Category: Mindfulness Challenge for the Week

Touch

My invitation for you this week is to become aware and sensitive of touch.

  • What does it feel like to touch objects?
  • What does it feel like to touch people?
  • What does it really feel like when you are “touched” by another person? 

Each time you are touched, whether it is simply because somebody brushed you by accident or somebody intentionally placed their hand on your shoulder,  become aware and sensitive to how it feels inside your body.  Does it feel:

  • Soft
  • Warm
  • Cozy
  • Loving
  • Tender

Or does the touch feel:

  • Abrasive
  • Aggressive
  • Sharp
  • Edgy
  • Unpleasant 

Each time you are touched, step back and pause for just five or ten seconds. Ask yourself,

“How did it feel when I was just touched by someone else?” 

Turn that assignment around and each time you touch either a person or an object, do the very same thing.

“How did it feel when I just touched someone else?” 

Do the same quick assessment when you touch objects:

  1. If you pick up a fork, how does the fork feel to you? 
  2. If you are washing a glass in the sink, how does it feel to touch that glass? 
  3. If you’re holding a book to read, how does the book feel to the touch of your hands? 
  4. If you are placing your hand inside the hand of another that you love, how does that feel at the moment when touch and contact is made?

For each and every physical contact that you make, pause ever so effortlessly and briefly. Acknowledge when you pause how it feels when either you are touched or you touch another object or another person.

Become mindful. Become aware each and every moment of each and every experience.

  • Is it tender?
  • Is it sweet?
  • Is it loving?

Or, is it so quick and abrasive that it is not even noticed?

Enjoy becoming aware of touch this week.

Robert

© Parkinsons Recovery

Relationship With Time

What is your relationship with time?  Is it a good one, is it positive or is your relationship with time stressed?  Does it create trauma for you each time you have an appointment that you need to meet?  Are you a person who is habitually early by a number of minutes?  Are you a person who is always right on time or are you a person who is consistently and habitually late to appointments and to meetings?  What is your orientation and perception of time?  It is that orientation and perception that can create significant and profound stress each and every day.

The invitation and the challenge I have for you this week is to be mindful about your own thoughts and reactions to being on time.  I have three challenges, three invitations for you.  The first invitation is to set your intention to be particularly early to an appointment that you have this week.  This might be your regular routine, but simply do it anyway and access how you feel about being early to an appointment.

  1. Does it feel good?
  2. Does it feel bad?
  3. What are your thoughts?

The second invitation is to – as best as possible – plan it out so that you are precisely on time to an appointment.  Then check in to see how you feel about being precisely on time.

  1. Does it feel good?
  2. Does it feel bad?
  3. What are your thoughts?

And finally, the third invitation (you probably see this one coming) is to be intentionally late by 10 or 15 minutes to an appointment that you have. Access for yourself your own feelings and reactions to what that experience means for you.

  1. Does it feel good?
  2. Does it feel bad?
  3. What are your thoughts?

The challenge of the week is to more systematically and mindfully assess your own personal reactions to what it means to be on time. I’m fully aware that some of you are habitually early, some of you are habitually right on time and some of you are habitually late.  It’s very possible that any one of the three routines of habit (being either early, on time or late) may create significant stress for you.  If you are unable to accept any one of these three challenges, ask yourself:

How does it feel to refuse the challenge?

If you are up to it this week accept all three challenges. Assess your personal reactions and feelings in the moment which is what becoming mindful is all about. .

Be sure to have fun with this one. You’ll find it will be an interesting experience that may reveal to you ways that you are being stressed that you never were aware of.  Have a marvelous week as you enjoy implementing the three mindfulness challenges.

Robert

© Parkinsons Recovery