Mindfulness and Wimbledon

July 15, 2013

Being open to what is real, without judgement,  underpins a mindfulness approach. I have recently completed an 8-week mindfulness course to use alongside my counselling training.  Mindfulness is not a religion and as such can be done by those with faith and those without.

The practice encourages us to stop the incessant thinking that many of us do and to accept things without judging them. This can be difficult and promises to get easier over time.  It really encourages the habit of being in present in our experience rather than spending our days longing for yesterday or worrying about tomorrow; today is all we have.

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Wimbledon was a great example of being focused on the present moment.  The players could not spend their time only dwelling on their past achievements or their desire to lift that trophy.  All of their attention was needed, live, in the game, in the present, winning one point at a time.

Of course there is a place for memory and planning throughout our lives.  Only you will know if you have the balance right for your life at present.  Do you spend too much of your energy focused on the past, present or future for your current happiness? Leave a comment below to share your thoughts

 

Shirley

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Shirley Anstis is a counsellor, author and former magazine editor with a desire to live well and support others to do the same. She uses counselling, mindfulness and therapeutic writing to help her clients to work through their past, connect to their present and step into their future.This means connecting to our thoughts, feelings, imagination, body, mind and soul. The aim is to live happier and more fulfilled lives as we remember to be living beings, not just doing beings.