Mindfulness

mindfulnes is becoming popular nowadays … its the new yoga .. the new zumba .. the new zen .. mindfulness has become more than just a philosophy, a life skill .. its started to be used in psychiatry and in pain services. psychiatrists are starting to use mindfulness as part of treatment for depression and anxiety, people with cancer or chronic pain disorders are prescribed 8weeks course of mindfulness … I've grown an interest in it and started to read a bit about it but then i realised that its nothing new .. mindfulness is a primary skill that we all had one day but due to this crazy busy life, we somehow stopped doing it ..
the books make it sound so complicated with all the breathing exercises and stuff .. but mindfulness is NOT about breathing, it is NOT all zen and stuff .. to me, mindfulness is simply the complete opposite of multi tasking .. this life nowadays seem to push us more towards multitasking .. and we think, the better we are in multitasking, the more efficient we become and the better quality of life we will have .. guess what? WE ARE WRONG !!
take a second and lets practise mindfulness now ..
take a look around you .. i bet u are multitasking as you read this .. if you are not playing music in the background then probably you have other windows open beside this one .. or you have the tv on .. or you are work .. or maybe you are eating at the moment .. are you checking your mobile? replying texts or whatsapps as you are reading this? were you doing something then u stopped to check this blog out ?
when you left to work this morning, were you talking on the phone while you drive? or were you listening to music?
so you ask, so what? so what if we are multitasking …
you miss on life when you multi task .. when you drive and talk on da phone .. you miss out on the scenaries around you ( even in a country like kuwait where scenery is non existent ), you miss out on '' hearing that person's voice ''.. trust me, you are missing out .. i remember when i was back in kuwait, there were days when i'd turn off the radio, open up my car's windows and just listen to the air breeze.. dangle my hand outside the window and feel the wind tickling my palm .. it felt so good .. sometimes id open my room's window and lay in bed .. not playing with my phone or reading.. id lay down and listen … then id get amazed coz id start hearing birds and stuff .. i remember going to el mamsha .. and instead of having my headphones on .. id walk and look around … it gives you the chance to focus on other stuff .. ud start noticing the grass , the clouds, the smell of air .. it sounds so cheesy until you actually try it …

mindfulness is not only nature related .. when is the last time you had a meal and could actually taste what u were eating ? that you could distinguish the different ingredients in hat meal ? do you know whats the color of your neighbour's car? you probably see it everyday as you leave your house but i bet you, you never really noticed what colour it was ..

so what triggered all that .. well. I've noticed that I'm always on the edge, I'm always on the go .. i do things too quick and I'm too damn busy .. and i decided to slow down my day .. slow down every activity, even my daily routines .. so one of the things that i started doing it at a slower pace is praying, el 9alat .. because we have been doing it too long, sometimes you do it automatically without even being aware of your movements .. praying slower made me more mindful ..
what hit me was when we get up from el reko3 and say  سمع الله لمن حمد ! ربنا ولك الحمد  a phrase that i really took for granted .. or shall i say, never really noticed .. sam3a allaho lem 7ameda .. it has a story but regardless of it .. have u ever thought about it .. god hears those who praise him .. and we all know that the more you thank god, the more god grants you things .. so it goes like, god hears those who praise him and then its followed by praising god .. we recite this at least twice in every prayer but have anyone noticed that ..
so yeah .. the main point is ..mindfuless is awareness .. its focusing .. its enriching .. and the most important thing is, its saving your brain cells or whatever is left of em ..

since i started being more mindful, a lot of things were hitting me so hard .. its amazing .. its seeing the world with another perspective .. its living life to the fullest .. its having the whole experience …

there's a lot that i wanted to write about but I'm getting sleepy .. maybe later