Practicing mindfulness and mindfulness exercises can help to alleviate these incessant worries and they can also teach you how to give your full and undivided attention to one thing at a time. We spend our entire lives moving so quickly, simultaneously tackling a variety of tasks until we find ourselves mentally and physically exhausted. Life truly is beautiful and amazing and these are things which we must never forget and taking the time to enjoy the simple pleasures make it all the more beautiful.
Noticing Intrusions
SF
Sean FargoPublished January 12, 2015 · Updated March 27, 2024 · 1 min read
Printable Worksheet
Noticing Intrusions
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A mindful companion to this worksheet
Returning to the present
Awareness is the ground of every other practice. “Noticing Intrusions” is an invitation to come back — out of the past, out of the future — and meet your life as it is actually unfolding.
How mindfulness can help
Mindfulness is, in essence, the deliberate practice of returning. We are not trying to silence the mind, only to notice when attention has wandered and to bring it home — to the breath, the body, the sensations of this moment. Each return is the practice.
Gentle steps to try
- Anchor in one sense. Choose one sense — sound, sensation, sight — and rest your attention there for a slow minute.
- Notice the wandering. When the mind drifts, simply note, “Thinking,” and gently lead it back. There is no failure in noticing.
- Soften the doer. You don't have to make anything happen. Awareness is already here. Let yourself rest in it.
- Let practice spill over. Bring the same quality of attention to washing a dish, walking to the door, or greeting another person.
The present moment is the only place life is happening. The good news is that it is always available, and it always welcomes you back.
