Day 5 - Observe Your Thoughts While Talking With Someone - 30 Days Mindfulness Challenge
Today we celebrate those who carry the name of St. Stephen, at least in my part of the world. So I'm sending my best wishes to those who carry this name, wherever you are.
Before diving in today's task I want to share with you:
A few tips on helping your body recover after the Christmas excessive eating
If you also feel a bit sluggish after the last two days of too much eating, give your body a little rest from eating, even if for just a few hours.
Here's what I did this morning to help my body recover from the culinary excess.
Upon waking up I drank a lot of water. Then I made a fresh orange juice and did yoga and stretching for 20 minutes.
I kept myself on just water and orange juice untill lunch time. When I had a "normal" lunch, no overeating this time.
I usually eat only fruits and do yoga every morning. Today I went for the orange juice because it's even easier to digest than the whole fruit.
Anyhoo, try it out and see how you feel. For me it works very well.
Now let's get to day 5 of our 30 days challenge.
Day 5 - Observe your Thoughts While Talking With Someone
Yesterday I challenged you to make eye contact with strangers you walk by on the streets.
Today's task is to observe your thoughts while talking with someone.
Why this exercise?
What usually happens when we talk is that we do not really pay attention to what the other person is saying.
Depending on the context and the nature of the conversation, we get caught up with the incessant stream of thoughts that arise as a reaction to what that person is saying.
Observing your thoughts without judging takes You out of the common symptoms of the "fake" listener:
-"Oh, that's nothing, let me tell You what happened to Me when...."
-"You shouldn't feel like this"
-"Oh, come on, is not that bad"
-"Oh, that reminds me of that time when I..."
-"This is so boring. I wonder when can we go eat something..."
My experience is that I usually get caught up either in what the other person is saying or in what I'm sharing.
I tend to go all in and forget to keep a bit of my awarness on myself, on my breathing.
The exercise to become aware of the thoughts that go through my head while in a conversation helps me stay grounded and centered.
It also creates a better experience for myself and the person I'm talking with.
For me it's still a challenging task, and that's why I need to keep practicing it.
I hope it will help you become more mindful while engaged in conversations.
Photo source Unsplash
I'm a psychologist, intuitive coach, blogger and vlogger. You can find me mainly on my blog at Being Raluca where I write about communication, relationships, listening and sexuality. Here on Steemit you may stay updated by following me @raluca.
