Simply Notice - aka Awareness — The First Step in Mindfulness

Mindfulness begins with simply noticing. Your thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations arise like waves — can you greet them with curiosity instead of judgment? Can you catch them and create space to let them stretch longer. Practicing is exactly what this skill building creates.

Awareness anchors you to the only moment that truly exists: now. In fact you may being mindful more than you even know! Anytime you notice how the wind feels, the smell of that truck plume during the commute, the emotion a song coming on the radio brings up? ALL mindful moments. The practice let’s us lean in by choice and expand that experience. It also let’s our brain practice the back and forth flow of distraction back to anchor - which is precisely what builds the gray matter in our prefrontal cortex and transform our brain for the better. So distraction doesn’t mean you aren’t being mindful, it means you’re human and it is actually strengthening the mindful muscle. So keep getting distracted and keep coming back to simply noticing. It can be that simple, if we let it.

Mindfulness begins with awareness — the skill of noticing our thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations without judgment. Instead of rushing through our experiences, we pause and observe. A mental health skill for anxiety and emotional regulation is Name it to Tame it, but what if we named it to become present with it. Awareness gives us the power to respond thoughtfully rather than react impulsively. Sometimes it can feel like that little space doesn’t exist. The more we practice it during regulated moments, the more we can apply it to dysregulated ones too. Today, try taking five minutes to sit and simply notice: What do you feel? What thoughts drift in? What do you sense? Gently acknowledge them and let them pass like clouds across the sky. Neurodivergent / Trauma-Informed twist: You don’t have to sit. You can mindfully fidget. You don’t have to close your eyes or breathe a certain way. You can just notice what you’re feeling that is in the present moment now.

Thank you for being here and being you!

Mindfully Being,

Michelle Swerin, MA LPCC, ADHD-CCSP, Autism-CCSP

& Fellow Neurospicy Recovering Perfectionist

My Mantra of the Day: Just notice, that’s it, really, that’s it.