SEIKO Clear Mind, Clear Vision - Being Present

In our busy routines it is easy to rush from one thing to the next, yet a brief return to the present can make all the difference. Practicing mindfulness offers a gentle way to reduce stress and regain clarity. It is not about clearing the mind, but about paying attention to what is already here, with openness rather than judgement, and choosing a considered response instead of an automatic reaction. Listen to our newest podcast from the series!

Transcript

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Welcome to our I think seventh Clear Mind, Clear Vision session, supported by Sheena from Inspiring Success and brought to you by Seiko Optical UK. So without further ado, I shall hand over to Sheena. Thank you, Michelle, and thank you, Seiko, for again having me on to deliver this morning segment. And today we're going to be discussing and talking about and experiencing a session on mindfulness. And it's a really beautiful subject to be working on because we can utilize mindfulness at any time, any place, wherever you are, whatever you are doing. So, what is mindfulness? Some of you may have heard of the term mindfulness. It's becoming something that you know a lot of people are becoming much more aware of lately in the last few years. And some of you may be very new to it, some of you may have heard of it but not been practicing it. And wherever you are with that part of the journey, it's absolutely fine. We're going to start very from the very beginning and get you understanding and experiencing what mindfulness is. So, what is mindfulness? It isn't about clearing your thoughts or emptying your thoughts or anything like that. It's actually quite the opposite. And it really is about having full awareness and just being fully present in what you are doing in that moment. And I know from my own self and from people that I speak to that every single day is busy, every single day can be very different. Our mind is running all over the place from the tasks that we've got to do. I could be talking to you right now, and you might be thinking about the day ahead of you. That's absolutely fine. I'm not going to get offended, but our mind is, you know, all over the place. We are always thinking about the next thing we need to do. And not even the next thing, we might be even thinking about the days we've had. So the morning that's already been had, maybe last night, last week, last month. So our mind can either be in that past mode. Sometimes we can even refer to that as maybe in regret mode. Sometimes we're thinking about things that we could have done, things that we should have done, things that didn't play out so well. So we're sometimes you know thinking about the past, as I said, yesterday, last week, last month, even in the last few years, our mind can drift quite further back. And if we're not in that past mode, then sometimes we're thinking about the future. So as I mentioned, you might be thinking about the day that you've got ahead of you, might be thinking about what lunch you're gonna have, might be thinking about your evening schedule tomorrow, what you're gonna be doing on the weekend. Sometimes that can also be anxious mode, okay, because sometimes it's the unknown uncertainty. So that future part sometimes is known as an anxious mode as well, because you've got things that you've got to do, but you're not fully sure of the outcome. So if we are in the past, or if we're thinking about the future, how often are we thinking about right now? How often are we thinking about the present? Okay, so why do we want to think about the present? Well, it really does help you then reduce that overwhelm, that overthinking, that stress, that decision fatigue. So you know the decisions that we've got to make, even from the most simplest of things. So, you know, what do I need to wear, what do I need to eat, what do I need to cook, where do I need to go, what email should I send? It's all the decisions that we've got to make and then cause that overwhelm, decision fatigue, cognitive overload. So if we're thinking about so many things that we're not fully present on that task that we're doing. So whether we're sending an email, whether we're eating a meal, whether we are talking to our patients, whether we're talking to our colleagues, our mind could be distracted quite often. So it's really about focusing on that present moment so that we're giving that full attention, full awareness on that present task so that we can actually appreciate it, so we can actually enjoy it, and so that we can actually deliver to our very full effect. How often are we watching a movie or scrolling on our phone? How often are we delivering maybe a handover to our colleagues and talking about the patient, but yet still thinking about the patients that we've got to see, you know, going ahead. Our mind is always distracted. So being present, being mindful so that we can just really fully appreciate and give our full attention to what needs doing. So we're gonna just start off with a really simple exercise on mindfulness, and that is really utilizing our senses. So utilizing our senses and heightening our senses using a 5-4-3-2-1 exercise. So, as always, we're just gonna take a couple of deep breaths. So just make sure you're nice and comfortable, just make sure your arms are separated, your legs are separated so that your whole body is just nice and flowing, relaxed and comfortable. And I know very often you might think, I haven't got time for this, I haven't got time for well-being. But actually, you know, we've all got the same amount of time in the day, but whether we're rushing something or whether we're overthinking something, it's not always going to have that full effect or full benefit. So taking that pause is actually much more beneficial than I've got to rush, I've got to do this. So just trusting that this is exactly where you're meant to be, right here, right now. Just taking a couple of nice deep breaths in and out. So breathing in, slowly breathing out, using your own space and time, and again, just one more deep breath in. Letting it out, slowly letting go of any thoughts of the past, slowly letting go of any thoughts of the future. If they do start to come into your mind, that's absolutely fine. All we need to do is observe it, don't give it any attention, let it drift away. Okay, so the exercise that we're going to be doing on heightening the senses is the 5-4-3-2-1 exercise. So, what I want you to do, okay, I want you just to really heighten your sense of sight, and you can either mentally note or if you've got a pen or paper there just to write it down, either is fine. I want you just to think about five things that you can see, okay. So you can look above, you can look down below, you can look around you. I want you to think about five things that you can see, and then I want you just to really heighten that sense of sight. So imagine they are becoming like magnifying glasses, your eyes. And I want you to really think about what it is that you're seeing. So if you pick one object or item that you are seeing, think about the shades that you are noticing, think about the colours that you are noticing, think about the the tone of that item that you're noticing. How big is it? How small is it? Is there any texture that you're noticing? Okay, so just looking around, picking those five objects or items around you. Sometimes it might just be looking at eye level, but actually maybe look up, look around five items and then just giving it some description. Okay, the colour, the shades, the tones, the textures, the size, does it change? Just taking a moment just to do that. And then I want you to think about four things that you can hear. So this might be easier, maybe when you close your eyes, it might make a difference. You can experiment by closing your eyes or opening your eyes. I want you to think about four things that you can hear. So really honing in on that sense of sound and then listening to sounds you are hearing. Is it coming from above? Is it coming from around you? Is it constant? Is it start and stop? Is it high pitched, low pitched? Again, what is the tone like? Is it sharp? Is it soft? Is it is it far away? Is it is it quite near you? Can you hear even more? Does it make a difference? So writing down four things that you can hear and just like again giving it that description of the sound. And you might slap noticing like more sounds, some might be obvious, but the more you tune yourself in, and if any other thoughts come into your mind that are distracting you, that's okay. Observe, witness, let it go, focus back on the sound. And then I want you to think about three things that you can feel. Now, this could be feelings in terms of emotions, and that's absolutely fine. Also, feelings in a physical sense as well. Okay, so think about what you can feel. Can you feel your feet on the ground? Can you feel a chair or the sofa where you might be seated? What does that material feel like? Is it soft? Is it hard? Is it constant? Does it change? Can you feel your clothes on you? So again, some things might feel obvious and some things you might take for granted and not notice. Can you feel your hair maybe touching your face? Can you feel your accessories? Maybe you've got earrings, necklace, or watch on. Maybe you've got frames on your face. Can you feel your breath, maybe? Maybe there's things around you that you want to feel. So maybe you've got a pen or pencil or desk near you. What does it feel like? Is that smooth? Is that rough? Does it change? Are the areas different? Is it cold? Is it warm? Maybe again just closing your eyes to notice. You start noticing more things. I don't always not you know often notice my hair or my face until I'm consciously thinking of it. So thinking about things that you can feel. Three things. And then it gets a little trickier. So two things that you can smell. Okay, so two things that you can smell. So it might be if you've got any aromas of angi, if you've got any mists or perfumes of angi that you may have put on, maybe you are noticing that. Maybe you've had coffee or drink, or there's some food around you, maybe you can smell that. Again, maybe just closing your eyes to notice what you can smell. And sometimes what we can do, just maybe you know, lighting an incense, lighting a candle just to enhance that that smell as well, just to allow you to experience that a little bit deeper if you're doing this in your own space and time as well. And then the very last one, thinking about one thing you can taste. One thing you can taste. So maybe you've had something a little while ago that's still lurking around in your mouth in your taste buds. Maybe you've been sipping on a coffee or tea or water. Maybe you can taste that. What does it taste like right now? Oh, the taste becoming a little different over time. Perfect. So you're thinking about five things you can see, four things you can hear, three things that you can feel, two things that you can smell, and one thing you can taste. And when you are heightening these sense, and I can say it's like, you know, imagine if you're an alien coming onto this planet and you're really you know seeing everything for the first time, hearing everything for the first time, feeling everything for the first time. So, you know, really trying to experience it as if you're noticing, witnessing for the very first time, heightening all these senses. And you're probably wondering why do I need to do that? Well, what happens is when you're utilizing your senses, really focusing on your senses, it's really hard for the brain to think about anything else. It allows that parasympathetic uh pathway to kick in. And what that means is it tells your brain it can relax, I can reflect, I can reset from not stressing, it disrupts the stresses, it disrupts the overthinking, it allows you to become much more calmer, much more focused, much more clearer in what you want to do. So just really noticing all these senses. So when you are eating a meal, you know, think about what you're eating, think about the aromas that are coming, you know, to you. Think about what you're seeing, and you'll actually learn to you know appreciate a meal even more. So I'm not saying to do that for every single meal time, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but over time it becomes second nature. But try it today, maybe in your lunch break, you know, whatever you're eating, just take that moment instead of catching up on emails or referrals, notice you know what that meal tastes like when you're giving that full awareness there, when you're brushing your teeth, when you're going for a shower, when you're going for a walk. There's so many times when you will notice a lot more things when we are practicing mindfulness, when we're not in that past, when we're not in that future. I know many times people have gone on a walk and said, you know, I really noticed this today, or I didn't even know that was near my house, that pathway. And I'm sure a lot of us remember doing that in the in the pandemic as well. And yet that pathway or that walk or that park was always there, but we just weren't noticing it. So, you know, listen to those birds, listen, you know, see the changing in the colours as this new season comes into effect. So when you're practicing mindfulness, you'll appreciate that much more, your nervous system will be a lot more calmer as well. And one of the ways you can actually use mindfulness and using this technique throughout the day is using the acronym stop. So stop S-P. And all that means is throughout the day, just periodically, when you have a 10 seconds, because I know time is precious throughout our working day, but when you have 10 seconds, just use the acronym stop. So S stop, whatever it is that you're doing, we're sending an email, if you're just in your, you know, in between patients, just stop and then take a breath, and then just observe, maybe observe your thoughts, observe your surroundings, just take that moment just to observe, not attaching any thoughts or emotions to it, just observing, and then proceed with your next steps. So I know sometimes when we're back to back, whether it's weird emails, whether we're back to back with our patients, whether we're back to back with whatever it is that we're doing, it can feel overwhelming, it can feel stressful, it can feel tiring, especially when we do that throughout the whole day. By the end of the day, we can feel mentally drained and physically drained. So using the STOP acronym, just taking that moment to pause, actually can make a huge difference to so many parts of your mental well-being and your physical well-being, and actually make you much more positive and much more productive as well. So utilize the 54321, heighten those senses throughout your day, and then use the acronym stop, Q stop, take a breath, observe, and proceed as well. So I am going to wish you a wonderful day ahead, and I hope you enjoy practicing your mindfulness, and I would love to hear your feedback as well. So have a wonderful day and wishing you the very best at the end of the week as well. Thank you. Thank you so much, Sheena. Always good to think about being in the magnet. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you to everyone that's joined. Um, we shall be letting you know when we have our next um our eighth session. So we'll give you details of that as soon as we have the date confirmed. So uh thank you very much and have a wonderful day.