Mindfulness Daily Check-In November 9, 2017
Hello everyone! 
How are you all doing today? 
This practice invites us to use the colors that surround us in our everyday and use them as mindfulness triggers. For the sake of example, we will be using the colors of a traffic light – red, yellow and green. You will start to become aware that these colors are always around us – especially in nature. You can also make this practice your own by simply choosing your favorite color, and align one of the actions below to trigger your own colored version of mindfulness. Lets get started.
Step 1 – Red: When you arrive see the color red (even at a stop light), literally stop and take 3 breaths in and out through your nose. As we breathe through our nose, we access the parasympathetic nervous system, which naturally calms and relaxes us. Bonus points if you can breath through the entire cycle of a red light.
Step 2 – Yellow: When you see the color yellow, simply smile. When we smile we release endorphins that reduce stress and help us feel better. Even faking a smile can lead to feeling happier.
Step 3 – Green: When you see the color green, simply give gratitude. This can be as simple as being grateful that you are alive, or grateful for a loved one in your life, or grateful that you are able to embrace this moment, right here, right now. Bonus points if you want to place your hands on your heart (unless you are driving of course).
Let me know your thoughts below! 
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This is a great practice! I want to do this every day
@TranscendentLight
Yay! All the best! It's great that you want to do it everyday!
@compassion4you14
Very nice practice, thanks a lot for sharing, I'll remember and try it!
Since I finally started beliving in myself and most importantly gaign the strenght of will to get my life back, step by step, which basically was when I began my journey on 7 Cups, precisely one week ago, I've been seeing a lot more greens than yellows and reds, this after being fighting my mental health problems for a bit over 5 years and receiving both medical and therapeutic (CBT) advice on a regular basis.
I am under the weather today. I feel like I don't know what I need and I will never figure it out. Mindfulness is necessary today.
@essdee Awww it can be the worst when I can't even name my problem or describe the state I'm in properly... So good that you have this tools, the mindfulness practices and have the bravery to admit your current situation to yourself and even share it!
Hugs (if you want them)
Thank you @EmOnTheGo
@compassion4you14
compassion, that is such a great idea. red traffic lights can be frustrating sometimes but now i have something to look forward to them in some way. thanks a lot.
@compassion4you14
At a stop light I expand my awareness to make sure there's no bicycles in my blind spot and nothing unsafe happening as well as the breathing. Always awareness on the road and your next move. Defensive driving book taught me to have an out planned in case another vehicle came barreling toward mine at an unsafe speed like open areas of the road's shoulder. After reading it, makes me feel more like there's a measure of control over how other driver's shortcomings affect me despite some accidents being less avoidable.
@compassion4you14 this sounds like fun! Thanks for this unique idea.
As I am reading your post I am thinking about these colors in terms of my reactions two issues.
I'll try to remember this next time I'm dealing with a traffic light; there's a particularly long red light right on my street as I'm crossing to go and catch the bus.
Also, I will try to remember this as I'm dealing with my life issues. For example there's no hot water in our apartment right now. And I'm very angry about that right now and very impatient that our manager let that go for 3 days. When I think of a red light I think of having to wait for something. I'm obviously going to have to wait until the hot water gets fixed; in the meantime I'm going to have to heat hot water up on the stove. I'll need to do that just to get the bathtub water tepid for our bath.
Now yellow. I better learn how to smile at trouble and have a sense of humor. Treating my situation in my apartment like a situation comedy helps. Not having hot water is really nothing to smile about but if I were starring in a sitcom it probably would be funny to a viewer! Lol
Now green light. I'm grateful to have drinking water. I'm grateful to have electricity. I'm grateful I have a roommate who loves me. I'm grateful that I was able to set the coffee machine for tomorrow morning in case the water does get turned off for repairs will still have coffee---hot coffee.
These are the thoughts I had when I read your entry. And I love that picture. It reminds me of the chakras.
Carol
Thanks for this check-in, I think it's a really creative way of using colours to represent mindfulness!
Will definitely be trying this out soon :D
@compassion4you14
Hi Compassionate such a wonderful check in-thank you I used to use the "color guide" long ago, but I guess life gotten busy lol. Thank you for this as I am going to use this as also part of my boundaries!
