“To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one’s family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one’s own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him.”-Buddha
Often, when we think of the term ‘enlightenment’ we conjure vague ideas of meditation, chants, spiritualism. Which is why, I figured, what better way to start this first ‘official’ blog post then with a quote from Buddha himself?
However, enlightenment can, and I hope does, mean something different to each of us. Under its basic definition, enlightenment means “the state of being enlightened”. Taking that a step further, to enlighten is defined as “to give intellectual or spiritual light to; instruct; impart knowledge to.”
Each day we, as humans, struggle. It is inherent in our nature as complex beings of thought. It is a product of the world around us, particularly such a fast paced, success-driven one. It is a result of the happenstance of life, and the obstacles inevitably put in our way, from the everyday annoyances to the extreme experiences of hurt and loss.
My experiences of struggle, while unique to me as an individual, have allowed for a change in my perspective; an understanding that each of us, no matter how alone we may feel at times, simply are not!
Three years ago, with seemingly no other option in sight, I trusted the advice of a loved one and admitted myself into a psychiatric ward. Suddenly, a life-time filled with deep depression and extreme emotional highs and lows became clear.
I was diagnosed, at age 21, with Borderline Personality Disorder, a very stigmatized and misunderstood illness.
But such a label does not define who I am. Facing the truth of my struggles was the easy part; working each day to stay afloat is the challenge.
As a result of the struggles I have faced, and the support of those around me, I have come to understand enlightenment as the ability to open my mind to new, life changing experiences. And in doing so, both in treatment and through absorbing the ideas and actions of others, I have found myself thriving best when focusing on three areas in life.
1. Mindfulness
Mindfulness is much simpler than the common misconception. Often, when we hear the word ‘mindfulness’ we think of the cliché deep meditation rituals complete with incense and nature soundtracks. While it certainly can incorporate those things, MY life was impacted greatly upon discovering that mindfulness can include small, everyday ideas and behaviors achieved with a little motivation and repetition!
At its core, mindfulness is the practice of ‘being present.’ It is so easy to distract ourselves with thoughts of the past, instances of hurt and loss, moments that we could have done differently. It is also just as easy to distract ourselves with worry surrounding the future, events we have planned, daily tasks we need completed, assumptions regarding the course of relationships or new experiences.
By being present we escape those distractions (all of which are beyond our control) and instead place our energy and focus on the NOW. It is amazing what we can accomplish when we focus on the present. Without our time and energy distracted toward the finished past or the uncertain future, whatever task or moment we address in the present has our full, undivided attention. Common sense says that is a wonderful thing!
But the research suggests so too! Ellen Langer has been studying mindfulness for decades, and the benefits she has uncovered are truly life changing! Mindfulness has been found to improve memory, enhance creativity, and decrease acts of procrastination and stress. Research has also shown it has a positive impact for PTSD victims, lowers ones’ risk of depression, increases our capacity for compassion, and seriously impacts our physical health in a positive manner.
Mindfulness activities range from simple breathing techniques you can practice while waiting on a red light, to deep meditation sessions. Mindful behaviors are easily adapted to your life style, and how you choose to stay mindful is up to you!
2. Creativity
For most of my life, I felt that I had not one creative bone in my body. Despite my love of writing, I long associated ‘creativity’ with acts such as drawing or painting, both of which I hated because I felt I just wasn’t good enough.
But in fact, creativity is much more than typically thought forms of artistic expression. Tudor Rickards, an author on business and leadership, defined creativity as ‘the personal discovery process, partially unconscious, which leads to new and relevant insights’. And there are so many activities that can enhance our sense of personal discovery!
Creativity is so much more than picking up that paintbrush, although it is certainly that too! The act of creating does not have to be for anyone but you. The more you engage in creative activities, the less you learn to criticize your creations and embrace the fresh perspectives they bring!
Research illustrates the benefits of engaging in ‘adult play time’. Activities ranging from the use of a coloring book, to summer camp seminars for adults have been shown to, among other things, increase innovation and reduces stress.
While these ideas may seem childish and off putting, the reality is such pastimes truly benefit our lives! For many years, despite the suggestion of my therapist, I viewed coloring as a waste of my time. How could coloring possibly distract from my hectic life, let alone the often dark and dreary thoughts brought on by life’s struggles? My feelings are much too important to be hindered or improved by utilizing something often sold in the children’s section of department stores. Crayons have names like “Mac n’ Cheese”, for God’s sake!
However, the more I opened myself up to engaging in the activity, I realized how much I actually enjoyed it. And I also realized that ‘art therapy’ is something that individuals of all ages, and all creative (or non-creative) types can participate in.
Now is such an amazing time to get in touch with our creative sides, as creativity itself is having a moment. Not only are ‘adult coloring books’ seeing a huge boom in popularity, with a variety of interesting themed books available, tapping into our creative minds expands our ability to think in exciting and unique ways, positively impacting how we approach relationships, our daily living patterns, and our business!
3. Health and Wellness
I know, I know. We have all had our fair share of ‘health’ lectures. But the truth is, making simple changes to both our diet and activity level does nothing but benefit us.
Eating healthy is not difficult, nor as expensive as we tend to believe. While a recent study out of Harvard concluded that eating a healthier diet, both in terms of caloric intake and food consumption across all food groups, costs about $1.50 more per day than eating unhealthy foods, creating healthy, balanced meals at a consistently low cost is possible!
As a single individual, I create meals daily that range across the ‘food plate’, avoiding processed and sugary foods, on a mere $20 per week! And thanks to innovative recipes, many involving super-foods perhaps new to your scene, eating at a healthy, low cost is realistic. One needs to only look at the cost of a meal at McDonalds (as well as the ingredients) compared to groceries purchased at the same price to understand that eating healthy is not only possible, but very manageable!
In addition, the way we approach exercise does not have to be intense, strenuous, or time consuming.
As recommended by the CDC, the average adult needs 150 minutes of physical activity per week; that comes out to about 20 minutes per day. Broken up into blocks throughout a hectic day, this is a very realistic goal! From using stairs instead of the elevator or 5 minutes of sit-ups upon waking, staying active does not have to equate an hour spent daily at the gym.
A healthy body equals a healthy mind, one that is more focused, sharper, and feels good!
Life is obviously more complex than a breakdown of three simple categories. However, I have found that enhancing these areas of life enhance life as a whole. They are not separate, but rather affect one another. We can be mindful of our activity level, creative in what we consume, health conscious in the choices we make in the present moment.
We are never going to escape daily struggles. But we can work each and every day to absorb as much knowledge as we can, bringing with it a little positivity to our world, and thus the world around us!
I hope that you will join me on The Enlightenment Project, where we will be discussing ways to enhance these three areas, highlighting individuals whose own paths of positivity impact them in magnificent ways, and share stories of strife AND success 🙂
Further information:
http://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/why-adults-are-buying-coloring-books-for-themselves
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/08/mindfulness-meditation-benefits-health_n_3016045.html
https://hbr.org/2014/03/mindfulness-in-the-age-of-complexity
The Enlightenment Project 