Mindfulness

Wow, I hadn't realized I've been away for so long.
As I've gone along in my life I've explored many things externally through travel, art, living abroad, hiking, etc. Now the final frontier is my own inner workings.

All the self-improvement literature and success-oriented documents, such as Think and Grow Rich, go on about the commentary running in your mind. Control your mind and you have some control over your life! As Dr. Bill Harris says,

Everyone creates, in the moment, four things:
1. Their feelings and other internal states
2. Their actions and behaviors
3. Which people and situations they attract or become attracted to
4. What meanings they assign to what happens around them

Most people do this automatically without seeing how they do it because they aren't aware enough. Awareness creates choice.

And I'll go further to say that having that choice creates happiness, as was discussed with an interview on Anthony Joh's Tokyo Podcast interview with Eiji Han Shimizu on his movie called Happy.

My personal journey has taken me to the East Bay Meditation Center twice a month to practice mindfulness meditation. I've tried meditation in the past without much success, inspiration or comfort. My feet and legs ALWAYS fall asleep and it's incredibly uncomfortable and distracting. 

Photo courtesy of Boon Decor

So in response I recently scored a meditation bench off of eBay for a great deal. Most new ones cost $45 and higher, a price I wasn't ready to pay. So I found a used one for an excellent price, made with hard wood and has excellent quality. It also has rounded legs to tip forward just the right angle. 

Sit on it as you see in the photo and you don't have the pressure on your legs and feet, enabling you to sit longer with more comfort. I wish I discovered this about 15 years ago!

I've also been listening to lots of podcasts about mindfulness meditation and practice in daily life. And I find I'm not nearly so restless as I was in the recent past. I would be dissatisfied at not pursuing a move back to Thailand or not being able to take a holiday somewhere different. I'm a person who regularly traveled and explored different places when I lived in Thailand and now we rarely can travel like that here in the US because it's much more expensive. So I go on hikes instead! :)

Now I'm alright with whatever happens because my adventures are now inner instead of outer.