Even though we read more and more often how good meditating is for us, many folks are still reluctant to do it. Others want to try it, but don’t know how to get started.

Meditation is a form of mindfulness, so I was excited to read and am happy to share with you some tips on becoming more mindful from the blog of Ellen J. Langer an award-winning social psychology researcher, professor, and author of 11 books including Mindfulness. (I added the bullets and italics to the excerpt below.)

“We’ve been researching mindfulness without meditation for over thirty five years.

• Actively drawing novel distinctions is the essence of mindfulness.
• One can simply ask themselves how the person they live with, the job they are doing, or/and the environment they are in is different is several ways from the day before and make a practice of looking for novelty.
• When we travel we expect everything to be new and so we notice, become engaged, and enjoy ourselves. The problem is that when we’re not on vacation we suffer from an illusion of stability and think everything we once experienced is the still the same.
• Everything is always changing and looks different from different perspectives. Bringing that expectation of not knowing to our daily lives will encourage us to actually notice  and be in the present.”

Taking a few moments to really notice your surroundings, your breathing, or how your body feels is a form of mindfulness. It’s being in the moment, which interrupts the often stressful, rapid-fire stream of thoughts constantly racing through our brains.

Mindfulness is a way to give your mind a break and it’s as easy as asking yourself, “What’s new?”

Sounds like the perfect pick-me-up!

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