DIY Mindfulness - Do It Yourself Mindfulness

There are many ways to do mindfulness. When I started to practice mindfulness, I participated in a mindfulness class. But I did not like it and felt uncomfortable. Eventually, I started to do mindfulness in my own way, and then I got positive results.

I did not use any recorded guided meditations. I simply sat or walked in nature, and talked to myself, silently or aloud. Saying simple statements that reminded me of my physical existence in the present.

I came up with a set of mindfulness statements that I could use in various settings, depending on my condition.

Here is an example of statements I used for connecting to the my physical existence in the present:

• I am conscious
• I exist
• I am aware of my existence
• I exist here and now
• I am aware of my body
• I am aware of my feet
• I am aware of the contact between my feet and the ground
• I am aware of the air that surrounds me
• Air flows in and out of my body
• I am aware of my breath
• I am aware of my existence, in this place, in this moment
• I am aware
• I am doing a mindfulness practice

I said the above silently or aloud. I also took pauses and spent time in silence. I have found that when beginning the practice, it is helpful to say the statements without pauses. This helps to get you out of your thought bubble. Then as you notice that your mind calms down, and thoughts and emotions are not as intrusive anymore, you can simply be in silence for a while. This can be a very relaxing and blissful experience.

Thoughts will always surface, it is like an endless stream we live in. By directing your mind to the present now, to the experience of being present in the physical world, thoughts can become more quiet. If a thought comes, just return to the script. Remind yourself that you are conscious and aware, let go of the thought, and continue to read/say the script.

It is not important that you follow the script exactly as I have written it. Just say the statements. When you reach the end, continue from the beginning. At first, you can read the statements, from your phone or from a printout. Then as you become familiar with the practice, you can say the statements from memory, and come up with variations as you go along. This can truly become Do It Yourself Mindfulness.

When you get the hang of this style of doing mindfulness, it is easy to do variations. You can adopt the meditation to your current circumstances. You are not dependent on your mobile phone or any other equipment. It is you and your mind, you and your consciousness.

Having a background as a computer programmer, I started to view saying mindfulness statements as a kind of programming. Not that I believe humans are like computers, but because it is an intriguing analogy. We actually can program ourselves. We come with a programming system pre-installed, we just don't have the manual. We are not being taught how to take control of our programming.

Mindfulness statements are like scripts. You can create scripts for becoming present, for introducing calm, for relaxation, and many other uses.

If you want, you can record your own scripts, using your mobile phone, and listen to them. Or ask a friend to record the scripts for you.