WAY OF LIFE

AKM_LIFE_03 : Mindfulness - Practicing Natural Meditation

What is Mindfulness ?

Always be in the moment in the just present. Neither thinking about past nor anxious about future when doing any work/activity. Involve fully in the process, so that state of flow come hence we are in constant meditation. 

Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.

Being fully aware and conscious in that very moment so that we are not thinking on anything, it will be the state of narural meditation and hence mindfulness.

Steps towards mindfulness, we can practice::

1. Pay attention. It's hard to slow down and notice things in a busy world. Take the time to experience your environment with all of your senses — touch, sound, sight, smell and taste.

For example, when is the last time we eat just food nothing else we did while having our lunch/dinner/breakfast ? 

usually we are talking to someone while having our meal or watching TV or any other kind of entertainment. 

Can we try having our meal with mindfulness, just enjoy the food nothing else, while eating our food, take the time to smell, taste and truly enjoy it. it may sound boaring but once you consciously start this you will find it joyful as you find ur meal tastier, you will be able to appreciate your parents/spouse/cook, you will be able to have  gratitude for the farmers who has grown vegetable/grain. Just a small activity will make you more closer to life and aliveness.

2. Live in the moment:  Try to intentionally bring an open, accepting and discerning attention to everything you do. Find joy in simple pleasures.

for example activities like bathing, doing small work at home like washing the dishes etc we have ample opportunities to be mindful.

In morden times with increasing opportunities of quick entertainment, it become difficult to be mindful with these small activities as we thought all these activities as leisure activities and instead of being present in the moment for these activities we try to multitask and kept ourself away from these methods of natural meditation.

3. Accept ourself. Treat ourself the way you would treat a good friend.

4. Focus on our breathing. When we have negative thoughts, try to sit down, take a deep breath and close our eyes. Focus on our breath as it moves in and out of our body. Sitting and breathing for even just a minute can help

AKM_LIFE_02 : Gratitude and Happiness

Gratitude is simply the way to be grateful about every aspect of life. It's an attitude to be thankful about everything what you have instead of thinking what you don't have. Gratitude practice is an art which helps in living life with happiness and satisfaction. Gratitude is simply a feeling which creates treasure of positive energy that you can get everyday with no efforts.

Gratitude practice has only two steps
1. Gratitude towards Almighty : 
Daily when you start your day just realise the importance of things that you got without any effort. You can start thinking with very basic such as you have all your body organs functioning properly, air to breathe, clean water to drink, bad to sleep, Children/parents/spouse/friends to love and care.
After that think that lot of people don't have such basic amenities as well. Be thankful towards that almighty/power you believes in to provide you all such things.

2.  Don't be picky: Appricate every person and situation
Just start expressing thanks towards any person you met/worked and wanted to appreciate but you usually didn't.
Writing a small note or expressing your gratitude not only make other person feel good but it actually makes you feel positive and light.
 For instance maybe you never appreciate the effort of your mother she daily put for you, just stop, and express your gratitude towards her care and unconditional true love. 
Maybe you have your some special friend but you have not realised it, just stop, express your gratitude for his/her constant efforts/help for you.

Living life with gratitude does not aim to lost aspirations for what you don't have, But it's aim to understand the importance and worth of what you already have and it actually motivates you in a sense that, what you don't have is very less as compared to what you already have so you can achieve it easily anyway. 
This feeling/habit of gratitude is important because in this trade war of aspirations and stability you should not miss the life. 

AKM_LIFE_01 : 

HEART AND MIND

Usually in our lives we must have here that any person when in dilemma said  which voice i should listen heart or mind. One general question come to the "mind" is really heart used to think ?

Actually not, heart has mechanical functionality it can not substitute brain/mind. Still we use this word just as abstract to show something which is more internal and more deeper than the mind, but what is it exactly ?

It is actually the part of mind only, which is the subconscious mind. And the "mind" we say is actually a active/aware mind that is conscious mind.

So the choice is between subconscious and conscious brain, also both of them have its own importance and are complementary to each other.

Conscious mind can deflect/influence easily but subconscious mind actually develop in a period of long time, it gets mature with the time and experience.

Best way to understand these two could be consider subconscious mind as a garden and  conscious mind as a gardner. Now see the importance and complementary dependency of both.

If some thorns or unwanted plant started growing in your garden then Gardner has to cut and throw it immediately otherwise sooner or later whole garden will be full of unwanted plants. Also for keeping garden good, gardner should have to timely plant the good seeds and water them to grow well. As the garden grow full of flowers and fragrence  it would be tougher for unwanted plants to grow. Also this fragrance will keep the Gardner happy/motivated and satisfied. Now if in this garden full of fragrance of flowers, by chance gardner doesn't pay attention and thought of planting some thorn or unwanted plant then also this deep enrouted fragrance convince the gardener for not planting the unwanted crop.

Simlar is the case of our mind, here if some wrong/bad though comes to our mind , with our active conscious mind we have to cut it ut immediately so it should not grow in our subconscious.
Once our subconscious is full of positive/good thoughts it will help the conscious mind to take the right decision at the critical times.

Subconscious actually takes the time to grow/develop but once it is thought full it makes us stronger at the tough times and the time of dilemma.

Conscious mind is like upper surface which can be influenced in a jerk, but the subconscious mind is the core, the actual attitude/habit/intutions of ours.

So from the next time keep enriching your subconscious with positive thought it will definitely payback  by providing right direction to your concious at every moment of your life.

{Refrance: Example is inspired from the book " A monk who sold his Ferrari" by Robin Sharma }