There are plenty of ways to practice being more mindful; our whole day is filled with them.  Some are more fun than others but one that is really enjoyable is upcycling.  Not only are we practicing mindfulness by being at one with our creativity but we are also being mindful of the environment by repurposing material things that are already in existence.

Taking several things that are, shall we say, unwanted/unloved and turning them into a bespoke piece for yourself, or whoever you intend it for, is supremely satisfying.  The making of a new artice which is filled with our creative energy and has come to life with no [or very little] cost to our planet is the way forward….upcycling is the new black.  All it takes is a little bit of thinking outside the box when looking at the old objects.  Looking at other people’s ideas is a great way of finding inspiration.

You can upcycling clothing, furniture, linens, housing materials – the list is endless.  Infact using up the leftovers from last nights dinner is in a way a form of upcycling … you take something you don’t really want and turn it into something that you do [a new dinner] by adding a few extra ingredients you already have … an dinnéar nua

Over on Pinterest [which I am totally in love with btw] I have an upcycling board where I’m collecting great ideas to try out when the need arises.  If you’re not feeling confident in your creative or handy skills, that’s okay.  You can start by making a scarf out of some old jacket or something, turning the old tinned tomato cans into herb pots.  Your skills and inventiveness will grow the more you do it … just like riding a bike or when you learnt to drive.  So give it a go.  Check out my Pinterest boards for a few ideas to get you started and to add some more mindful consumerism to your life. Enjoy

• top image: Source: veetje.be via Mindful on Pinterest
• bottom image: jscreationzs/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Some previous postings you might like to read:

• Life is in the doing not the having
• 5 ways to be mindfully frugal in the kitchen
• Simplicity Thursday – 5 things to do whilst boiling the kettle

I like to bring my awareness down to what I do each day.  To honour all that I touch and see, to feel and experience even the smallest part of my day from brushing my teeth to enjoying the taste of nice food.

My goal is to live as best I can, to enjoy each moment and help where I can those that I can, doing what I enjoy doing.  I try to be mindful in all areas of my life .. lots of areas still need lots of work but hey ..it’s the journey not the destination that is important right?

At the moment I’m focusing on being mindful with my money and using it for things greater than just feeding, clothing and sheltering me.  I want my euro to mean something and sometimes there aren’t as many euros around as there are needs so I have to get creative.   I’ve been doing a lot more baking this year and here’s a list of the pantry basics I keep which stand me in good stead.  Baking is always a great way to feed people and to dish up warming feel good food.

My baking basics

• Flour – self raising and plain
• Eggs
• Butter
• Milk [I also keep a few boxes of UHT milk in the cupboard for when I get caught out & they're also great for cooking so you don’t use up all the fresh milk]

Once you have these in the cupboard you can make scones, muffins, pancakes, griddle bread, soda bread etc; all very filling and yummy.  They make a great breakfast or lunch and to do them for a dinner you only have to add some hearty soup and voila … one tres bonny dinner!  Plus what ever it is you are cooking for dinner the baked good will always make it go further so is super economical.

If you also add to your basics list:

• cheese
• sugar
• oatmeal
• potatoes
• frozen peas
• onions

then you can concoct:

• Potato bake or cheesy onion potato bake
• Easy bake quiche [eggs, onion, flour, milk, cheese] .. email me if you’d like the recipe; it’s from my Mum
• Scones – onion and cheese [yes, they are nice], cheese, potato or sweet scones
• savoury pancakes – onion, mashed potato and peas mixed with pancake batter … you can add some grated cheese too which is v nice
• Porridge – oatmeal biscuits to have with a cuppa …it’s also a terrific hunger busting breaky and great for stretching mince meat

So, that is ten ingredients for the baking store cupboard that can make the budget go a lot further.  It’s not an exhaustive list and I’m sure you could add some more ideas too.  Sometimes I like to try and do a €28 week and only spend that for the week and use up what I have in the cupboards, fridge and freezer.  You would be amazed what is lurking in them sometimes & how far it will stretch.

Not only is it good for the weekly budget but it’s mindful of the environment.  As we are buying less packaging when we bake at home, consuming food that we have made with love for our families and helping to lessen the CO2 that goes into the air as we haven’t had to buy as much in that week which has taken food miles to get from farm to factory to warehouse to supermarket.  It’s all good

A few other posts you might like to read:

• A few suggestions on being mindful in the supermarket
• H G Wells quotes
• Bringing Mindfulness

So why did I like the idea of mindfulness?

Mindfulness is the practice of becoming fully aware of the present moment in a non-judgmental way.  Instead of dwelling in the past or wondering about the future we make a choice to experience what is going on where we are right now.  To acknowledge and accept what we are feeling and sensing in this moment.   It usually involves a heightened awareness of our sensory stimuli and connecting to the moment we are in.   Although mindfulness has its origins in the Buddhist tradition and Eastern philosophy, there is no essential religious component to it; anyone with any belief structure can enjoy the benefits of mindfulness.

How do we get mindful?

Mindfulness can be achieved through meditation, but we can also practice mindfulness in our daily life.  Simply focusing on the present moment and quieting our inner chit chat can help us attain mindfulness.  This is what appeals to me .. as like a lot of other people, I am on a ‘journey’ but I don’t want to journey towards being a monk or sitting on a rock all day.

Paying attention to what we do, when we are doing it and not having our bodies in one place and our head in another is pretty much it.  Jon Kabat-Zinn defines mindfulness in a really good and simple way:

Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way; on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally.

What I like about mindfulness

Research in mindfulness is gaining recognition and the results so far have been promising.  Some of the benefits listed are in the areas of anxiety, depression, sleep problems, relationships and stress management.  What I’ve found is that I’m definitely calmer than I used to be, I don’t get p’d off by small things as much and I find that I enjoy what I do in life a whole lot more.  All in all I find it really good and beneficial to my day.

Top ten benefits I get from mindfulness

1. Clearer thinking
2. Efficiency and productivity has gone up
3. More feelings of being ‘in the flow’
4. Less stress
5. Greater trust in my intuition ..that is I listen to it more
6. More authentic in what I do and say
7. Deepening of my self confidence
8. Adapting to change is easier .. I always liked change but I like it even more now
9. More focused
10. Better relationships with people … and with things too [that is I don’t care for things as much]

So, these are the things I find good about having added a mindfulness practice to my day.  Maybe after reading this you might like to give it a go too.  I also do a bit of meditation in the morning [and am trying to get into an evening habit as well] but really I enjoy attempting to make my whole day a meditation simply by  paying attention to what I’m actually doing … it doesn’t take any extra time but makes what I do better, faster and weeds out the times I zone out – so I don’t miss my life as it passes by without me knowing!

Give it a try and let me know how you go

Other posts you might like to read:

• Being productive and mindful: 20 one minute to dos
• Business support SMEcommunity style
• Be where you are

 photo: section of the Bringing Mindfulness poster

A day when a lot of the world celebrates love and shows affection for their ‘loved ones’ … letting them know they hold a special place in their hearts.

But… [isn't there always a but?]

Don’t forget the one you should love the most though, the one you should care for and cherish so they may grow and flourish.  The one who is with you always, sometimes happy, sometimes a pain in the proverbial but always there with you when you absolutely need them.

Often times they are forgotten, neglected and last on the list to receive your good wishes and warm affection.

On this day of all days it’s important to remember….. yourself.

Now, having said that I don’t mean to go and give yourself a kiss in the mirror but when we love who we are we feel good about ourselves; we grow as people and there is more to give others.  So feel the love for yourself today – buy yourself a pretty flower, make yourself a nice dinner and enjoy your own company…rekindle the romance .  As Oscar Wilde so eloquently put it:

To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance

Some other posts you might like to read:

• Can you feel the hug?
• Love 
• Why do you turn me on then just leave me?

My usual meditation style is focusing on the breath only and I find that works for me but was keen to explore another option and to be in a group again.  After a bit of background to the whole meditation thing and it’s benefits [manage stress, reduce anxiety, create inner peace, awaken your intuition, become less judgmental etc] we began the group meditation.  I have to say, that for someone who usually only meditates 10 minutes a day it went by quicker than I thought; though I was starting to flag a bit nearing the end of the allotted time.

There are quite a few different types of meditation out there and I think it’s good to experiment a bit to find one that suits and that fits nicely.  Having said that, the basics are the same no matter what discipline you choose.

A few things Hilda told us about integrating a meditation practice into our daily life:

• Don’t judge your meditation by what you experience during the actual meditation. They will vary from morning to night and day to day.  Don’t be judging yourself against a pre conceived idea of what you think you should feel [or not feel/think] during the meditation; looking for certain experiences will keep your awareness at the level of mind and prevent the natural process from unfolding.

• To get the most out of meditating, do it twice a day for 20-30 minutes at a time.

• If you can’t manage the full 20 minutes then do what you can – 5 minutes is better than nothing.  It’s better to do two shorter meditations than one long one as each time we meditate we contact the field of pure awareness and begin to intergrate it into our life.

•  The best times are first thing in the morning [after you've been to the loo] and in the early evening before dinner [ideally between 5&6 pm].

• Meditate sitting in a comfortable position, either on a chair or crossed legged on the floor.  Laying down isn’t a great idea as it’s easy to nod off [which I have done in the past in yoga sessions!]

• Always allow a few minutes at the end of meditating to ground yourself and reconnect with the here and now; with what is going on around you and within you.

My task for the next week is to incorporate a bit of evening meditation into my day, so I will now [try to] make room for some prior to dinner as well.  I do my morning one before I leave the bedroom as I found that once I had escaped out of my cocoon I never got around to doing it!!  Am hopeful that the feeling of being committed to a group for the next 6 weeks will inspire me to do it in the evenings as well…at ten minutes I can do it whilst the spuds boil

Photo by Mindful Productivity

Some previous postings you might like to read:

• Life is in the doing not the having
• Delight in all the turns of your life
• Simplicity Thursday – 5 things to do whilst boiling the kettle

What was the day about?  In a physical sense it was a bunch of tweeting Irish business people getting together to put faces to usernames and network off line.

In reality I think it was so much more.

It was a uniting of common interests, of similar paths, comparable hurdles and will do attitudes; a coming together of like minded individuals who have found not only business connections online but also an emotional support network of fellow travellers on the road to business success.  People who are not looking for others to do the work in their businesses for them, for freebies or an easy road to the top but who notice a raising of their own inner strength and resilience as they chat to others who are in the same place and going in the same direction.

They are business owners who want to do it themselves because they are passionate about how they have chosen to ‘make a living’.  They are passionate about Ireland moving forward and passionate about them being a part of the mechanism which will drive that movement.

What struck me from the very beginning of the day [apart from the fact that people were turning up early  ] was that everyone was exceptionally welcoming and eager to network and introduce each other – gosh, even I was going up to people I had never talked to before!  There was hugging .. and lots of it … I think we naturally ‘got’ what everyone else is going through and that in many ways broke the ice with everyone.  People travelled from all corners of the country to be part of something that was almost instinctively felt as a coming together of good energy; a start of the next chapter in the #SMEcommunity story.

The positive energy created during the day didn’t just stay in the room.  It moved online later in the evening as people arrived back to their homes.  I’m sure in the coming weeks every one that was there will feel a terrific buzz within themselves and that will naturally go into their respective businesses.

There is something really amazing happening here … a truly heartfelt approach to business support where by helping and supporting others emotionally we gain strength within ourselves.  For what was essentially a business networking event there was something unheard of in the room …. love … not mushy kissy kissy love but a heartfelt caring that comes from giving back with out asking for anything in return.

Well done all who participated in such a wonderful event

Other posts you might like to read:

• SMEcommunity – mindful business at work
• keep calm.. it’s my new mindfulness poster
• Can you feel the hug?

That old wartime mentality of ‘make do and mend’ …when people were truly mindful of just how valuable food, clothing & c was, has somehow been lost over time.  Now it often seems so easy [or was during the boom times] to just go out and buy something new and replace it and I think a lot of us got hooked on buying things for the sake of buying.  Shopping is enjoyable .. I like it [I likes it a lot] but this year I am trying to buy less and upcycle more of what I already have.

When we are being frugal we are mindful of the value of things and use all of whatever it is until there is no more to realistically use.  So it’s great to see a move back to people using things wisely and getting all the value out of an item before having to finally finish with it.  Seeing as I always fancied myself as a bit of a frugalista I have naturally acquired quite the repertoire over the years.  Coming from a long line of inventive homemakers I think it must be in my blood.  More importantly I think it’s good to get back to really respecting the money we earn and the true impact of what something actually costs to produce.

So here are a few quick and easy ways to be a bit more frugal/mindful in the kitchen.

5 mindfully frugal ways:

1. Limp veggies – now we all at some stage or another find a bunch of carrots in the fridge that have lost their crunch. Instead of throwing them out they can be put with any other veg that have past their prime and made into a nice vegetable stock to use as the base of a soup or stew. Remember, if you find yourself with limp food often to stop buying as much or maybe try buying frozen instead.
2. Old tin foil – You know the tin foil you have wrapped something in and have now unwrapped it and are going to throw it out? Well before you do…a] can it be used again?… if it wasn’t wrapping anything yucky or raw meat then it might be okay to fold up for another use.  b] if it can’t be saved then fold it in half a couple of times and cut it in strips with any scissors you need to sharpen. It sharpens them and productively uses up the tin foil that you were getting rid of anyway.
3. Half used bottles – gather all the half used bottles of things you may have and bring them to the front of the cupboard and make a point of using them up before buying anything else. If you particularly don’t like the brand then give it to someone who will. It not only clears space in your cupboards and drawers but helps you think about what you do buy.  Just because it’s on special or ‘cheap’ doesn’t mean you need it.  Did you know that baking soda is a terrific cleaner in the kitchen?  It brings sinks up lovely, cleans the insides of ovens and takes the tea stains off the inside of mugs when rubbed on as a paste.
4. Stretching the mince meat – meat can be expensive, especially if you are buying organically. When frying up any mince you can add some oatmeal.  I can see all your eyebrows raising but it is terrific….  I find about 20% works out right. Just remember to add a bit more liquid/stock as it gets absorbed by the oatmeal. As you don’t really notice the oatmeal is in there you can buy 20% less meat than you would normally buy!
5. Save on cling film – instead of using cling film to cover small leftovers on plates or in bowls, you can either put a bowl over the leftovers on the plate or put a smaller bowl over what is leftover in the bowl. You use less plastic cling film and save money – so mindful of the environment and mindful of your cash.

I know some of these tips are easy or obvious but sometimes they are the ones we might not think of ourselves. It’s all the small things which we do often that will add up and help us all move forward. Small changes done on a daily basis will change our habits for the long term. Mindfully moving forward to help ourselves initially but collectively to help all in the end.

be mindful and enjoy

photo from The Library of Congress via The Commons c1939

Other posts you might like to read:

• Being productive and mindful: 20 one minute to dos
• How many gurus will you notice today?
• Be where you are

Speaking of spending – one of the biggest drains on family/personal finances is the food bill and whilst it might be nice to buy all food from markets and artisan producers …the ol’ finances just will not allow it [at present].  Now, I enjoy as much as the next person cruising around the supermarket putting all the pretty labels in my trolley; lulled into a consumer cocoon by an army of retail psychologists.  What I don’t like is the amount of money I seem to spend each week on the stuff when with a bit more thought [yes, this is where the mindful living kicks in] I could enjoy the food just as much, be nicer to the environment and save me some spondooleys.  All by incorporating a bit more mindfulness into the before and during of my shopping trip.

Now as you may or may not be aware, supermarkets [especially the big chains] spend a lot of money to assist us in emptying our wallet as much as possible.  That’s fine, it is a business after all providing us with a service and products we choose to use.  However, by keeping our wits about us as we shop we can overcome some of the tactics which are employed to make us part with our cash.

A few suggestions to help us be more mindful as we shop:

• It’s an oldy but a goody – shop with a list … and stick to it! [I’m good at the first bit but not so good at the later – something I am working on this year]

• Make sure you check out the top and bottom shelves for better value items.  Research shows that most of us mostly look in the eye to waist level areas of the shelving.  So naturally all the big names are going to be there & therefore the big prices.

•  Always look at the price per kg cost, not the unit price.  Surprisingly, sometimes it’s actually cheaper to buy two small sizes instead of the bigger size.  Looking at the per kilo cost also helps you to see which brand is better value for money as sometimes it can be hard to tell between different sized/shaped bottles and packets.

•  Always check your docket before you leave the store! 

•  Last but not least….If you see something on special always check the grams/mls on offer and all the product details against the specials label on the shelf.  Sad to say but I’ve noticed this ALOT as I walk around …it’s the putting of products which aren’t actually on special above the tag saying the special.   For example: sometimes when the 250g is on special they will put the 500g there or last week I saw in the frozen aisle some frozen fish fillets that were a completely different brand with the specials tag under them.  Now, when we are gliding  around in our little supermarket world sometimes we just see the special price, assume everything is alright and pop it straight in the trolley all smug that we have a bargain…. so please double check you are actually getting one.

So let us be aware when next we go to the supermarket … By being mindful of our choices and noticing what is going on us we will probably save ourself a bit of money.

If you’ve noticed anything else we should be paying attention to as we stroll through the supermarket please share it in a comment below

UPDATE ON LAST WEEK: How are we all getting on since last week with being more aware of our appliances and light usage?  I know myself, it made me especially notice some areas I could improve on…like turning the kitchen light off when I went in the next room to watch telly or have dinner…and I found a radio that is left on standby all the time too!  Small things but they do all add up.

Photo by Harris Walker via Creative Commons

Some previous postings you might like to read:

• Simplicity Thursday – 5 things to do whilst boiling the kettle
• In the silence are all the answers you seek
• 20 ways to make life harder

As I said last week with my intentions post, I’m really concentrating in 2012 on being more mindful of my actions – both big ones and the very small ones.  There are so many small things we can do on a daily basis that alert us to being more aware of what is not only going on around us but also what we are actually doing.  So today I’m going to start off very small -to ease us all in – and do a bit of a list of a few things to try to pay attention to around the house that will

• a. help us be more aware of what we actually are noticing, and
• b. help us be more mindful of our money…. and for anyone – especially us in Ireland – that is a really good thing.

Here are a few questions to ponder:

1. After you finishing using the washing machine, do you turn the knob back to ’0′ so the little light goes off?
2. Do you pay attention to how much water you are putting in the kettle for a cuppa? …is it just enough for you are you expecting the local football team to drop in unannounced?
3. After you’ve charged your phone..what do you do ?  Do you walk away and leave the charger plugged in or do you turn it off at the wall.  Do you take it out and pop it away ready for the next use?
4. Do you shutdown and unplug your computer when you’ve finished with it for the day?
5. Do you turn the lights off when you leave a room?
6. Appliances like music systems or the second tv .. Are they on stand by just waiting for you to turn them on at the weekend?
7. Do you take your washing straight out of the machine and put it in the dryer or do you hang them up to dry before giving them a burst to just ‘finish them off’? [this is an Irish blog after all ]
8. While we are on the dryer…do you turn the light off on your dryer as well when finished?
9. Do you habitually put lights on of an evening in lots of rooms just so it looks pretty even though you never go in there?
10. Do you check the timer on your central heating so it fits in with the current weather? Often we put it on for more hours when it’s chillier and don’t bother altering it when the weather gets milder for a few weeks ..like now.

These are all small things – some of them are *really* small – but by being mindful of the many little habits we have in our homes [I feel] this translates as us being more mindful of our impact on the environment and more immediately to us…our wallet.  All the above will save you money, not much mind but that is not the point.  More importantly it will save CO2 and if everyone started to do these small things then that means big things are happening…..it’s all win win win

Enjoy

ps…Soz if from the title you were expecting  a romantic tale of unrequited lust

A few of my previous blogs you might like to check out:

• Life is in the doing not the having 
• Delight in all the turns of your life

Ahh 2012 …. don’t you all just love a new year?

Of course all moments are a new beginning but there is something essentially symbolic about starting a new number when we write the date.  Plus I love … let me rephrase … I LOVE starting a new diary with all the fresh pages and filling in all the reminders.  Small things delight me, what can I say…

After all the excesses of the last week or two I’m definitely ready to get back into living a more economical life again.  All those mulled wine, chocolate filled and yes I will have another slice days are over and to be perfectly honest I say good riddance  … I don’t know about you but I get a bit bored with it all after Christmas Day.  My thoughts turn to newness and activity around the 27^th Dec and I like to go into prep mode.  Unfortunately I still carry on eating all the bits whilst prepping so by the time the new year actually begins I am not only ready mentally to move on but my body is as well!

Each year I like to set an intention or two for the year; not a goal but more of an underpinning for all my choices.  This year my main one is to have greater awareness & understanding about the wider effects my decisions have [especially with what I choose to purchase] my second one is to be a whole lot more proactive when it comes to getting things done – basically to be a bit more gutsy/ballsy.  All up I’m excited about the year ahead … it’s going to be a great one! 

What are your intentions for 2012?

Some previous postings you might like to read:

•  Delight in all the turns of your life
• Simplicity Thursday – 5 things to do whilst boiling the kettle
• 20 ways to make life harder