When it comes to mindfulness in daily life, we emphasise the importance of slowing down.
It is in slowing down that we meet the world with more awareness and presence. We learn to fully engage with your immediate experience, rather than rushing through them mindlessly.
When we slow down, the body calms down and the mind learns to settle - which means we are seeing life more clearly than before, and we make better, wiser decisions.
When we slow down, we can really pay attention to the things that matter. We listen with attentiveness and compassion, we respond with thoughtfulness and care. We have greater capacity to meet others where they are and nurture more meaningful connections.
Slowing down is not about doing less, or becoming passive and unmotivated. Rather, it is an intentional practice of conscious awareness and discernment towards the life we want to lead.
Do we want to rush through life, or savour those precious moments?
Do we want to react impulsively, or respond thoughtfully?
Do we want to decide in haste, or make good, healthy choices?
Do we want to have hurried conversations, or quality interactions?
Do we want to be swept up in external chaos, or find navigate life with balance and grace?
In this Take A Pause session recorded live on 10 November 2024, the TAP community practiced slowing down through moving mindfully. We noticed moments of habitual hurry and the desire to rush when there is no need for rush. We reminded ourselves to move with conscious awareness, and observed how our body and mind readily embraced this easing of pace.
We closed the session with listening to a reading from The Experience of Insight: A Simple and Direct Guide to Buddhist Meditation by Joseph Goldstein.
Upcoming Retreats with Erin:
TAKE A PAUSE MINI RETREAT
Planting Seeds of Growth
WHEN: Sunday 16 March 2025, 10 am - 1 pm
WHERE: Yoga Seeds, Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park
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