The mind is such a powerful thing. You’d be surprise at how many of your thoughts get translated into actions, and how many of those actions end up having a direct impact on your life. It’s hard to think of the mind as a tool that can have such a powerful effect on so many different aspects of our life, but it does.
This is why it’s so important to be mindful of what you are feeding your mind.
You have to watch your thoughts, pay attention to the type of information you are taking in, as well as the type of information you are filtering out. Not just because your thoughts influence your actions, but also because your thoughts manifest energy into your life. You don’t want to manifest negative energy and as a result of that invite negativity into your life.
You want to manifest positive energy and invite positivity into your life. In order to do this, you have to think positively. You have to be mindful of how you exercise your brain, and what kind of information you allow your mind to consume. Only then can you truly begin to transform your mind for the better.
And you’d be surprise with how that transformation will change your life for the better.
Related Posts: 5 Ways A Coach Can Help You Reach Higher Personal Development
Related Posts: Healthy Life Habits to Replace Your Bad Life Habits
So how does one undergo a transformation of the mind? What does this transformation look like? How does it feel? What all does it entail?
I believe that this transformation would look and feel different for everyone. I don’t know all the right answers, but I do know a few mindfulness practices that have helped me transform my mind for the better this past year. Take a closer look at some of my favorite mindfulness practices below!
Mindfulness practices to transform your mind
Before we dive deep into these practices, I want to first clarify what mindfulness is. Mindfulness is the practice of being aware of everything happening within you and around you, free of judgement. You don’t take the time to acknowledge everything happening so that you can make some sense of the experience. You simply acknowledge what’s happening, and accept whatever comes after.
This is perhaps the hardest part of practicing mindfulness. Accepting everything as it is free of judgement.
However, you would be surprised at how drastically your way of thinking, and the way you interpret things will change as a result of this practice. I have been practicing mindfulness meditation for a while now and honestly, it’s still very hard for me to just let things be.
Sometimes I will find my mind wandering off into la la land, other times I will catch myself trying to make sense of something I noticed. Despite what may or may not be happening to mind during the meditation I stick with it. Why? Because I know that I am doing something good for my brain when I practice this form of meditation. I know that I am changing the way my mind takes in information, processes it, and then filters it back out into the world.
That to me is EVERYTHING!
So, lets look at some of ways you can transform your mind with mindfulness.
1. Body Scan Technique
I love this technique. The body scan technique is a skill that requires you to scan the length of your body and check in with how you are doing. For example, usually with this technique you begin at the crown of your head. While here you would spend some time checking in with how you feel mentally, as well as any physical sensations that may appear in this area.
Are you exhausted? Is your head throbbing? Do you have a headache? Are you having a hard time focusing?
Once you have checked in with that specific area of your body you allow your mind to wander down the length of your body, repeating the process, until you reach your toes. I like to do this technique twice. Once going down the length of my body, and then once coming up the length of my body.
In doing so I have found that I’m able to better tune into my body, as well as make sure that there were no areas I missed or quickly scanned over. This also allows me to be able to notice any changes to my demeanor and body sensations to ensure that the technique was done properly.
The overall goal of this technique is to help you become familiar with your body so that you are more aware of signs, situations, thoughts, or even actions that may trigger a negative response from you.
There are a couple of different ways that you can practice the body scan technique. I have created a step-by-step process of how I personally practice my body scan technique that you can get immediate access to through the Wellness Bundle Group Coaching Program. With this free template I describe in detail exactly what I do when I engage in this technique.
*signing up will subscribe you to the blog and give you access to the free template but not enroll you into the program.
Related Posts: 10 Positive Habits That Will Change Your Life for The Better
Related Posts: The Best Tips for Dealing with Life Transitions
2. Live in the moment
Another mindfulness practice that can help you transform your mind is learning how to live in the moment. All too often we get caught up with the hustle and bustle of everyday living. As a result of this we lose the ability to slow down, smell the roses, and take in everything around us.
Think about the last time you went on a walk and just enjoyed the walk. Did you notice the many different flowers that were around you? The different smells of the trees? The change of the weather as your feet moved further and further from your home, or even the sound of the birds hiding among the trees?
Did you leave your phone at home or go on this walk alone? What was your last walk like? What was the experience you had?
If you find that you are having a hard time identifying or recalling the little details that you may or may not have noticed on your last walk, this is because you were not present in that moment. You may have been walking as a means to clear your mind but you were not practicing mindfulness while on this walk.
Living in the moment can be challenging because it requires you to filter out all the noise and to tune into everything that you may not notice you aren’t even noticing. This skill goes beyond just taking a walk. You can implement it literally anywhere you may be in the world, and for any activity you may be engaging in.
When you train your mind to operate in the present moment you are teaching yourself how to slow down and properly take in and filter information. This in turn will help you better acknowledge all the good and all that bad that are having a direct impact on your thoughts, and how it’s being translated into your actions.
3. Notice everything
Simply notice everything. Much like learning how to live and operate in the present moment you are training your mind to really notice the smallest of details. This includes very subtle body language, the number of people in your surroundings, one to two key details about the people in your presence, familiar smells, changes in lighting or weather, and so on and so forth.
It sounds like a lot to take in and teach yourself how to do, and it should because it is a lot! Training yourself to notice everything is not something that happens overnight. It takes time. It takes consistency. It requires you to make a habit out of it before it becomes something you are able to just instinctively do.
Training yourself to notice everything can transform your mind in a couple of different ways. One way in particular that I have noticed is the way that I learn new things. I’ve always been a visual learner, meaning I need to physically see something with my own eyes in order to understand what is being taught to me. Since I’ve begun the process of noticing everything, I learn a lot more effectively.
When I learn something new, I’m more aware of specific words that are being used to help draw the connection between various ideas that are begin taught. I’m also able to essentially multitask in the sense that I take in information a lot quicker than I use to, but as I’m taking in the information, I’m also applying it to various areas of my life.
Essentially, I’ve learned how to make connections between new skills and content faster than I was able to do before. Training my brain to notice everything has transformed my mind to be a little bit ahead of the curve.
However, just like all of the mindfulness practices in the post this is something that takes time, a lot of practice, and a lot of patience.
4. Change the narrative you have about yourself
This one is so important. All too often we have this narrative about who we are and how we want to the world to see us that we so strongly hold onto. Why do we do this to ourselves? This is because it truly is what we have taught ourselves to believe to be true about who we are. This narrative does not have to be good nor bad, it’s just simply how we have learned to view ourselves.
Being mindful of the thoughts that you have about yourself, or the narrative you hold about yourself, can help you change the way you allow your mind to operate. Often times the way we see ourselves and the traits we believe to be true about us directly influences the way we choose to see the world. When you are not thinking positive and healthy thoughts about yourself you are poisoning your mind to constantly think and view the world in a negative light. When you do the opposite, the opposite happens.
This practice for transforming your mind is such a strange one because we don’t think that we have to change how we see ourselves in order to adopt a healthier mindset. However, the reality is that you do because the narrative you choose to hold about yourself will ultimately create the type of mindset you will have about everything outside of you. If you want to transform your mind for the better, you have to change the parts of you that are not aligned with this vision.
Related Posts: 5 Ways to Empower Yourself
Related Posts: Daily Morning Habits That Will Improve Your Life
5. Focus on your breathing
Mindfulness is all about being present and noticing everything in a non-judgmental way. Something else that comes with this practice is learning how to focus your breathing. Shifting your focus to your breath is a great way to acknowledge your emotions. Often times we spend way too much time feeling an emotion, and not enough time trying to work our way through our emotions.
Especially when that emotion may be overwhelming.
There are various breath meditation practices that you can do to help you center yourself, shift your focus, and ultimately transform your mind. The breath meditation practice that I like to do is a breath count meditation. With this practice I count my breaths in a sequence order until I feel myself come back to a resting state.
If you would like a detailed step-by-step guide to completing this mindfulness practice you can get immediate access to it by signing up for The Wellness Bundle Group Coaching Program. With this guide I share with you the flow that I engage in to help bring my emotions to the surface, acknowledge and accept them for what they are, so that I can begin to effectively work through them.
Conclusion
Transforming your mind with mindfulness is no easy task. It takes a great deal of patience, consistency, and above all commitment. While it may seem tedious, doing the hard work needed to be done in order to achieve the results that you desire, will help you transform your mind in a way that is needed to get there.
So much of what we think is influenced by the information that we take in throughout the day. Information from the TV, our phones and various social media platforms, conversations we have with other people, etc.
Not all of that information is good for us all the time, and we don’t need to consume so much information all the time. Mindfulness is a great way to filter out what’s positively impacting your mindset from what’s negatively impacting your mindset. When you remove the negative and keep the positive that is when your mind begins to transform for the better.
When this happens, you’ll be amazed at all the opportunities that open up for you, and ultimately the many different ways that your life will change.
-Xo
Kimora