A Realization from Practicing Mindfulness and Meditation

I've delved into the practice of mindfulness and meditation on and off over the years in my 25-year career. That curiousity, study and practice has heightened and become a norm for me since the mid-late pandemic years (2022-2023). In the past 6 months, I've began to learn more about Buddhism to further that curiousity, and to expand my practice.

No I'm not here to convince you to be a Buddhist. I don't consider myself a "Buddhist" or anything, but I am 100% enjoying learning about Buddhism, the phiolosophies and practices and I'm relating to them very much. I'm also not here to convince you to take up a meditation practice, if you don't want to. (Though I'm more than happy to help and share if you are interested in either of these things! 😉)

I'm constantly amazed at the lessons and connections that mindfulness and meditation brings... OVER TIME and WITH PRACTICE. They are the EXACT opposite of what our modern world teaches us;

☯ Instead of forcing things to BE a certain way, we ACCEPT what IS in the MOMENT.

☯ Instead of trying to CREATE or MAKE something happen, we have to LET GO.

☯ Instead of expecting INSTANT results, we have to LET GO, PRACTICE and KEEP COMING BACK to whatever our practice brings TODAY.

These are foreign concepts to so many of us, including myself even up to a few years ago. It wasn't until my practices became more normal in my days/weeks that these lessons and realizations began to unfold, and I'm only STILL just beginning this lifelong experience. The connections have begun to make sense between my practice and every day life. In the story of the first Buddha, Siddharta, it's nearly impossible to describe what he experienced in his Elightenment. The way the story is told, reminds us (as it did with Siddharta) that the only way to truly understand is to EXPERIENCE these things for YOURSELF. This is one of the major draws of the Buddhist religion for me; It's the discovery of ONE'S SELF. It's not about "someone else" or "another being", it's about YOU and the EXPERIENCE of YOU in this ONE LIFE.

Stillness. Breath. Looking INWARD. The complete opposite of how the modern world drives us to live our lives each day. It's NOT a conspiracy at play. It's simply pulled us away from our human roots. We have to conciously practice coming back home to them each day.

It's really hit me in recent months how my practice is changing me. I am becoming more sensitive. Not in a "foo-foo" way, but rather in an "opening up" way and experiencing ME on a deeper level. I'm beginning to realize I am now more...

🧘 Sensitive to the everyday "noise"

🧘 Sensitive to the everyday rush of all things in modern life

🧘 Sensitive to the things that pull ME out of balance.

It's honestly and truly amazing me. It's fascinating. And that in itself keeps me coming back for more in my practice!

The everyday "noise"

"Noise" is not only just literal NOISE, but so many other things in our every day life that pull us AWAY from ourselves.

This is in several contexts to me. The literal NOISE around me is one example. I notice a DRASTIC difference between when I first start to read my book and sip my coffee in the morning's on the porch, to when the world around me begins to wake up. The sounds of nature become drowned out progressively by cars/trucks in the distance, neighbours yelling at their kids, dogs barking etc... Walking to work, as trucks pass by on the street they seem EVEN LOUDER now a days, and I am 100% more AWARE of that now.

Another "noise" is the DISTRACTIONS throughout the day. The amount of "stuff" that can pull our attention and focus in multiple directions. That awareness I continue to build certainly helps keep me focused, while at the same time the ability to recognize it creates the "ah-ha" factor for me. In today's lifestyle, we NEED to CONCIOUSLY practice times of focus and single tasking in order to become better at NOT being distracted by every little thing around us.

A third example of "noise" is from others. I've discovered a new found sensitivity to others who project negativity in the words, actions and energy and/or those who are "all over the map" themselves with their focus. Ever had a conversation with someone who can't hold a topic for more than 30sec? It's become more regular in 2026. When you CHOOSE to practice mindfulness in your days and you begin to open your awareness to these things, you notice how ABUNDANT it really is ALL AROUND US.

The everyday rush of all things in modern life

This has been really cool to notice for me. Not only is it all around, but it is WITHIN me as well.

I see it regularly in clients and those around me. The "cult of busy". The everyday rush from A to B to C to D. People forgetting appointments, being late for appointments, the inability to feel good because there is so much on their plate each day... all the way to parents blaming their kids for the busy and rushed lifestyle they live each week. 😳

Personally, noticing this in others helps me keep my own schedule and lifestyle in check in a way that works for me and my health. If I start feeling overwhelmed, I'm able to recognize much easier and quickly that I need to take a step back and breathe. It's helped me incorporate the practice of saying "No" more (even to good things) and "Yes" more to myself and what I'm experiencing inside.

I think the biggest "WOW!" moment in regards to the "rush mentality" of life has come this year in business. Over the past year or so, I know exactly where my coaching practice is headed and like the rest of us, I'm anxious to "just get there". We all know that thought/feeling right? "Why can't I just snap my fingers and be at that point in business and HOW I work with clients?". I attribute my mindfulness and meditation practice to my "wow!" moment in this way because it's allowed me times to STEP BACK, BREATHE, and RELAX to focus on WHAT IS HAPPENING "in this moment". When I took a look at 2024, 2025 and then into the first half of 2026, I now see that I AM moving in the direction I want, and progressively have been over time, and when I reflect back on it it's really (kind of) been seamless (relatively speaking).

• I have MORE clients whom I work with where we ARE working together in the way I am passionate about and want to in my work than I did in the past year.

• I have MORE clients who are on board with my approach and less who are not.

• I spend MORE of my time in my work, study and coaching on the things I am passionate about as I continue to evolve as a professional.

• I am MORE okay with NOT connecting with EVERYONE who comes to be, but instead putting more energy and focus on those who DO connect with my work and philosophies

• I am MORE okay with letting the "weekend warriors" go discover someone else to help. I like working with client's deep health who want to change their lifestyle, not get a "quick fix".

I know for a fact that without my mindfulness practice and my consistent effort to learn how to move through my days more SLOWLY and CONCIOUSLY, I would NEVER have recognized this. That in itself helps me see things from the bigger picture with MINDFULNESS and MEDITATION. This VERY EASILY could have been lost on me if I was still caught up in the noise and rush of how the modern world has us living. It's that CONCIOUS and CONSISTENT EFFORT most days that has allowed this realization to come forward for me.

AWESOME doesn't begin to describe what I feel when I reflect on this.

I have become MORE sensitive to the things that pull me OUT of balance

I know some of you may be reading that thinking, "well how is that a 'benefit' of mindfulness and meditation practice?" On the surface, that's a totally understandable question. As you move further into a practice of mindfulness, it becomes more clear (a wonderful side effect of slowing down each day).

Being AWARE when my system is being pulled 'out of balance' allows me to put the tools and strategies in place to RE-BALANCE, RE-FOCUS and/or RE-CENTRE myself, both more quickly than I would have in the past and more efficiently. When that AWARENESS is present, we don't get LOST in thoughts/feelings like "Why am I feeling this way?" or "What's wrong with me?" Instead, we learn tools and strategies to GENTLY bring our physiology back into balance conciously. The COMMON way to "deal with feeling out of balance" is to ignore and distract ourselves. "Bury" the thoughts and feelings we're experiencing and hopefully they'll "just go away soon". When you begin to be more mindful and practice tuning INWARD each day, you realize how that common "strategy" (or lack of) is the reason so many of us are feeling "off", "run down" and "unmotivated" in the present times.

An easy example of this is working with people every day for a living and working with people on a personal level as well. Positive or negative aside, it weighs on you. People in the health and wellness industry carry alot of "stuff" with them ON TOP OF THEIR OWN. I am WAY MORE EASILY able to recognize this in myself after work and sometimes all that I need is some time for ME. No distraction. No conversation. No people (even loved ones). Just for a bit, I just need ME TIME. Depending on the day my tool used to re-centre myself comes in different forms:

🧘 Somatic exercise, breathwork, meditation...

🧘 Journaling, writing, poetry...

🧘 A hike in the woods...

🧘 Sitting on the porch with a tea and playing some chess...

🧘 Reading a book (usually fiction in this case)...

🧘 Playing guitar and singing...

🧘 Colouring and/or drawing...

🧘 Getting outside (foraging, learning in nature, exploring etc)

I recognize the need to STEP AWAY from others, just for a time so I am ABLE to recalibrate MYSELF. This allows me the ability to GIVE MORE to others (family, friends, clients, team etc) when the time comes again to do so.

I'm also able to better recognize the habits that KEEP me grounded and balanced. Like my quiet mornings on my porch with my book and coffee. I listen to the birds and peacefulness of the morning, no conversations, less noise, not really anything "to do" but to DO what makes ME feel good. That recognition of my energy when I DO this allows me to ensure that it's in place AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE each day.

The sensitivity I mentioned here, comes into play on mornings where this ISN'T totally the case. Sometimes, it's simply someone else is up and getting their day started in the house. THAT alone changes the energy and feeling. That's all it takes now to recognize it. Do I still get that "ugh" feeling? Yep, not going to lie. But the lessons I'm learning both in my practice and in studying Buddhism helps remind me that NOTHING is permanent. Everything is changing all the time. Accept each moment AS IT COMES, not as we think it "should" be. This helps me be less frustrated in the moment and also reminds me that there WILL be mornings where I am alone and doing my routine. In fact, most mornings this IS the case. So if here and there you're pulled a bit out of balance from that, it's okay. That too, is NOT permanent.

That brings me to another example of the practice of LETTING THINGS BE as they are in the moment. If we take my peaceful mornings on my porch for example. It's NOT always going to be what I perceive as "perfect" to me. The sun might be rising, birds singing, neighbourhood peaceful... but the breeze may be cool one morning. Or someone's car alarm may scare the crap out of me, breaking the peacefulness of my porch time for a few seconds. It's ALL temporary and what THAT moment is bringing whether it's my "ideal" or not. What this has reminded in practicing this, is that it makes those moments that ARE my ideal, that much more special and it brings that much more AWE to my day when it happens. When we aren't mindful and aware, we completely MISS those wonderful simple moments life brings.

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The more I learn, practice and experience mindfulness and meditation related elements, the more I am blown away by not only the simplicity but also by how far AWAY from it we are pulled today. Again, not to ANYONE'S fault. It's just that as the world around us speeds up SO QUICKLY we've lost the ability to keep our "roots". We've lost the ability to naturally practice these simple methods that have been known for THOUSANDS of years!!

Everything we do for our deep health today, MUST be a CONCIOUS practice. NOTHING will just come to you, without consistent, simple, action and practice. PLENTY will be there to pull you AWAY from discovering YOUR OWN AWARENESS, YOUR OWN FEELINGS and YOUR OWN HUMAN EXPERIENCE. YOU have to CHOOSE it and PRACTICE IT for YOURSELF. All I can say is, from my experience, over time, your practice will give you more than you can realize right now. When it all begins to unfold and 'click' for you (in time), "WOW!" is the best description.