07 Set the alarm

Today we are going to learn how to detect those moments in which our mind is scattered

and we are heading in an unrestrained way into the past or into the future, leaving aside what happens in the present

Haven't you noticed, since you started the course, those moments when you get away from the time? Okay, maybe sometimes you didn't make it

but it's normal considering all the years you've been living on autopilot

Today we are going to be aware of our mental activity and I propose you a fun exercise to start practicing it

to what we call the internal alarm

Throughout today's relaxation you will hear this sound, that will serve you from today on as an internal alarm when your attention deviates too much from the present moment

I want you to continue with me the relaxation as you are used to but that when you hear the alarm I want you to withdraw your attention from the present and go to the past or the future, that is, to think about something that has happened to you or you have done or something that you have to do next or what you want to happen

Simple, isn't it? Here we go

Place yourself in a comfortable position, where you feel relaxed and away from distractions

We are going to close our eyes, letting our gaze rest downward, relaxing the muscles of the face little by little

Releasing tensions, releasing the loads

Concentrate on your breathing, do it gently, letting the air in and letting it out through the nose very slowly

Pay attention to how the air passes inside you

filling your abdomen, as it gently exits through your nose thinking of you a feeling of full relaxation

Now let go those thoughts and refocus your attention on the breath

Relax your legs, feel how all your muscles are at rest, relaxed, breathes softly and slowly

Well we are going the thoughts and we return to our breathing

Lentaa, rhythmic but slow

If you want you can mentally listen to the onomatopoeias we used in the previous episode while we were breathing

"SO" when inhaling through the nose, "HAM" when expelling air through our nose

Smoothly and at our pace

Back to our breathing

The only thing that exists is this precise instant

Your breath, concentrate on it

Okay, we're slowly getting on board, as you can see it's very easy to lose concentration when the alarm sounds, now your task is to practice listening mentally

that alarm when you think you're thinking too much, when you feel you are not living in the present

Little by little you will incorporate it in your daily life if you pay attention to what is happening inside of you and that alarm will appear in your daily life

automatically when you go astray

It doesn't mean that you can't think about what you have to do, nor that you can't remember previous events

but you must be alert when your mind tries to divert you and you are not able to be aware of what you are doing

That's what mindfulness is all about, being aware of what's going on in each moment, even when you're getting carried away

by your thoughts and these have dragged you to the future or to the past making you forget what is happening now

I hope you liked today's practice and that you will incorporate this alarm into your daily life

Happy present moment and see you next time