breath and feel pride in accomplishing something mindfully.

Oprah Winfrey's advice is: “Living in the moment … means living your life consciously, aware that each moment you breathe is a gift."

A gift for you and your loved ones!

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