Mindfulness In Plain English Novels & Stories

"A very expensive suit, I bet. Let me find a waiter to help clean it up." “It’s really not a big deal,” he said, his voice low and calm. “I’m usually not this clumsy,” I muttered. “Bad first impression, I know.” I braced myself, ready for the flood of thoughts that usually came with moments like this. The frustration, the silent complaints, the instant evaluation of me. But there was nothing. Wait. I blinked, my thoughts stuttering like I had missed a step I should have seen coming. Why wasn’t I hearing anything?

Lola's P.o.v Maya's excitement slowly faded into frustration as Grandma explained the techniques we can use to protect our mind. "Meditation." Grandma nodded serenely, "Learn to control your own thoughts and emotions. Keep's them out of reach." "And how long does this take?" I frowned, my mind running through the ways I could do this. "Awhile." Grandma frowned, "It's not an easy process, disciplining your mind." "Well." I sighed, her techniques wouldn't be useful to me tonight. "Where do I begin?"

1… 2… 3…. In… and out. I sat outside in the fresh air amongst the trees, breathing carefully as I focused on clearing my mind. I’d been working on these techniques over the last two weeks, and it was coming along nicely. Or at least, it seemed that way. How well it held up when it came time to actually use it, I couldn’t be sure.

“For instance, if you want to know when a person leaves and comes when he or she doesn't make any sound all you have to do is simply, train your ears. Train your mind. Your mind tells you what to do and your ears pick up the sound that is interpreted by the mind.” “Let's practice, take a deep breath, what do you hear?” “Footsteps?” “Yes,” Ria affirmed. “Wait what? I took a deep breath just to listen to people’s footsteps??!! If that is what the whole thing you said is about then spare me, I don't want to listen.” I said. “This is just the basis..” “Yeah, whatever. Thanks but I better stick with my usual way of hearing. I can't strain my ears just to hear footsteps.”

I adjusted my sitting position. "One; Mind your business. When I say mind your business, I mean whatever you see or what you hear. Be it good or bad, don't meddle. Not everyone will be friendly towards you" Okay this came out somewhat harsh. If different people are coming together, there should be a bound formed. How'd you learn new things if you don't communicate with one another.

He opened the door for me and gestured for me to take a seat. "So, how have you been since our last session?" he asked, settling into his chair across from me. "I've been doing well, thank you," I replied, crossing my legs. "That's great to hear. Have you been practicing the mindfulness exercises we talked about? "Yes, I have. They've been really helpful, especially during stressful moments at work." "That's wonderful to hear. Mindfulness is a powerful tool for managing stress and anxiety. Have you noticed any changes in your thoughts or behaviors since we started practicing mindfulness?"

I tried to feel nature, but I felt nothing. Just me in the dark and a gust of wind brushing past me. It felt empty and tiring. “Don't lose your focus. Don't struggle. Just let your mind be filled with peace,” she tells me, her words felt compelling but in a good way. Gina means good and I have to do it without struggling. I need to focus. My stomach growled. I skipped breakfast this morning because I wanted to meet up and now I am hungry and that's super annoying because I was in the middle of reaching the peak of the mediation.

I inquired. Luna Ashley explained that years ago, she had issues with having panic attacks out, seemingly out of the blue, after suffering through a traumatic event. The therapist she talked with taught her this coping skill, “It’s called a ‘Grounding Exercise,’ and it is taught under the umbrella of ‘Mindfulness.” When you are having an episode of anxiety or panic, if you use all five of your senses like we just did, it tends to ground you to the ‘here-and-now,’ not allowing you to get lost in a future that hasn’t happened yet.

“Can you teach me how to concentrate on one particular voice or the voices and noises around me. My sense of hearing are so heaightened and it's making me so uncomfortable” She chuckled at my words first before holding my hand. “One way to achieve that is to practice mindfulness and meditation technique”. “By training your mind to be in the present moment and focusing on a specific sound or voice you can block out other distractions and hone in on what you want to hear”. “This explanation might not be clear to you but don't worry I will teach you very soon on how it works”. “Thank you Alvina” I said as she finished explaining to me. “You're welcome”. She said with a smile as she drove off.

I feel like she genuinely cares about me. I tried to eat breakfast without thinking about anything, but my thoughts kept coming back again and again. Mindfulness wasn’t working this time. I took a cold shower, hoping it would cool down my head and silence the mental noise. It was useless. As the cold water ran down my body, burning thoughts kept pouring into my mind.