MINDFULNESS MATTERS

Written By Duane Nelson

2 IDEAS FROM ME

  1. Mindfulness is passive and active loving awareness of body-mind experience in the present moment. It creates a clearing space in one’s mind between stimulus and response to apply signature strengths toward highest values and personal vision for living them. It takes intense desire and practice to cultivate this critical life skillset.

  2. The motivating factors for cultivating mindfulness are joy and death.

    • Joy is the courageous integration of Flourishing, Eudaimonia, Equanimity, and Lifeblood (FEEL). We maximize our joy by developing an accurate understanding of reality, passionate clarity of who we are, and mindful practice of our signature strengths toward our highest values and vision for living them. Mindfulness cultivates joy through physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being.

    • Death is the second motivational factor for cultivating mindfulness. Life is fragile, precious, miraculous, and finite. Many of us know this but don’t reflect on it daily because it’s emotionally painful to consider losing your life at some point or the lives of loved ones. Being mindful of death helps us clarify what’s really important in our lives and live and love each day to our fullest potential.

2 QUOTES FROM SAGES

  1. “We can smile, breathe, walk, and eat our meals in a way that allows us to be in touch with the abundance of happiness that is available. We are very good at preparing to live, but not very good at living. We know how to sacrifice ten years for a diploma, and we are willing to work very hard to get a job, a car, a house, and so on. But we have difficulty remembering that we are alive in the present moment, the only moment there is for us to be alive. Every breath we take, every step we make, can be filled with peace, joy, and serenity. We need only to be awake, alive in the present moment.”—Thich Nhat Hanh

  2. “We can not cure the world of sorrows, but we CAN choose to live in joy.”—Joseph Campbell

1 QUESTION FOR YOU TO EXPLORE

  1. Do you have an effective mindfulness practice that cultivates joy and helps you come alive in the present moment?

Namaste,

Duane Nelson

Duane Nelson

Ultrajourney Insight is an Anacortes Washington-based non-profit organization providing mindfulness & well-being services designed to ignite the adventure of a lifetime. The founder, Duane Nelson, is a writer, speaker, and teacher with four decades of parenting, wilderness, & international technology leadership. His professional insights come from chemical engineering and automation leadership at Philips, Intel, and Amazon. His adventure insights flow from ultramarathons, mountaineering, canyoneering, and adventure racing in Nepal, Alaska, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Hawaii, Mexico, British Columbia and Alberta.

https://ultrajourneyinsight.org
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