First of all, I want to tell you what mindfulness is not. It’s definitely not a religion, nor does it follow any particular dogma. Mindfulness is for anyone who strives to live their best life through love and kindness. It’s for anyone who is tired of living in the negative and desires a life filled with joy and peace. Mindfulness is for anyone who wants to live fully by their beliefs and values without any fear. It’s for those who seek to live a simpler and happier life.
The technical definition of mindfulness is a state of being and the ability to live in the present moment. It’s about cultivating more self-awareness around your thoughts and consciousness. Mindfulness is opening yourself up to more abundance and inviting in more joy and happiness into your life by releasing the negativity that doesn’t serve you.
So how can mindfulness impact your expat life?
It’s really not about where you’re living, what religion you are or how you choose to live your life. By practicing your life through mindfulness you can create a life in positivity, happiness and harmony. Just being aware of your thoughts can change your life tremendously!
To give you a better idea of how mindfulness can impact your life, I’m going to list a few aspects below and share with you my personal experiences around each one.
Self Awareness
Being more aware of my thoughts has truly made a difference in my life. I used to really believe my thoughts sometimes, and the stories I would tell myself, which really made my life miserable. I can’t even count how many times that I would make up a story in my head around someone, or a situation, and the more I thought about it the more I would actually believe it! Even worse, I would sometimes act on it! Never really knowing the truth behind it all (can you resonate with this?)
That’s how strong your mind can be, it can lead you into a negative pattern of lies, assumptions and negativity that you end up living a miserable life because you feel that you just can’t trust anything or anyone. Or you’re constantly second guessing yourself in turn making decisions entirely out of alignment with your true beliefs and values. That’s how I was living for a long time and I hated it. I knew that it wasn’t the person I wanted to be.
When I came into mindfulness and started to become more aware of my thoughts, and those crazy stories! The more I was able to take a step back, recognize them and then let them go. As my awareness started to increase around this, I noticed a complete shift in my attitude and how I was able to hold more peace in my life. I’m not sweating the small things in life as much as I used to and I take no responsibility to what other people say or do. I’ve learned how to release the personal attachment to the things that I can’t control. And I have to say it’s been an AMAZING transformation! This has given me so much more peace and space for the joys in my life and I want you to have the same!
Staying Present
Now this isn’t always so easy. It’s hard to stay in the moment especially these days when there are so many things in the world to take in and process, I totally get it. However, the more you practice this aspect of mindfulness the more you start to lose sight of the pains of the past and the worries of the future. You'll start to hold more gratitude for what you have and the joys around you. I’ve experienced just that throughout my own mindfulness practice.
Of course, it’s important to learn from the past and the lessons that it has shown you, but to dwell on any negative thoughts or feelings is simply a waste of time, energy and love that you should be giving to yourself in the right here and now.
Here are a couple of ways that you can start practicing today;
Deep breathing – Whenever you notice that you’re being distracted into the past or future, or having a negative thought/feeling, focusing on your breath can help bring you back to the present moment and calm the mind. All you have to do is take a slow, deep breath in through the nose and then slowly release the breath through the mouth. Do this a few times and it will change not only your physical state but also give you the time to re-focus your energy on what you’re doing and where you are. Take notice of what’s around you, how you’re feeling and stay with your breath. You can also try closing your eyes while deep breathing to visualize the air coming into your lungs, bringing in the love and peace and then leaving your lungs with the idea that you’re releasing the negative energy.
Movement – Striking a yoga pose, taking a walk or any kind of exercise can help you stay in the present moment as you’re more apt to focus on your surroundings and even your breath. This is a very mindful way to nurture your self care and empower you more and more into your practice.
Try one of these today and see how you feel! Trust me, the more you do these sorts of exercises the more you will discover that there is peace and harmony there waiting for you. I know you want to create a more balanced mind and life, things haven’t been easy this year especially.
Expat life isn't always easy, this I know. Bringing in more self awareness through your thoughts and stories, being more present with every moment and doing the work consistently will open you up to a life full of peace, joy and abundance so that you can thrive wherever you are!
It’s time to let it all go and start to create that life. You can do it! And you will be SO grateful that you did 😊
With Gratitude,
Angelic x
Want to learn more? Check out my upcoming mini e-course, "Overcoming Emotional Challenges after Relocation - A Mindfulness Journey to Emotional Freedom" where I tell you exactly how to begin your mindfulness practice through my coaching videos, written exercises, meditations, inspirational resources and more!
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