by Gemma King
What happens if a river is not able to flow?
It builds up and gets really smelling, looks all thick and dirty and you don’t want to go near it. Our bodies can be likened to a river, as it is made up of 70-80% water, and like a river, if we don’t flow, we also end up like horrible sludge.
Do you wake up each day with lack of motivation, things you need to complete, no interest in completing them? The to-do list is like a permanent smell, waiting for you to attend to.
Why Oh Why do we do this to ourselves?
When all we need to do is complete the job, and… afterwards we always feel better, like it wasn’t even such a biggy?
The mind is actually quite simple. It works on the basis of good makes me happy and I will do it, and bad is not enjoyable, so I will avoid it. In theory this is a good idea, for happiness and all that. However, in reality we are just making our lives more difficult than they need to be.
Let’s start by reflecting on something you really enjoy doing. Do you find this makes you lose time, and you get so absorbed that you totally switch off from the outside world – even if your phone rings or beeps, you don’t hear it.
Wow! What?
If your river is flowing, it’s like magic, and you feel blissfully content. Where in that moment, there is no time, no world – just you and the experience. Some artists, whether visual or auditory, experience something similar, however on a deeper level. They speak of seeing the music notes or colours in sequence before they create the song/picture. Their senses are beyond what we can comprehend, however, we can learn from their insight.
What do you think is the difference between them (the artists) and us?
For one, they don’t think, they just experience. When we are busy with something we enjoy, we also don’t think, we just enjoy – experience. You may be asking how do we experience something, that we don’t enjoy, so we enjoy it, keep flowing and don’t get sludge?
Well that’s easy… Stop Thinking.
Are you serious?
Let’s have a look a bit further. What happens with the tasks you don’t enjoy?
Perhaps it is boring, and you keep thinking how boring it is. Perhaps it’s going to take soooo loooong, and you can’t stop thinking about how loooooong it’s going to take. Perhaps even, there is something else you would rather do, yep that’s right, then you’ll be thinking about what you
would rather be doing. All the meanwhile, dragging on the task you don’t want to do.
If you spend most of the time thinking about why you shouldn’t be doing something, it just wastes time and means it is still not done. However, imagine if you replaced thinking with your sensations? If you do something without thinking and only use your senses, it will turn something you don’t enjoy into something your will enjoy. Not because the task itself has got
any better, but because the experience you are creating is better.
Here are the steps to get you used to the process: To Get Mundane Bliss
Step One – Plan (gather the music notes and colours)-To Get Mundane Bliss
- Create daily tasks and order them boring, fun, boring, fun. Some people prefer to set tasks the night before, and some in the morning, go with what suits you, but do set a list of things to complete.
- Don’t do all the quick and easy ones first, spread them out and balance them – the key is in the planning. Think about what works best for you, some people have the highest motivation in the morning, some in the afternoon, and some in the evening, so build your list of easy to hard, long to short according to this. High motivation/ energy works well with the worst tasks. Perhaps start with a fun one and then do a not so nice one. Work with your body and energy levels.
Step Two – The environment-(To Get Mundane Bliss)
- Let’s face facts, you can’t enjoy your olfactory sense if you are surrounded by something stinky. Think of what senses you would like to use, perhaps sound, music, smell, candles, incense or, natural like birds or water – these are the attributes to your mindful environment.
- If you are new to the experience, be easy with yourself, you may be looking for a way out or a failure to say see, it doesn’t work. Turn the sound off on your phone, hide things that would distract you, and create an optimal environment for you to succeed.
Step Three – the winner to a blissful mundane.
- Just do. If thoughts creep into your head, tell them “you are too busy now to listen” and then switch your focus.
- Prepare yourself to do the selected task as if you are feeling, seeing, and sensing each little bit. If you find it hard, try and think of describing the sensations. Bring your complete awareness to the now and what you are busy with. This is just for the beginners to get into the rhythm, as you become an expert, you will automatically switch to being in the now. For example, if it’s typing, describe what your fingers feel, perhaps your wrist, if you aren’t sitting straight, your feet on the floor, your bottom on the chair.
- Let your mind be absorbed into the task and sensations of the now, and before you know it, you’ll be in bliss. The secret to get Mundane Bliss.
Gemma King is a Life Mentor and a Life Coach / Counsellor at DontStopkeepgoing.co.uk. I have always been interested in human and animal behaviour. Just observing, not judging, not assuming, just watching. There are many lessons I’ve learnt just from this. It is these simple lessons that I give to others to help them. Don’t Stop, Keep going -> Forward and Grow. www.dontstopkeepgoing.co.uk https://www.facebook.com/groups/yourhumanjourney
