Leaving the Church to Find God
Leaving the Church to Find God delves into the shadows of organized religion, guiding you past indoctrination and towards authentic spirituality. Join solo reflections, insightful interviews, and a supportive community on this transformative journey beyond the pews.
Leaving the Church to Find God
Mindfulness: The Practice of Being Present
Can you imagine transforming your daily routine into a series of mindful moments that bring peace and clarity? This episode dives into the heart of mindfulness and authentic living, beginning with an exploration of what it means to be present and aware in every moment. I share my unique perspective as a professional photographer specializing in newborn sessions, revealing how being baby-led and moving at a slower pace can heighten our ability to tune into the energy around us. Through these experiences, we discuss the powerful impact of mindfulness on our everyday lives, from savoring simple activities to fostering deeper connections with ourselves and others.
Ever struggled with speaking your truth and staying authentic? We'll explore the challenges of people-pleasing and the importance of expressing your personal truth, even when it's uncomfortable. By learning to voice your feelings and thoughts, you can prevent them from consuming your mind and detracting from your present moment. Practicing true listening—without preemptively planning your response—can significantly enhance genuine communication and understanding. Throughout this discussion, I share practical mindfulness techniques like mindful breathing, eating, and movement, aimed at reclaiming your inherent stillness and clarity.
This episode isn't just about theory; it's about engaging with you, our valued audience. Join me for live Instagram sessions where we can discuss these topics in real-time and address your questions. Keep an eye out for announcements and participate in our upcoming dedicated Q&A episode. Your support and presence are invaluable, and I am excited to continue this journey of mindfulness and authentic living together. Thank you for being part of this community, and let's keep the conversation going!
If you would like to be a guest on this podcast or would like to support this work, visit www.leavingthechurchtofindgod.com where you can contact Melissa and or make a donation. Follow along my journey on IG at @authenticallymeli and find more in depth content on YouTube at Diary of an Authentic Life.
Aloha Godpod, thank you for being here again. Can you believe that this is episode 15? I cannot. I, it just has flown by. So many things to get into and to talk about. I'm learning so much. It's just been such a wild ride. Already there are going to be 25 episodes this season and this is number 15. So we're way past that halfway mark rolling on in to the end of this season. So thank you for being here. Everybody who keeps showing up week after week, I appreciate you, and even those who are new, I appreciate you too. So let's get in it.
Speaker 1:Mindfulness so last week I was talking about embodiment and I just decided to go for it with the embodiment, mindfulness, and then we'll talk about being soul led, because my whole shtick is authenticity, right, living authentically. Like authenticity leads to everything, leads to everything that you desire. And it just made sense to like I was inspired to go into embodiment and now it just makes sense to kind of lay this foundation and for me, like, the foundation of authenticity is, you know, embodiment, mindfulness and being soul led. So here we are today we're going to talk about mindfulness and I'm going to get through it sort of quickly because I've realized, like last week after I signed off, oh so much started pouring in. Don't worry, I took notes and that tends to happen once I really start, even though I've been thinking about it and mulling it around. Once I actually start recording and talking about a subject, more starts coming in. So what I think I'm going to do is create this into some sort of free program so that the bulk of the information is in there. So we're getting the highlights here of the podcast and if you want to know more and you want to dive deeper into it, that that's an option as well. So I'm working on that. So I tried to condense this a little bit. It'll be a little shorter probably than last week if I stop talking and get to it.
Speaker 1:So what is mindfulness? Mindfulness, it means being intentionally aware and engaged in the present moment, or, as so many people call it, being present, being right here, right now, with acceptance and without judgment. That's such a. Both of those two pieces are pivotal in mindfulness, because it literally is like about not resisting what's happening in the moment. So that's where the acceptance piece comes in and without judgment of what's happening. In that we are being mindful. It's not about stopping your thoughts and feelings at all. It's about stepping back and observing them, letting them come and go. If your mind wanders, gently bringing it back to the present Again, without judgment, not like there I go again, but ooh, there was a thought. Let's come back to the present, and this happens with practice.
Speaker 1:For me, personally, I feel like mindfulness is. It shows up, like slowing down, tuning into everything. That's not your thoughts, like your, all of your other senses and feelings and everything else that's around us, so that you can observe your thoughts, like all of your other senses and feelings and everything else that's around us, so that you can observe your thoughts like see your thoughts as the observer, rather to be consumed by them. It's about being mindful of your environment and any resistance to it, mindful of your emotions rising and falling. Mindful of your senses without analyzing them, of your emotions rising and falling. Mindful of your senses without analyzing them. Mindful of wanting to be somewhere else, wishing time away or the urge to lash out in frustration. Focusing on the present moment, tuning into physical sensations, being aware of everything that you do and letting go of thoughts about the future or past. I know it sounds so simple, right, but don't worry, we're gonna get into it. So, yeah, like being aware of what you do.
Speaker 1:This for me it shows up in such interesting ways is one way I was really thinking about is in my newborn sessions. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm also a professional photographer and I photograph newborn babies much of the time and with the babies I really try to be baby led. I really am baby led, and which means not having a goal, a specific goal of what I'm trying to accomplish from that session, but knowing what I'm capable of doing and then meeting that baby where they're at and producing something really beautiful, you know, meeting their capabilities with my capabilities. So I don't go in with like a shot list like many people do. I'll set up sets and make it cute, you know, have things planned out, but so many people come in with a shot list, they're on it, they get it done. I respect those people. They get their sessions done so much more quickly, but I'm very mindful about things.
Speaker 1:This is something that has built in me over years and years this awareness of being present, and so I've really plus, I think being neurodivergent really helps me to like zoom in, and so I feel like it's really just become a regular part of my life and, like in the newborn sessions, that looks like me just moving really slowly, me listening to the baby's movements and energy and reactions and working with that and instead of just trying to rush rush into another thing, I'm moving my hand very slowly and gently when I'm touching the baby. I'm not just like touching the fabric gently when I'm touching the baby, I'm not just like touching the fabric or moving something out of the way. I'm literally using my energy to feel that baby's energy. I'm tuning in. As I say this, I realized that I probably developed a lot of this like touch mindfulness from being a massage therapist, which I was a long, long time ago in one of my many lifetimes. But yeah, like really just stopping and slowing down when I'm with that baby, I'm looking at all the little hairs on their ear and I'm looking at their little hairs on their shoulder and where the skin is peeling off and if they're getting a little splotchy mark, that's letting me know that maybe they're getting a little hot in one area or the other. Just like really just tuning in, like zeroing in on that baby I don't know if you've seen in like the movies, like when they show like flies or an insect, like visioning. It's like everything else gets quiet and then they just like zone in on the thing. That's what mindfulness looks like in practice. For me that's like it's just really just tuning out everything else and focusing in on the present experience. You know, it's not going to happen overnight. For one being aware, awareness brings mindfulness right. So when we become aware of something, then oftentimes you know, especially if we live mindfully, we it just becomes. You know, it went from our subconscious into our conscious awareness and then we become mindful of it.
Speaker 1:I was, I used to work with this guy. He did it's called Zen therapy. There's nothing Zen about it. It's the most painful thing I've ever experienced, but it worked. He was a real, he's a body worker. I wouldn't call it massage because that would be very misleading or chiropractic, it's some torturous something incorporating them both, I guess. But he had learned it in a monastery. He was a monk for more than 20 years and he did this thing called Zen therapy and it worked. It was very painful, not Zen therapy, and it worked. It was very painful, not Zen, but it worked.
Speaker 1:And he said something to me, you know. He said oh, you're really right side dominant, which totally made sense. At the time I was very much in my masculine energy, which is represented by the right side of the body, and I'm like, yeah, that makes sense. And I'm like, well, what can I do about it? And he said nothing you will automatically do something about it. Now that you're aware of it, and I was like, oh, okay, that makes sense and it's true.
Speaker 1:Actually, the next time I went and saw him which he's not someone you go see often, so this is probably a year later you really went once when you were in desperate need, would fix whatever it was, and then you didn't go back unless you absolutely had to. I speak of him in past tense because I'm pretty sure he's retired now, but maybe not, I don't know, I'm too afraid to find out but he then, the next time I went to see him, he was like, oh, your left side is really tight, you know, and he was talking about these different places where I had a lot of tension in my left side. He was like you were overdoing it, you were trying too hard, and he was right.
Speaker 1:I have been making a very mindful effort of using my left side, which I guess was a little bit of an overuse, but that's mindfulness. You know, once it becomes in our awareness and we hold it in our awareness, then we practice mindfulness around it. So it can look like our making space for mindfulness in your day to day can be like noticing when your mind is escaping the present, like if you're doing something and then you start thinking about something that happened in the past and like ruminating. Or you're working on something and then you like go into oh, what am I going to eat when I get off work, or what am I going to do next week, or what am I going to wear to this thing, and you get into the present, then you're escaping I mean into the future, then you're escaping the present moment. So just kind of noticing when your mind wants to escape the present.
Speaker 1:A lot of times it happens when we are uncomfortable because we have been trained, like I spoke on last week. If you haven't listened to last week's episode on embodiment, please do this. Will all make a lot more sense. But when I was speaking last week on embodiment, that was the thing. It's like we're trained to avoid discomfort. That was the thing is like we're trained to avoid discomfort. That's kind of how our environment and our society has conditioned us that discomfort is a bad thing when it really isn't. Again, go back to that episode and you'll understand. And so when our mind gets uncomfortable or when we're, a lot of times when we're actually accomplishing something that we care about or we're doing something that we don't care about, our mind will escape discomfort by going into a past or a future tense, thinking about something that's not actually happening in that present moment.
Speaker 1:Making space for mindfulness can look like being aware of your reactions to stimuli, like when somebody jumps out in front of my car driving down Baldwin Avenue. I'm laughing because I realized, like I don't even know. I mentioned Baldwin Avenue and Hana Highway intersection in Paia often because it was really the bane of my existence but also couldn't live without it and everything in that intersection. But that's where Mana Foods is. But going down Baldwin and some pedestrian jumps out in front of my car, you know I'm gonna like really get enraged and very upset about it because deep down I'm concerned. I'm concerned for their safety. I'm concerned because I almost hit them and it scared me. But you know, that doesn't mean that's bad, that doesn't mean I shouldn't react in that way, but just me being aware of it, you know, which automatically brings me back into the present, as you can see, I'm laughing and I'll do that. I'll be like, ah, so angry at a driver and within seconds I'm like laughing at myself because I'm like, I'm really not mad about that, this is just a reaction, and even if I was mad about it, it would be okay.
Speaker 1:The mindfulness is that awareness of it, right, and so I'm not stuck in this like moment of enraged, you know. Instead, I'm the observer of it and I see that and I'm like, oh, melissa, you really don't like this intersection, do you babe? And it makes me laugh and makes me appreciate myself on another level. So, and that's you know kind of how it plays out. You know, like a big part of what I am doing with this podcast is untangling and with my book is untangling beliefs, you know, that were given us, these beliefs, that of perfection and productivity, that keep us kind of stuck in our thoughts and kind of in this cycle that keeps us stuck Doing things for the enjoyment, with no goal. That is a beautiful way of being mindful, like when I'm doing arts and crafts, or I'm doodling, or I'm sitting on the beach, making designs with um, coral and shells, whatever it is like, just doing it for the enjoyment. I'm not going to sell it to anybody, I'm not going to take a picture of it, I'm it's probably not even going to look pretty, but I, I just enjoy it. Like that's. That's mindfulness in everyday life, right?
Speaker 1:Speaking your truth, speaking your truth so that it doesn't consume your mind, because if you don't let those thoughts out, they're going to stay in and they're just going to circulate and take over your thoughts, which takes you out of the present, right? So that's what's so important and this is one of the ways that it really really deeply ties into authenticity. It's because, when we speak, you know the truth. Your truth is your truth, whether you're embarrassed by it, whether there are other people like it or not, whatever the situation, it's still your truth. So why not let it out, right, like other people are letting theirs out? This is not like a new phenomenon. I'm speaking to the people pleasers out there. Let it out Like say what you mean, mean what you say, right, speak your truth and that's you know.
Speaker 1:If somebody does something that doesn't feel good, you know, say it in the moment. If you think about it, and if you don't say it later, if you need to to get it off your mind, it in the moment, if you think about it, and if you don't say it later, if you need to to get it off your mind. But you know, somebody says something that's harsh or doesn't feel just and you could say that, like that hurt my feelings, or what did you mean by that? Or one of my favorites is what were you trying to accomplish by that? Because that really gets down to the root of the compliment. You know, and sometimes somebody could be trying to pay us a compliment and it sounds like an insult. Or sometimes they're insulting us and they don't realize that they're being passive, aggressive.
Speaker 1:Asking that question can really get down to the core of you know. It brings mindfulness to what we're saying. So speak your truths. If you don't like something, say it, say it. It's the truth anyway. Not saying it isn't making it go away, it's not making it less true, it's only festering. I promise feeling your emotions fully.
Speaker 1:Mindfulness can look like that, like if you're feeling something like me and the rage in the car, like sure I could probably control it. I'm sure I could, because I'm really usually not even angry Again. It just scares me. But I, you know, feel those emotions. I let them out. I scream and I'm, you know, I let it all out. I feel it fully and that's being mindful, you know, of how we're feeling and being, in our emotions.
Speaker 1:We can be mindful, the same as embodiment, like resting when needed, just by being embodied. So many of these things you'll see with this conversation and with the next one on being soul led, that they are really intertwined and that's not a coincidence. I'll get into more of it later, but that's like the unity part. That's what the body, mind, spirit is the embodiment, the mindfulness and being soul led. It is a unity. All of it works in harmony to create, you know, this unity within us. So they're going to overlap. Mindfulness and embodiment can look exactly the same. It can look exactly the same as being soul led, because they are. It's just like different sides of the same coin. It can look exactly the same as being soul-led, because they are. It's just like different sides of the same coin.
Speaker 1:You know, oh, what does mindfulness look like in practice? Y'all, I actually took notes. Can you tell that? I'm actually like focusing and staying on subject. Let me know what you think. Let me know if you like it better when I'm like intuitively rambling, or let me know if you like it when I intuitively ramble to my notes app and then organize it in a way that comes out cohesively in the podcast. I'm hoping that this helps me keep it shorter to make it easier listening, and maybe I'm talking too fast, I don't know. Let me know, guys, I'm here for your feedback. Let me know. As long as it's kind, like be kind. It doesn't have to be something I want to hear, but say it with kindness, please, or at least neutrality. Oh, what does mindfulness look like in practice? It means listening to someone without being in your head thinking about how you're going to respond to them when they finish talking. That wasn't judgment. That wasn't judgment. I know it may have sounded judgy, it wasn't so.
Speaker 1:Many of us do this. It's such a common practice and a lot of us it's just because we want to be engaged and we want to say the right thing or we have our own. You know, social anxiety that we're dealing with for whatever reason. That we're dealing with for whatever reason. This is something I feel like our whole humanity would elevate if we could be more mindful just around this one thing, which is, when you're in conversation with someone, listening, being mindful, being present to what they're saying, to how they're feeling while they're saying it, sure, but be present with them as they're speaking and not in your thoughts about what you're going to say when they finish speaking, about how you're going to respond or how you disagree or whatever. Just listen. Just listen and hold space. Trust me, your thoughts will be waiting for you when they finish their sentence. I promise they don't go anywhere. Trust me, I've tried, they're still going to be there.
Speaker 1:I can also look like doing tasks slowly and intentionally, which helps us to avoid mistakes and savor the experience. This is like when, like I was talking about, with the newborn photography, you know, or sometimes when I'm cleaning my house. Sure, I could like bust through it, bam and get it done and whatever, but I actually enjoy it when I take time and like really get into the nooks and crannies and reorganize and wipe down all the parts. And you know, the last time I cleaned my bathroom, I was so excited, I actually even cleaned the walls and ceilings, y'all. I cleaned the walls and ceilings, not just knocked down spiderwebs, I actually cleaned the walls and ceilings because I enjoyed it. I was really being mindful and it was.
Speaker 1:My bathroom was built out brand new when I moved in a year ago and I want to keep it brand new. The same with my kitchen. I want to honor what the landlord has invested into the place but also, like I love having new stuff. So I'm going to keep it as new and clean and pretty as I want it. So it was my intention to go in the bathroom it had been a year and give it a reset and make it like it was brand new again. And I did. I enjoyed that. It didn't feel like a chore because I really took my time. I took my time and went through my medicine cabinet and wiped down all the shelves and took out what I didn't need. You know, I did the whole thing but it wasn't a chore because I was doing it mindfully and that's the beauty of it.
Speaker 1:It's like, really, when we start doing things mindfully, we enjoy it. Not necessarily because I enjoy cleaning my bathroom. I freaking hate cleaning my bathroom. It is normally one of my least favorite things to do. But that's the beauty of mindfulness is that we bring presence into what we're doing, whatever it is that we're doing, it makes it more enjoyable, because what's happening is we're enjoying the experience of being alive, we're enjoying the experience of experience, we're enjoying the experience of our senses, we're enjoying the experience of our body's ability to move and to understand and to process information. It's really an opportunity for our soul, for that larger, broader perspective that I was talking about last week. It's an opportunity for that broader perspective to enjoy being human. Y'all that just came to me while I was talking. That wasn't in the notes, so you're welcome. Okay, listening without we did that one.
Speaker 1:Be aware of how your words impact others. Thinking before you speak it's a classic example of being mindful. It's something that we've heard our whole lives. Hopefully that we do. We have held on to that bit of mindfulness in society thinking before you speak and again, that's just being in the present moment and being like, oh, I'm about to say this thing, but this person's over here that that could trigger this other thing that they're dealing with right now and come out the wrong way. That could be hurtful for them. So I'm actually not going to say it like that, or I could use these wordings, but that doesn't feel aligned with what I'm saying. So let me take my time and say this in a way that's going to be effective and that's not going to trigger, but it's going to actually communicate Thinking before you speak. That is. It is, I think, the number one way that we've all heard the most ever about being mindful. It just wasn't necessarily called that, so I'll stop rambling.
Speaker 1:Through these practices, you train your mind for its true purpose. What is that true purpose? It's not getting lost in thought spirals and mental noise. I'll tell you that much. It's being an open and aware presence, able to clearly perceive the world around you and within you I'm going to say it again and within you. I'm going to say it again. It's being able to clearly perceive the world around you and within you by being an open and aware presence. That's it. You're the presence. You're that broader perspective and when you step back and you're in that observer, you're the observer, you're the presence that's observing this life experience. That's it, baby. That's it.
Speaker 1:The mind's purpose is to be a focused tool. It's not a runaway train of thoughts and worries. It's a tool. It's a tool for solving tactical problems. It's a tool for keeping us alive. It's a tool for navigating physical situations that we're approaching. It's a tool to be used by you not to be confused, for you rightful role as the observer and perceiver, rather than a deluded dictator constantly narrating what's happening and telling you what means what and what to believe about yourself and about others and about each situation that you're in.
Speaker 1:With practice, the mind settles. Thoughts come and go, but they don't dominate you, reclaim your inherent stillness and operate from a place of clarity and calm, responding to life rather than reacting to life. This is the mind's true power and freedom, no longer buffeted by every passing thought, but harnessed in service of your deepest wisdom and truth an open, receptive consciousness living fully in this present moment. Living fully in this present moment Sounds good, huh, sounds good, right, right, are you in? Do you want to know some techniques? You know I'm not going to tell you you need to do it without giving you some ways. So here we go. Here's some easy techniques to understand the practicality of what mindfulness is Like mindful breathing you can like literally stop and take breaths, but you feel the breath like in your body and the sensations in your body when you're breathing and you feel the breath like when you're breathing out.
Speaker 1:You feel the temperature of the breath. You feel the way that the breath touches your skin when you move out. You feel your muscles contracting around your diaphragm. You feel you maybe smell your breath when you're doing it. Like being mindful when you're breathing is really just tuning into the act of breathing.
Speaker 1:Mindful eating it's the same thing. It's a great way to practice mindfulness is to stop. Oh, this was so hard for me. Being in the service industry anybody who's been in the service industry you know I have bartended and served for a great deal of my life and you get these brief glimpses of moments to eat and you work, usually pretty long shifts and you're burning lots of calories, moving a lot and you don't get a lot of time to eat. So you really just kind of have to like learn to inhale food and finish a meal in like less than a minute. I'm not exaggerating. So mindful eating was great. I'm really. I'm still learning it, I'm still practicing it. I've definitely become more mindful to where it's usually like as soon as I start eating fast, I kind of catch myself and I'm like, ooh, let me slow down and enjoy this.
Speaker 1:But mindful eating looks like you know, savoring each bite of your food, tasting it, feeling how it feels in your mouth, smelling it, seeing it on your plate, like really appreciatingating each ingredient, taking a moment to show gratitude to the people who prepared it, taking a moment to feel gratitude for the people who grew the food, who, for everybody along the way that made it happen to the, where that could be on your plate. Feeling it in your body. Feeling when your body is full like filling your body's, cues about it, and when your body's full, like stopping to eat or, if you are not sure, stopping and giving it a few minutes and then, if you're still hungry, you can continue to eat If you're not stop there. Those are ways of mindful eating. Mindful movement can look in a lot of different ways. One could just be as simple as going for a walk. Go for a walk and pay attention to your surroundings instead of your thoughts, and if your thoughts come, that's fine. They're going to, but let them pass. You don't need to get caught up in them and entertain them and keep going into these scenarios or these thoughts, just like, let them come and go.
Speaker 1:You know, noticing, this morning I went for a walk. I didn't sleep well last night, which is why the podcast is probably going to publish a little late today, because I was up at like 4am and I decided I wasn't able to go back to sleep within like an hour. So I got up and started doing things and ate breakfast. I went for a walk. It was so nice. I love going for walks before the world is awake, like early in the mornings. I love being out in the world before the world is awake. I don't like being awake before daylight, though they're two very different things.
Speaker 1:But I was on my walk this morning and I looked up at this big tree and the way that the light was shining. It looked like a cartoon. It was just so like defined and colorful and bright. It was really cool. And then I was looking at these other trees and the sun was starting to shine through in ways that it was creating like a star, like beams, you know, like I create with my camera sometimes in photos. But I noticed the difference between how the photos show it and how my eyes were actually seeing it and enjoyed having a little morning sun in my eyes and looking up at the trees. And then I looked over and I could see this ray of sun like on the grass, like highlighting the section of grass that made it just like this really bright yellowish green color, when the others were still kind of dull from the animals and noticing the insects that were happening and seeing leaves fall down from the tree and noticing little beads of mist on the plants. That was a mindful walk. That's what mindfulness feels like and just talking about it, I got a little lost. I don't even know how long I went on there because I was really back in that moment, enjoying that moment. It was just a little walk this morning but gosh, it was amazing. It was such a beautiful, wonderful day to start my day. That's a great example of mindful movement. You know mindful listening. You could listen to sounds around without analyzing them or trying to figure out where they're coming from or whatever, but just like letting them pass, come in and out.
Speaker 1:My favorite form of mindfulness is mindful self-compassion. Notice when you're judging yourself and reminding yourself that you're human and that everyone makes mistakes and that it's okay, it doesn't mean anything about you. That it's okay, it doesn't mean anything about you. Really like, being mindful of how many judgments you make about yourself throughout the day and how many beliefs you have about yourself is such a powerful, powerful practice. I'll keep mentioning it because it's so important. Kristen Neff has done some amazing work on mindful self-compassion. You can look up. She has a workbook which I recommend to so many people, and there's also a book, fierce Self-Compassion. Either will do, depending on you know what medium you like to use. They're all going to have. Both of them have exercises they all need to complete. Mindful self-compassion is an amazing practice for authenticity, for embodiment, for mindfulness, obviously, for being soul-led, like it all ties in there. Such an important, important, important piece.
Speaker 1:So, other than the pure enjoyment, if you're not already sold, I'll let you know a few of the benefits of mindfulness include reduced stress and anxiety these are the proven stuffs, y'all. Increased focus and concentration, improved emotional regulation, greater self-awareness and insight, an ability to savor positive experiences, better sleep Potential, relief from chronic conditions. Those are great benefits. There's just scratching the surface of the benefits. If anybody does this, if anybody starts practicing this mindfulness, please I would love to hear from you. You can message on social, you can always comment on blog posts, you can just message me personally, whatever, but let me know. I want to hear about your experience of mindfulness and benefits that you are experiencing from it or ways that you're practicing it. Maybe I'll do. Yeah, that's what we do. I'm going to do a post on Instagram about this episode or about mindfulness in general, and I would love for you to come there and leave some comments so that I can hear about your experience with this practice.
Speaker 1:And, of course, coming back to authenticity, because otherwise it wouldn't be me, what does mindfulness have to do with authenticity? Well, it allows intentional action versus being an autopilot. By being intentional in our action, it is going to be more aligned with our internal truth rather than just acting from the mind, just an autopilot repeating the same motions. By the non-judal observation. It helps prevent overthinking, which lowers stress. We talked about that one. But without the overthinking, we can be more present in general and be our authentic selves. Hear our authentic selves, know what that even means.
Speaker 1:The self-awareness reveals our core values. You know, the more aware we become of our feelings about things and our thoughts about things and we start observing all of this, then it gives us cues. It's like oh, that's something that's really important to me. For me, one of my core values is integrity. It's really important that if I give my word, that I keep it and if, for whatever reason, I'm not able to that, I make that right and that I keep it the next time. But always the default is going to be if I give my word, I keep it to myself and to others. Integrity is one of my core values.
Speaker 1:Inclusion is one of my core values. I don't want to create something that's exclusive when it's this important. I don't want this brand to be exclusive. I want this brand to include anyone who it feels aligned with. So inclusion is one of my core values. I know that from being tuned into myself, from noticing my own thoughts and reactions to experiences that are happening in my life, so that self-awareness. It reveals those core values to you Tuning into the body and being mindful of the body.
Speaker 1:It guides our intuitive choices. It helps us let go of resistance and create openness for our lives, for growth, for opportunity, for connection and appreciating the present moment. It nurtures gratitude. It just my description of my walk this morning, like I was feeling so grateful for all of those things that exist in the world, so those you know connections to authenticity. It so, ultimately, you know, mindfulness anchors you in your truth so you can listen to your inner voice and align your life with your genuine self. It's the catalyst for living with integrity. Mindfulness is just as important as embodiment, and embodiment is just as important as being soul-led, and being soul-led is just as important as being soul led, and being soul led is just as important as mindfulness. It's imperative. Ultimately, mindfulness anchors you in your truth so you can listen to your inner voice and align your life with your genuine self. It's a catalyst. It's a catalyst for living in, a catalyst for living in truth, for living in authenticity and integrity.
Speaker 1:So Does this make sense? Is it tracking? How do you feel? Let me know.
Speaker 1:I look forward to hearing from you all about this and, if you want to know more, I am developing something that will share more, that will get further into this. I would love to have a conversation about it. I've been going live on Instagram on Wednesdays, so if you want to join for a live I don't give an exact time because that's just not how I operate, but I will be there on Wednesday, so if you want to keep an eye out, I usually announce about an hour or two beforehand that I'm going live and we can do some question and answers on this. You can always just type in questions that I'll include. I'm hoping to do a question and answer episode before the end of the season, so if you have any questions about anything we've talked about in the season, go ahead and start getting those to me, please.
Speaker 1:And yes, thank you again for being here, thank you, thank you, thank you. I am aware of your presence. I appreciate your presence. I appreciate your support. If y'all keep showing up, I will too. I love you. Have a wonderful day and stay authentic.
