Making Changes

So we all know I've had a tough couple of years. It is because of this that I have formed really bad habits, the worst one being the fact that I've become glued to my phone, mindlessly scrolling Facebook and Instagram which doesn't bring any fulfilment to my life whatsoever. Why do I do it? Looking back to when I was really unwell, it was a way for me to feel less isolated, but in reality, it in fact made me feel even more isolated in the long run. It's actually pretty scary that we've got to a period in society where virtual reality is deemed normal and acceptable. Smartphones encompass everything we need to communicate without leaving the house (or even our beds). We can talk to friends online, we can shop online, we can order food online. It really concerns me, as I'm sure it does

a lot of others in the world. And all of this was predicted. In 1901, Tesla described his vision for a new form of electronic communication in which bits of information, such as stock quotes and telegram messages, would be funnelled to a central station where the bits would be encoded and assigned a frequency that would be broadcast to a “device.”   That device would fit in the palm of your hand. Over 100 years later, it proves he was right. In this day, it's hard to imagine what people did with their time. But it is a more simple life that I now crave, because this habit has a huge impact on my mental health. Sure, phones and internet are a part of today's society, but what I can do for myself is disable push notifications and limit my time spent online. I don't need to reply to people straight away. I don't need to see pictures of a fabricated life on Instagram. I don't need to read extravagant statuses on Facebook. What I do need is to spent time getting to know my mind, spending quality time with my partner and changing my perception of the world. I've believed for a long time that it is an ugly place filled with evil. While this might be true, I've come to realise that I need to be the change I want to see in the world- to be my own role model. This is where mindfulness comes in.

For the last few weeks, I've been meditating every night before sleep. For those of you that might not know exactly what meditation is, it basically consists of focusing on your breath or body, not to clear the mind, but to create a space for pausing and appreciating the present moment. Many people believe meditation is to get rid of thoughts in the mind. However, this is untrue. A part of meditation is to observe thoughts without judgement, thanking them and then letting them go (or telling yourself you'll deal with them another time). The guided meditations I have been using is by Jason Stephenson, found on YouTube here. He has many videos to help with sleep, anxiety, reflecting and letting go. Since abandoning my practice two years ago due to my health, I have found that in the last two weeks I have become more self aware, grateful and less anxious- so much so that I want to integrate mindfulness even more into my daily life. This week, I am also using meditation on a morning to prepare myself for the day ahead. I have already started eating more mindfully, with a more healthy diet, less caffeine and eating more intuitively. Also, starting today, I am spending much less time online (and only really using the internet for productivity) and I am on withdrawal from my phone. I'm tired of social media. As my partner said about ten minutes ago, social media makes us less sociable, and I wholly agree. For the few who are reading this blog linked from Facebook (I am only logging in to post the link to here), I'm sure you understand and if you don't, then never mind. Continue with your life and I'll continue with mine.

Thank you,

Leigh