Mindfulness & SoulCollage®

I hear the word “mindfulness” a lot more than I did 25 years ago when I first started practicing meditation.

Last week, a client asked me, “How would you define mindfulness?”    And it got me thinking.

I experience mindfulness as an alert, sustained, flexible focus of attention on “what is.”

Using our SoulCollage cards in a mindful way, working with our cards becomes part of our spiritual practice.  We might begin our “ritual” with a little prayer or blessing, invoking The Source to help us find a healing voice through the cards; to bring compassion into our lives.

Mindfulness is easy when everything’s going great.  But in challenging times, when our minds and emotions froth like a stormy sea, your SoulCollage cards can offer that still small voice of calmness and neutrality about “what is” and then begin to calm the storm in the mind.

The 3-Minute Breathing Space

As an example, your kids are screaming, the house is a mess, you’ve got a project due in 3 hours.

• Draw a card you like from your deck and ask, “What would you have me know?”
• Listen. Just be.  Let the words come to you without seeking.  The simple act of listening will start to calm the mind.  Kindling receptivity signals the body to breathed.
• Let a tiny micro smile come to your lips and watch the tide of wellbeing start to flow from your nervous system to your body.
• Now ask your card 3 simple questions:

1. What is?
2. How can I be more present?
3. What’s next?

Listen for the answers.  Let the message come to you.  Stop seeking.  Be open and receptive like a flower opening to the sun’s warmth.

• Alert
• Sustained
• Flexible
• Focus of attention on
• “What is.”

Now go back to what you were doing.

Be prepared to be more peaceful and productive.

See the similarities between SoulCollage® and Mindfulness

What happens when we practice:	Mindfulness	SoulCollage®
We are totally absorbed in what we are doing.  We have that delicious feeling of Flow.  We live in the present moment	yes	yes
We have a gentle awareness of our thoughts, rather than believing our thoughts	yes	yes
We are deeply engaged so that it keeps our attention focused, so that distractions cannot penetrate	yes	yes
As our attention focuses and narrows, self-consciousness evaporates	yes	yes
Awareness and action merge	yes	yes
We feel sense of personal mastery	yes	yes
The experience is intrinsically rewarding so it is a lasting pleasure in and of itself.  Its memory empowers us.	yes	yes
Every moment is new, novel. We sit in that place of not knowing, of discovery	yes	yes
We let go of self-improvement, and see and feel what is instead	yes	yes
Our powerful focus and awareness on what is helps us see the hidden meaning and power in everyday life	yes	yes
Benefits of the practice	Mindfulness	SoulCollage®
Inoculates us against impulsive thoughts, worry, rumination	yes	yes
Enables us to embrace rather than run away from troublesome behaviors or thought patterns, so we can heal	yes	yes
We learn the power of acceptance by the very nature of the activity	yes	yes
Optimal conditions for the practice	Mindfulness	SoulCollage®
Challenging but not unattainable, we use simple skills and we also stretch a little	yes	yes
Matched to ability level, so as to not feel stressful, but not so easy it would be boring	yes	yes
Goals needs\ to be clearly defined, concrete so that each step is clear	yes	yes
Need immediate feedback, to gauge progress quickly.  If it’s not working, it’s apparent and we change what we’re doing	yes	yes