5 Minutes of Mindfulness | Jack Canfield

Hi, I'm Jack Canfield and today I want to share a five minute mindfulness practice that will help you become more present in the moment so you can increase your self awareness, stay focused longer and make smarter decisions that will help you get better results in your life. Now, before we get started, I'd like to take a moment to explain why mindfulness work is so powerful. Mindfulness grounds you in the present moment. Instead of constantly replaying events in the past or worrying about events in the future, you are better able to focus on the here and now. And that allows you to deepen your awareness of what's happening in the current moment and how you are reacting to it. You become more aware of your thoughts and how they are triggering certain emotions and responses in you. And once you are aware of your thoughts and their impact on you, it becomes easier for you to choose to think better thoughts. And this is life changing because your thoughts are creating your reality. So when you change your thinking, you literally transform the way you experience the world. And today I'd like to show you how powerful this can be and how you can get significant results in as little as five minutes a day by walking you through a very simple mindfulness practice that you can do anywhere and at any time whenever you want to become more focused and more grounded in the moment. So let's start by taking a moment to get settled. You can be sitting in a chair or lying down, whichever works, as long as you're comfortable. And now go ahead and close your eyes and let your body relax into your chair or whatever you're lying on. And now let's take a minute just to breathe in and out in a natural rhythm, paying attention to each breath as it flows in and out of your body. And now become aware of your body. Are you feeling tired? Thirsty? Hungry? Are you feeling any tension or pain in your body? Wherever you become aware of any tension or tightness, just simply bring your attention to it. And as you breathe in, imagine yourself sending a ray of warm, soothing energy to any area that's feeling tense or painful. And as you exhale, imagine the tension or the pain leaving your body with your breath. And just keep doing that with your next few breaths, breathing in soothing warm energy and breathing out any lingering tension or pain. And now begin to become more aware of your thoughts as they flow through your mind. And as you continue to breathe in and out, slowly become aware of the thoughts that bubble up in your mind. Just be aware of the thoughts that are arising in your consciousness. But don't let yourself get caught up in them. Just notice them as they arise and then let them go. Like you're standing on the bank of a river and just watching each thought float by, like a boat just drifting downstream. And as you think your thoughts, remember you are not your thoughts, you are the person thinking them. And now that you're aware of them, you have the power to change them and think better thoughts whenever you want. And now, take a moment to consider how you feel right now, and then think about how you want to feel. As you were becoming aware of your thoughts, you were thinking, did you notice how they made you feel? Some thoughts might have made you feel happy or excited, while other thoughts might have given you a sudden feeling of anxiety or made you feel sad, regretful, or angry. The thoughts you think trigger physiological responses in you. If you find yourself reliving a moment in your past that you regret, you can experience the same guilt or sadness that you felt when you actually first experienced that moment. And if you imagine an uncomfortable event in the future, like flubbing a presentation at work or an uncomfortable conversation turning into an argument, you will experience the same physical and emotional response as you would in the real experience. Your heartbeat speeding up, your throat closing up, feelings of anger, embarrassment, or hopelessness. And now begin to think about how you want to feel right now in this moment. What emotions do you want to be experiencing right now? And now think about the kind of thoughts that you would need to be thinking and the kind of actions you would need to be taking in order to feel the way you want to feel. For example, if you want to feel happy, take a moment to think about the things that make you happy. It could be your family, your friends, your pet, or maybe it's your favorite vacation spot in the world, or a hobby that you love, or your favorite book or song or band or singer. And when you think about the things that make you happy, you become happier. It's that simple. If you want to feel confident in yourself, think about the things you've accomplished in your life. And remember that you're still that person and that you can achieve anything you can imagine. And if you want to feel motivated, think about the things that motivate you. What is the end goal of your efforts? What will your life look like when you have achieved that goal? How will you feel? If you want to feel healthy and strong, think about all the activities and other things you do that increase your sense of vitality and help you feel healthy and strong. Think about how good your body feels when you get regular exercise, eat nutritious food and get enough sleep at night. And if you want to feel successful, think about the big goals you want to accomplish in life. And if something you can do today to move one step closer to those goals doesn't have to be a big action, but it does have to be something that moves you forward in some way. So now just take a moment and experience the feeling that you want to feel and focus on what actions you would need to take today or this week to feel more of that emotion. So go ahead and enjoy that feeling as you take a long, deep breath in and then exhale slowly. And now begin to become aware of your body again. Feel your arms, your back and your legs pressing into the chair or onto the floor. And now wiggle your toes and fingers and become aware of the room around you by focusing on any sounds you might be hearing. And now go ahead and open your eyes and look around. Notice how you feel now. Compared to before we did this mindfulness exercise, do you feel a little more relaxed? A little lighter, more grounded? Do you feel more clarity around what you want to be experiencing? Okay, so now that you've experienced what it's like to do a short mindfulness exercise, I encourage you to go through this process at least once a day. An easy way to remember to do this is to set an alarm on your phone for a certain time each day. When it goes off, do the mindfulness exercise. Just take the time to stop and ground yourself in the present moment and get clear on how you want to feel and and what you need to do to feel that way, the more focused, relaxed and enjoyable you'll become. So now I'd like to hear your thoughts. What are you going to do to become more mindful and grounded in the moment and experience more of what you want and less of what you don't want? If you feel inspired, please leave a comment below with your answer. I'd love to read what you have to say, so thanks for watching. And remember, nothing in your life will change for the better until you do. Now, if you found this video helpful, make sure you like it, share it with a friend who may need it, and subscribe to my channel for more videos like this one. And for some additional resources on quick mindfulness practices, make sure to visit my website@jackcampfield.com thanks again for watching.