Breath In, Breath Out - 15 Second Savior

One trick that I have been focusing on lately is what I call the "15-Second Pause." I have this program that teaches me mindfulness and about what it is and what it means. It helps me practice and prompts me when I need it. One of the things it uses to help is the pause feature, which is available at any time from the homescreen. There's a 15 second circular loop in the middle of the screen and as the outside of the loop goes around to complete the countdown it prompts you to breathe in and breathe out twice. The background screen changes to one of twenty or more moving backgrounds; they are all animated nature or relaxing videos. It gives you 15 seconds to focus on something beautiful that is going on right in front of you. The goal is that while

breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth just twice and focusing on what you are seeing or what is really around you you can return back to your awareness of reality with an enhanced balance and mindfulness, in tune with the world around you. This is the chance to, when you look up from the exercise, look at what is around you now. Focus on being mindful of the present and what is going on all around you. Enjoy it and your life instead of worrying about things you can't control or living in the past or future. By spending all our time being upset for whatever reason at whomever about the past or all our time worrying about or planning for the future we miss out on the present. It's called the present for a reason. Really. Learn to be mindful, use these 15-second breaks to help. You can use the timer on you iPhone or look at a relaxing picture for 15 seconds - just make sure to breathe in and out two times. In through the nose and out through the mouth. It's a cliche, but it's true, don't forget to stop and smell the roses - you never know when you will be back and if they will even be in bloom. Take a minute to slow down and see things for what they really are, see what's really going on all around you. Live for today. Don't miss out on the life you've been given. 

You can download the app if you want - it's called "Mindfulness Daily" by inward inc - here's the link for the App Store:

https://appsto.re/us/_bIYP.i