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Join me as I cook dinner and contemplate the need for always living mindful and conscious. The book mentioned in the video is The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying (aff). It's a fantastic book and if you haven't read it, I really recommend you pick up a copy.
Living mindful and conscious is a choice that you can make at any moment, even this moment right now. It's not magic and it's not something you need to have special powers to do. Try it right now. Become aware of how you're sitting, your posture; how your neck feels; relax your jaw and mouth; take a deep breath and collect yourself.
It doesn't take a few hours, or even a few minutes. This takes a few seconds. No matter how busy you are, you do have time to do this exercise. And by doing it, you're going to improve your entire day. Or at the very least, this moment.
First a very important question: You throw the ginger in one big chunk? You don’t cut it or grate it or mush it in the blender first?
Second: Mindful living….wonderful ideas. And you look fantastic. Must be the weather and your zen living. Great video Ram!
Thank you for the comment, Farnoosh. 🙂
If I’m making a soup, I’ll sometimes just put big chunks in, but usually I cut them into small pieces. I actually enjoy eating pieces of raw ginger and prefer it over a grated or mashed version. 😀
That’s a really cool book Raam, I devoured it in 2005 while working at Melbourne’s most central Starbucks 🙂
What I find mindfulness is… a similar concept to focus. Most of the time I don’t even realize my attention is not fully where I think it is. It’s only in meditation when I suddenly become one pointed for a bit that I realize the difference.
If only I could bring this into life more!
I think the practices like being aware of your body take your attention out of your mind… well out of the past and future and into the present. Of course the mind isn’t necessarily lost like that if we can retrain it. Bad mind!
Thanks for the vid.
Hey Ali,
Yes, I think focus and mindfulness go hand in hand. We cannot truly focus unless we’re being mindful and conscious.
It also really helps to avoid multitasking… ever. We cannot truly multitask anyway, so why should we lie to ourselves thinking we can? I find that remembering NOT to multitask automatically makes me more focused on what I’m currently doing.
My favorite book! I’m a huge fan of living mindfully and simply too. I’m so glad I found your blog and look forward to exploring it more. May you always be well, happy, and safe.
Hi Sandra!
Thank you for reading! Your blog seems full of thought-provoking useful information. I’m glad we’ve connected! 🙂
Hey Raam!
Living mindfully – and peacefully – is, as far as I’m concerned, the best way to live. Everything slows down, you feel calm, and it’s all good in your world.
Except one thing: being mindful and relaxed makes you infinitely more connected with your emotional state of being, which makes pain much, much, much more tangible and real. Since people go through their whole lives avoiding pain, they rush through things to ignore the pain they’re feeling inside.
Good vid!
Hey Brett! Thanks for the comment.
I agree that being mindful makes you infinitely more connected with your emotional state, but I think that’s a really good thing. Pain exists as a symptom to a bigger problem; it’s an indication that something is wrong. If we ignore the pain, then we’re not functioning at 100%. If we’re ignoring the problem, we’re limiting our potential and wasting valuable life.
Hi Raam
Your calmness came across in the video – a great advert for being mindful.
Plus I thought that the video was very well presented.
Looking inward instead of outward is something I really must try – and maybe even buy the book.
Hi Keith, thank you for the comment. 🙂
Looking outward is so easy because it happens naturally. Looking inward, I have discovered, takes conscious effort. But that’s all the more reason to live consciously! 🙂
Hey Raam, cool video. I definitely like the concept. I left this Q on your Facebook Youtube channel so I’m not sure if you even get a notification, but I was wondering what type of camera you have/the $. The quality is incredible. Thanks!
Hey Ross,
I do get notifications and I replied already. 😉 The camera is a Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 (aff). It’s really an incredible camera. Even after having used more expensive cameras, I wouldn’t want to take anything else with me when traveling!
I checked it on Facebook and didn’t see anything, weird. I’ll def. return here and hook up the $ when I choose to buy it, not this second though.
Awesome! Thanks Ross! 🙂
I like the mindful idea. I’m going to try….
Great to hear, Donna! Let me know how it goes. I’ll be more than happy to help if you’re having trouble with it! 🙂