In recent years I have developed an interest in mindfulness. Often, when dealing with our stresses of daily life, we may feel bound by our past and also to some extent concerned about the future. Mindfulness, enables you to focus on the present and helps you do whatever you are doing at a particular moment with presence. A way to achieve mindfulness and help you focus more on the present is through meditation. 

Often, a misconception about meditation is that you have to sit still, this is not the case. You can meditate and focus on the present through alternative methods known as active meditation methods. These may include activities such as going for a walk, engaging in a task (such as a chore or a craft of interest), or even writing in a journal. Thus, it could be argued that most activities that you engage in provide an opportunity for mindfulness.

Through my experiences of meditating, through both traditional sitting down meditation and also alternative meditation practices what I have realized is that, to me, meditation goes hand-in-hand with the process of languaging.  The term languaging refers to the notion where language is used to help you to articulate your thoughts and come to a better understanding and help you connect at a deeper level with yourself. In this sense, language is viewed as a verb rather than a noun.

While meditating, languaging involves an internal dialogue with oneself. In other words it is a form of unspoken private speech where you may be searching for answers to questions, perceiving what is around you, or compartmentalising your thoughts. Thus, languaging in this process is an interpersonal activity. The same can also be said if the alternative method of writing a journal is used to meditate. However, different form the internal dialogue, meditating through journal writing provides a more tangible articulation of your thoughts documented externally. This is a document which you can revisit at a later point to help you unlock you characteristics and state of mind.  Thus reading is also a form of meditation.  

Below I share a collection of some excerpts of texts, or what could be referred to as the languaging of others, that have helped develop my own state of mindfulness.