A Year of Living Mindfully

 

On the 23rd March 2018 I did my first guided meditation with my daughter. It was the body scan from 'The Beginner's Guide to Mindfulness'. We now do guided meditations everyday. The connecting to breath meditation, where we concentrate on breathing slowly and calmly, is very effective and relaxing and can also cure hiccups. We also do the Loving Kindness Meditation which we started in July and which now features quite a bit of self-compassion as well. Self-compassion was one of the last ideas I embraced, it has been very helpful. 

I practice mindfulness everyday; at work, at home, in the pub, while travelling; it has helped make my life feel a lot less stressful. I have read many books on mindfulness and Buddhist psychology in the past year; these are six of the best.

1.       Wherever you go, there you are by Jon Kabat-Zinn; New York, Piatkus, 2004

2.       Mindfulness by Williams and Penman; London, Piatkus, 2011

3.       A lamp in the darkness by Jack Kornfield; Boulder, Sounds True, 2014

4.       The art of living by Thich Nhat Hanh; London, Rider, 2017

5.       When things fall apart by Pema Chodron; Colorado, Shambhala, 1997

6.       Buddha’s Brain by Rick Hanson, Oakland, New Harbinger, 2009​

As it is my Mindfulness Anniversary I decided to buy a new mindfulness book called the Mindfulness Journal to celebrate. Above and below are some mindful doodling and colouring I have been doing throughout the year.