Natalie Cristal Morrison is Christian’s wellness oracle, and in the first of a series of Mindfulness / Meditation, we asked her for some advice and guidance on creating the best conditions for your mindfulness practice at home.
In Japan, cleanliness is next to enlightenment. Our home environment is often a direct reflection of your state of mind. A disorderly home with objects lying around from projects left unfinished, dishes lying in the sink or messy cupboards and drawers all contribute towards a sense of unease or disruption and can challenge a meditation practice before it even gets going.
Over time, practicing meditation cultivates a propensity to be more clean and tidy as we naturally start to become more aware of our surroundings, more respectful towards our things, and more appreciative of order and simplicity. Life eventually becomes more of an art form, each task being completed with a sense of aesthetic appreciation for function, and our home becomes a reflection of that mindset.
If this all sounds like a long way off fear not! Tidying can actually be a great way to kick-start a meditation practice. Picking a task such as doing the dishes or folding clothes can be a meditation in itself. In fact, the more tedious and repetitive the chore the better!
Applying our full attention to that task, noticing all the information that comes in from the senses; the textures, sounds, visual details, scents and even thoughts and emotions that arise when completing that task, and simply observing ourselves breathing while we’re doing it, is a powerful meditative practice in itself.
Not only is this very calming and a great preparation for seated meditation but it also trains us to find a more mindful and fully present way of being in all aspects of our lives. You might even find yourself enjoying tasks like vacuuming or ironing which you may never have appreciated before!
Check out Natalie’s Collective Wellbeing website – it’s full of uplifting tips, tricks and more. We’ll be sharing some on here so keep a look out!
See more writing from Christian here.
