New Age Practices- Useful or Useless?

      We've all heard the phrase "New Age" and all the other woo-woo verbiage like "Mindful living", "Spiritual growth", "Enlightenment", "Namaste" and even "Conscious Dying".  But what do all these words and phrases mean exactly?  Do they really have any practical application in our modern lives or are they just throw backs from the peace-loving hippie era of days gone by?  Personally, I believe they are invaluable concepts that, when applied correctly, can help us lead much richer lives and here's why.

Mindful Living

     Mindful living or 'practicing mindfulness' is a concept that is being introduced more and more into mainstream society these days.  With the emergence of "'spiritual psychology" on the scene, we are seeing counselors, psychiatrists and other clinicians use various mindful practices such as meditation and breathing techniques, to help their clients find ways to cope with stressful situations, deal with grief or process trauma.  If we accept the broad definition of "Mindfulness" as  'the psychological process of bringing one's attention to the internal and external experiences occurring in the present moment', then how do we specifically apply this to our daily life?  What does it look like to us? What type of person can benefit from this practice?  Let's take  a look.


The Many Faces of Mindfulness

Women have been practicing 'mindful breath-work' as a means of reducing pain and anxiety during child birth for as long as I can remember.  This is a lovely example of how the human body responds to its own innate ability to provide itself with what it needs during this natural event.
 

Young children present us with a perfect example of what "living in the NOW" is all about.  They express their emotions freely. When they are hungry they let you know! When they are joyful they show us that just as easily, often lifting the spirits of those in their presence.  

More and more people all over the world are paying closer attention to the quality of food they are putting into their bodies.  We can call this "Mindful Eating".  If you have ever spent time making conscious efforts to improve your nutrition and over all health with natural methods, then you too are practicing "Mindfulness"!

If you have ever spent quiet, alone time in natural surroundings with the purpose of leaving your worries behind and connecting with the elements, then you are also living mindfully. So many of us automatically gravitate to the natural world when we feel like we want to de-stress.  We take walks along the beach, paddle our kayaks around a lake, hike a mountain trail or take leisurely drives along a country road. If we are house bound through various circumstances, we can still reap the benefits that Mother Nature provides by petting a cat or dog, watching fish play in an aquarium or opening a window to listen to the birds sing. They all have the same calming affects on us. 

Spiritual Growth

     Now that you realize that you are already using 'mindful practices' in your life on some level, I invite you to take a look at how these methods improve your health and well being.  If you can see how they enrich your lives, then the next step is to set an intention to seek out more of the same.  Once you embrace the idea of consciously looking for additional ways to practice mindfulness, you have entered into a period of "Spiritual Growth".  Congratulations to you!
     Spiritual growth is not all that intimidating either as their are no hard and fast rules to follow. That's the beauty of it.....your spiritual growth is your own personal journey, sometimes referred to as "your path".  As with any path or journey, there will be twists, turns and challenges along the way. Your soul is always in the driver's seat and you can decide how fast to go, when to turn, when to slam it in reverse or even pull off the road and take a time-out for a while. 
     Believe it or not, obstacles and challenges that show up along our path actually offer some of our best opportunities for soul growth. I'm sure that's why someone coined the phrase "What doesn't kill us only makes us stronger" so long ago.

Conscious Living and Dying

     If we apply what we learned in the above paragraphs regarding "mindfulness" to our lives, then it could be said that we are "living consciously".  To put it simply, we are now paying more attention to what is happening in our lives and have begun to seek specific practices, such as daily meditation, to help us have a richer experience.  Likewise, if we or someone we know is terminally ill and facing death, then conscious dying practices can be of great help during the process. 
     But what, exactly, is considered 'conscious dying'?  Believe it or not, there is a lot of information on the internet about various methods used to create a conscious death but what they all have in common is the overall practice of bringing the family and friends together with the dying person to talk openly about the process that is unfolding. All too often the subject of pending death is avoided at all costs...becoming a rather large elephant in the room.  But more and more people, with the help of wonderful hospice teams, spiritual leaders and even 'death doulas' are embracing these fairly new concepts.
     Bringing loved ones together with the person whose death is imminent is like turning the light on in a room that was shrouded in darkness.  As everyone interacts with each other in open discussion about the process unfolding, we begin to see fear and anxiety levels drop.  The more a family can remain involved the better, for both the dying and those standing by.  The benefits of this practice can be seen and felt long after the death has occurred.  When we come together to support one of our own as they die, we develop a certain sense of calm around the actual death.  When we make conscious efforts to create ritual and ceremony in order to create a beautiful, peaceful and meaningful death experience we can actually feel somewhat 'joyful' once our loved one is released into the afterlife and we recognize the blessing of the end of their suffering.  This not only helps our loved one through this process with much less emotional suffering, but also serves as a good foundation for navigating our own grief journey to come. 

Spiritual Enlightenment

     After discovering that you have been practicing mindfulness since you were an infant, I hope you decided to start taking a purposeful look at other ways in which you can become more engaged in your own life experiences.  And if you have embraced this practice...even just a little bit, then you are most definitely experiencing Spiritual Growth.  
    Once you start to grow spiritually, your mind begins to seek new knowledge and you take on new beliefs. As your old belief systems begin to fall away and your new ones move in, you might even realize that your soul has purpose in this life.  You might even begin to consciously search for that purpose and once you do, you can congratulate yourself again and don your crown of flowers because you just reached the next level.  You just entered the path that leads to "Spiritual Enlightenment"! 
(You can watch my video about becoming 'Spiritually Enlightened' HERE )

 Blessings on your journey!
Vicky

Contact Info:

Vicky Edgerly
White Elephant Wisdom LLC
info@whiteelephantwisdom.com
www.WhiteElephantWisdom.com

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