Mindfulness Writing (Part One)
I’ve been reading a lot about mindfulness this week.
I’m trying to prepare myself for the next stage of building work. One room has been finished but the whole noisy, dusty process is soon to start again in the lounge. Walls to be hacked off and floors dug up to treat the damp problem. I’m doing my best to accept what is and not jump forward several months when it will all be finished.
I’m robbing myself of my future instead of living in the here and now. This is what mindfulness practice is helping me with - staying awake to each moment, paying attention and being aware of what I’m doing in the present.
I am able to remind myself that I always have a choice, no matter what the circumstances. We chose this home because of its many endearing Victorian features and dampness is one of the downsides of old houses. Now we are having work done that will leave us damp-free, warmer and with cheaper energy bills as a result.
This was our choice and now I am more able to accept what is happening, as I focus on the purpose behind the work.
The book I’ve been reading – Mindfulness, the guide to principles, practices and more – by Dr Patrizia Collard, is excellent and I thoroughly recommend it if you want to learn more about this art.
In a nutshell, mindfulness is about living in the moment without judgement. Developing a sense of acceptance for whatever life throws at you – the pleasant, the difficult and the in-between.
A writing practice I’ve been using from Dr Collard’s book is called journalling for wellbeing, focusing on enjoyment, gratitude and satisfaction – EGS.
Every day, write down in your journal your three EGS:
Enjoyment – one thing you enjoyed today
Gratitude – something you are grateful for
Satisfaction – something you did that you are satisfied with.
Focusing on an enjoyable moment shifts your mental energy.
Practising the art of gratitude breeds possibility in all things and can expand the joy in our lives. We might not feel grateful for what is happening but it helps us appreciate what comes. It’s about living life on life’s terms. Things rarely go smoothly. There are those wretched bumps in the road to be faced. Facing adversity and finding a way to be grateful for where we are today seems to let in some air. A chance for things to improve.
Satisfaction for something you’ve done doesn’t have to be some big achievement. It can be some small action that you are pleased with.
Writing about these three EGS on a daily basis can improve your mood and wellbeing. It helps us to focus on something positive.
I like to do this at the end of each day, especially if I’m feeling that I haven’t achieved very much, or I’m disappointed with something that has happened. Instead, if I go to bed focusing on these three areas of enjoyment, gratitude and satisfaction, I feel mentally refreshed and can clear my mind ready for sleep.
Gratitude and appreciation help us focus more often on joy and gladness. Research has shown that this practice creates chemicals of well-being and peace in our whole body.
The act of writing the list of EGS makes a subtle change rather than an earth shattering epiphany. What I’ve noticed is my energy shifts towards a more grateful, positive feeling for this life.
For example – this is last night’s entry in my journal:
Enjoyment – at the end of our daily walk by the river, we stopped and had coffee in the riverside café, listening to the lull of the water and admiring the views. A welcome treat that lifted my spirits.
Gratitude – The sun came out today after a very cold start. I’m also grateful for the new warm jumper that I bought at the weekend to keep me cosy in the mornings with all the doors open as the builders do their thing.
Satisfaction – I came up with an idea for this week’s blog. And I reflect on my moments of well-being through doing the EGS writing exercise.
In next week’s blog I will go over another mindfulness writing exercise that I’ve been practising to help me stay in the moment and become more accepting of myself.
Author of ‘Wearing Red – One Woman’s Journey to Sanity’
Available from www.amazon.co.uk and www.browndogbooks.uk