Mindfulness Isn’t Always Peaceful

In other posts, I have spoken often about mindfulness and all the positive ways we benefit by staying aware of what’s not only around us, but what is in us, as well. Being an instrumental catalyst of us returning to our true selves is comforting. It is a relief from the regular stressors in our lives. By understanding things around us with a different perspective, we can see the world loosening the grip on our bodies, our minds, and our actions. However, mindfulness in its early stages of growth and development are not as peaceful as the image we have of it. It feels like a direct confrontation with everything we have learned and absorbed by simply living.

If anything at Kind Rebirths, other than trying to guide others on a path that leads to self-awareness, I promise to always bring you honesty and straightforwardness when it is necessary. That said, when I tell you that initially, the very first voices we hear as we begin to settle down and calm our minds and direct focus inward, are rarely the ones we expect nor the ones we want to see flourish. Beneath the façade of our lives and behind the veils of illusion lie the true collection of truths that have gone unheard and unseen. Sitting there patiently feeding on our naivety and carelessness are the things that cloud our happiness. These include old fears that have collected over time, losses we have faced that we have not properly grieved, many needs as a human that have gone unmet, dreams and goals that we have yet to encounter, and basically volumes and anthologies of negative patterns repeated for so long that they have become normalized. Despite the eventual confrontation emerging, this is a necessary step to move forward. We have to face the hard truths now that we are arming ourselves with the tools to stand up with integrity and fight back.

While mindfulness asks for us to remain present, presence is not always the most calming. Staying in the moment calls for us to meet emotions head on and that gets rather intense depending on what you are dealing with or going through. It’s a disorienting feeling that brings us to that picture that we’ve avoided and danced around for long periods of time. It shows to us graphically just how out of alignment we are while we all walk around on autopilot. All the cracks, all the weaknesses, and all the unhealed wounds are exposed.

Here at Rebirths, I want there to be no misunderstanding – Mindfulness in its beginning starts with honesty and truthfulness, not with peace.

There are days that going numb seems to be a very practical and viable option. I know. I’ve been there. I still face them. I still battle them. We think we can hide them or bury them or pretend we are too busy to notice them, but they remain. Mindfulness does not create these images and these concerns, it simply unveils what’s already there, needing your attention. But it’s here where a Kind Rebirth begins.

When the noise starts getting louder, we tend to rush to silence them when, in fact, we should consider letting things surface in order to enter into a moment of self-awareness with ourselves. This self-awareness needs to be rooted with acceptance rather than the rush to control it. And we need compassion as we begin to understand the stories and meaning behind the reactions. Recognition of how and where the past still shapes our present is key. As we slowly move (and I stress slowly because remember this isn’t a race) without using force or judgment, we develop the courage to start at a place that’s real rather than chasing the rabbit of comfort. The peaceful rebirth we may need comes not because we chased it, but because we’ve stopped running.

To be mindful is not a promise of calm or tranquility, it is the invitation to truth. And truth, despite it’s discomforting value, is powerful. Truth is clarity. In truth is where we learn to trust ourselves again.

Stillness is heavy. It’s chaotic at times. It’s unfamiliar, but don’t get discouraged or feel you’re doing something wrong. Trust the process. That means you’re probably doing something right. Let mindfulness show you revelation and revelation is a Kind Rebirth.

Stay mindful…

Rebirth