Saturday, December 24, 2011

Holiday Mindlessness


Top 5 Ways to Avoid Being Mindful for the Holidays

Here are some ways to avoid actingt mindfully during the holidays, tips from the Mindful Mama blog.

1. Eat extra servings of the food and drink that you know you react poorly to.

Processed, refined, and prepared foods can lead to discomfort and dissatisfaction. If you know you have allergies or intolerances, that won’t quite kill you or put you in hospital, this is the time of year to try them again. Overindulging in them, especially when the holidays often mean having them readily on hand, can keep you from wanting to feel the sensations of your body. Your Great Aunt put a lot of work into that Gluten-rich, nut-stuffed Fruit cake. Please don’t disappoint her by whining about keeping a clean body again.

2. Avoid exercise or activity at any cost.

Take the elevator instead of the stairs. Drive a car instead of taking mass transit, walking or riding a bicycle. Eschew the gym, yoga studio or exercise trails. It helps you choke back the guilt if you sneer at anyone wearing Yoga pants. After several days, your body will become stiff and unwieldy. You’ll have to switch from your own comfy yoga pants to your partner’s old sweatpants to keep your belly comfortable. This activity has the added benefit of allowing you to ignore environmental damage and being frugal. That’s a triple anti-mindfulness win.

3. Stay indoors and avoid nature

Vitamin D can help you feel healthy and this is not the goal of anti-mindfulness. You want to block out sensations of health so as to cultivate a sense of dis-ease. It makes it easier to avoid those pesky thoughts about conscious living. You can continue worrying about whether cheez-it stains clash with gray sweatpants when you stay inside. Nature can cause you to breathe deeply and feel good about not truly needing anything but this moment. And no one wants that.

4. Avoid people that support conscious living.

Just having a simple conversation with someone who strives to live mindfully can pull you into a downward spiral of anti-consumerism, healthy living, and giving without regard to outcome. Yoga teachers and massage therapists are especially dangerous to be around this time of year because they often actively practice mindful living and are happy to dole out their hippy dippy ideas. Stick close to strangers at big box stores and fast food restaurants for ethical conversations during the holidays. If one of them surprises you with a mindful comment back away quickly while holding your hands in front of your chest.

5. Stay busy from the moment you wake until you pass out zombie-like in bed.

If you never take the time to be alone with yourself, you don’t have to worry about accidentally slipping into a meditative state. If you haven’t noticed the theme so far, avoidance is your first line of defense against mindful living. The second line of defense is filling your body, time, and house up with as much stuff as you can. If you have things to do, objects to buy, and food to consume, you will never have a moment to cultivate mindfulness. Plus, you’ll be so exhausted and sick; you’ll pass out at the end of the night. If by chance, you have insomnia, this is the time to return to Number 1. There are always leftovers to dig into at 2am.
Mindful Mama Carnival

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