Mindfulness is a Canary

In the old days, miners didn't have any way to know what gases were in the shaft. Potentially deadly chemicals might be silently drifting through the air, bringing about certain death without you even noticing. That's why they had a canary. A canary would detect something that might be killing you and send you a signal (it would get sick). Similarly, your body reflects back the stress arising from your resistance to the present moment, it alerts you when it's time to get out of that pit. Resistance is the cause of all stress, all worry, all anxiety, but often it is sneaky, it hides in the background, almost undetectable. Luckily, work can bring resistance to the surface, as it brings us challenges, difficult situations and people we might normally avoid. Resistance and work are often good friends. And when resistance arises, we have a wonderful opportunity. We can use this state of unease to bring us back to alertness, awareness and our natural inner joy. Today, I will walk you through a simple way to do this, from Eckhart Tolle's wonderful book Practicing the Power of Now. Enjoy.