The Buddhists have a tradition where they hang bells in strategic areas, so that when the bells ring, they are reminded to return their awareness to the present moment. They call these bells, mindful bells. Being mindful essentially means that we focus our awareness only on the present moment. Most of us spend very little time with our awareness on the present moment. Instead, we spend a great deal of time listening to the brain chatter that is constantly going on. We listen to our thoughts remind of us the past and how we could have done things differently and in a moment it switches course and begins to tell us how we need to prepare for the future. All day long, our thoughts race from past to future in hopes of gaining control of the outcome of our lives.
When our thoughts about past and future occupy most of our time, we miss the opportunity to participate in the present moment. Since the present moment is our only reality, it appears that we spend most of our lives missing life itself. The mindful bells remind us to stop focusing our awareness on our busy thoughts and instead, take a moment to ground ourselves in the present moment and observe life expressing itself. When we quiet the mind and turn our awareness on the present moment, we find a fullness in our life that we inherently seek.
There are many ways to incorporate mindful activity into our lives. This can be as easy as changing our perspective on something that we do every day. A good example is feeding our beloved pet. We all assume the responsibility of feeding our pet, so why don’t we expand to a more holistic perspective and do so in a mindful state. Imagine a mother feeding her infant. Most likely, she is fully engaged in the moment and the simple event of feeding her child becomes a mindful moment of loving experience. We can bring this same energy to feeding our pet.
Instead of feeding your pet from the perspective of another chore in your busy morning or evening, give yourself a few minutes each time you feed your pet to focus on the present moment, become aware of how grateful you are for having your pet in your life and allow your heart to open. Preparing and feeding your pet from a loving perspective creates an energetic exchange that will direct healing. It is a simple procedure of re-conditioning yourself in order to change your perspective. If you do this, you will find that when the act of feeding your pet becomes a mindful, heart-felt experience you will look forward to this time each day, You will begin to rely on this peaceful, loving experience.
That will help ground yourself and prepare you for the next moment.
Your pet lives in a mindful state each moment and is always there waiting for you to join her.
Maybe a little mindful feeding is a gift for both of you.
