Take a Break: Create Mindfulness Reminders

As an anecdote for stress and the feelings of frustration or agitation that can accompany living with a chronic condition, mindfulness reminders can help us stop, take a breath or two, be mindful of our surroundings, smile or do whatever is helpful in being aware of the present and not worrying about past events or obsessing about future fears. This reminder should be something that you encounter on a regular basis throughout the day. It can be something that engages one or more of the five senses-hear, taste, touch, smell, or see -that is your “ahhhhh” moment. How many, what type and whether you’d like to have different ones each day, are up to you.

Today’s “take a break” is about identifying and making mindfulness reminders for your self.

Sound
Sounds are an excellent reminder to stop and be mindful. These can include:
• The ringing of the telephone, cell phone or doorbell

• Jewelry such as a charm bracelet that makes a sound when you move your wrist
• A clock that chimes (or sounds like a loon at my house) on the hour or half hour, or a mindfulness bell that rings. You can download a mindfulness bell for your computer for free. http://www.mindfulnessdc.org/bell/index.html
• If you are lucky to live near a large body of water, fog horns, waves, sea gulls
• Sounds from nature. It’s spring here in Vermont, so the peepers (tiny frogs) are creating a lovely serenade and the morning doves coo throughout the day.

I have a particular pair of earrings that I love wearing. As I move my head and I hear them quietly tinkling, it causes me to pause, even for a second. If I’m particularly stressed, these are the right earrings for me to wear.

Smells
This is a bit different than aromatherapy, which uses essential oils to help with mood. Think about smells that are part of your daily life:
• The scent of a certain shrub or flower,
• Coffee,
• Certain foods, such as dinner preparation
• Seasonal smells, such as holiday baking, Christmas trees, burning leaves in the fall, lilac in the spring and honey suckle in the summer


Sight
While I’ve already discussed how wearing a favorite pair of earrings that make a delicious tinkling sound is an important mindfulness reminder, I also make “remembering” bracelets. These are used to help families and friends think about a loved one that is undergoing a major event. A red, white and blue bracelet is an easy reminder to think about a loved one in the armed forces, or a multi colored one can support someone going through chemotherapy or the final few weeks of pregnancy. The bracelets can be worn, left on a desk, bedside stand or someplace where you will routinely see it, so you will stop and send a quick prayer or thought.

This same approach can be used in making a mindfulness bracelet for your self. To help in selecting colors, the following color table is provided:
• Green- healing and stability
• Blue- calming and tranquility
• White-spirituality and safety
• Red-energy
• Brown-wholesomeness
• Yellow-clear thinking
• Purple-spirituality

There are many things that you see on a daily basis that can become good mindfulness reminders. There are certain birds and items in my house, favorite tea mug for example, that are good items to remind me to slow down, stop and breathe.

Taste
Aaahh the first taste of chocolate in your mouth. Hmmmmm. Definitely a good reminder for me. There is a lot of discussion about how mindful eating is a lot healthier for us. However, taste doesn’t need to be just associated with food. When I’m at the ocean, I can taste the saltiness of the air as well as smell it.

Touch
The feel of a T-shirt, stroking a pet, holding a stone, or the feel of sunshine on your skin can all be daily reminders. I’m particularly fond of rocks and keep them on my desk. I will notice them and then have to pick them up.

Keep in mind that involving more than one sense can make the reminder all the more meaningful. Whatever you choose, add some aaaahhh moments today.