If You Want to Become More Mindful, Check Your Watch

I found this article interesting because thanks to an app I recently installed, I am already doing this and receiving the benefits of it…

So, if the “monkey mind,” as the Eastern practitioners call it, has a mind of its own, how does one become more “mindful?” How can your mind remind itself to be mindful, when it loves to wander? Isn’t mindlessness the more typical – and even normal – condition?Here’s an easy way. Let’s imagine that you have a special relationship with a helpful little bird, one that likes to keep your attention in the now. Imagine that your feathered friend takes on the mission of reminding you, periodically, to just “tune in.” Only you can see and hear her, of course, and she comes to you only during your waking hours.Imagine that once every hour, she lights on your shoulder, politely chirps into your ear, and flies away. That little chirp is your signal to interrupt whatever you’re doing, however engrossing it might be (unless it’s reacting to a dangerous situation), and take five or ten seconds to look around, reorient to your surroundings, and remind yourself how great it is to be alive.This can be your moment of gratitude; or your moment of acknowledging the wonderment of the experience of life; a moment of giving thanks for all that you have in life; taking joy in the rewarding relationships you have with others; recommitting to taking care of your health; and for living wisely and gently. Just five or ten seconds, every waking hour, can have a remarkable effect on your sense of well being, and it can begin to condition you to return to immediate reality more often, and to appreciate what joy there can be in just living.“But,” you ask, “where is this magical little bird, and how do I make a deal with her to wake me from my trance every hour?”

Source: If You Want to Become More Mindful, Check Your Watch | Psychology Today

The app is called Mindbell and you can find it here…