The modern world is one of speed, noise and clutter. Our days are scheduled with tasks as if we were mindless robots, dedicated to nothing more than endless production of resources. Constantly running in circles, from our home, to our workplace, to the gym and so on, with little to no time to live at the moment, and endless anxiety about the events coming up in near future. This kind of modern life leaves no rooms for self reflection, for inner-journeys of the soul which are extremely important in order to keep our inner peace intact. Thus, not many people seem to posses that inner peace anymore, which once was present in the rural man, our lives became completely extroverted, and even the little time we do have for ourselves is spent on hedonistic pleasures which serve nothing but to prepare us for the next period of mindless task-to-task existence, and so on into eternity.

A solution to this modern problem, which I will propose, is an ancient one. The old practice of daily mindfulness. The discipline of pulling our minds away from the future, and into the endless and imperfect beauty of the moment. Becoming conscious of the moment is a hard to master process, but one which brings countless rewards, the most important of which is the long sought after inner peace of the soul.

Mindfulness was practiced for centuries, not only in the west, but primarily in the eastern cultures. It was thought of as an art of living to know how to fully enjoy the present moment without the worry for the future, or regret from the past.

So how does a man stay mindful in the moment-to-moment?

For me personally, through my long journey to get away from the endless anxiety of a hard life and an uncertain future, I came up with a very simple 4-5 minute routine which brings me completely into the moment, and elevates my mindful state of mind. I do this routine a few times a day, any time I feel that my focus on the present moment is gone, or that the anxiety about the endless possible future failures grows too strong.

The routine contains thee simple steps that c\can be done anywhere with no tools needed:

1. Breathing

Focus on your breath, feel the slow inhale as your lungs fill with cool air, and the warm breath of the exhale as it releases from your nostrils. Be mindful of every sensation the moving of the air through your body creates, repeat this for a minute or two.

2. Mantra

I use this simple mantra which i repeat for a couple of minutes that influences my mindset in becoming mindful of the moment. I believe that this affirmation effects the subconscious mind and helps the release of anxious thoughts. Repeat the following phrase in your mind:

“The past is just a previous state of matter and energy which has changed and is no more, it does not affect the current moment, the future is just an endless slideshow of current moments, all that truly exists, exists in this current moment, and all that can influence my life is in this moment.”

Repeat the mantra for a few minutes, it’s very important that you not only repeat the words in your head, but to truly understand their meaning, and to fully believe in what you are repeating.

3. Become aware of your surroundings

Once you’ve done the first two steps you should already be in a mindful state of mind, the last steps is to become completely aware of the world around you. Feel every sensation, the cool wind hitting your back, the warm rays of the sun falling upon your skin, the soft earth or hard concrete below your feet. See the colors which surround you and acknowledge their magnificence, smell the smells which reach you and completely enjoy the moment through all your senses.

Once you’ve gotten yourself in this deep mindful state of mind, and once you became aware of the moment, the anxiety and stress you feel will simply disappear, for it is impossible to worry about the future when you understand that all which exists, exists only now.

Mindfulness is a useful practice to any modern man striving to become the best man he can be. The stresses of daily life can bring even the strongest of us down, that is why we must harbor this ancient art as it is the only way one can stay strong and unrelenting in the world which seeks nothing but to destroy him. Another useful trick with becoming a mindful person is taking time off for yourself, and knowing when to do it, a topic I discussed in this article, and another important thing with dealing with daily stress is knowing which things to worry about, a topic also discussed on this blog, knowing these three things is essential for any man who wants to adopt the Stoic approach to life and hardship.

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For more resources of mindfulness and daily awareness, check out the following links: