Getting caught up in the busyness of our fast-paced lives can lead us to be disconnected, so Richmond-based Roberta Schneider is doing something about it by encouraging locals to bring mindfulness and kindness into their jam-packed lives.
Being mindful means having your mind on what you are doing in the present moment with awareness. Awareness of your thoughts, feelings, body and what is going on around you. It’s the opposite of rushing or doing too many things at once.
Taking into consideration the challenges of our fast-paced lifestyles, Roberta has been offering locals free opportunities to connect and be mindful together to improve overall well-being.
“Kindfulness has worked so well for me, and that’s why I thought other people could benefit from the same experience,” Roberta says.
“This inspired me to create informal opportunities for people to stop, read, talk, and reflect about what they are going through in their lives, using excerpts from research studies on mindfulness.”
Roberta has been practicing yoga and meditation for a long time. Last year she started a course on Kindfulness - Integral Mindfulness and Emotional Harmony.
“It focuses on self-development, development of virtues, constructive emotions, and the awareness of the neuropsychological structures that connect to these experiences,” Roberta says.
“It’s been helping me to dive deep into understanding who I am and how I relate to others. Reminding me all the time that living in the auto-pilot mode isn’t living. I’m training, so I can improve and support others.”
Roberta says that due to our hectic lives it’s easy to disconnect from who we are, and it’s a common tendency to avoid negative emotions and feelings.
“We should observe our emotions, including the negative ones, and in that way, we can start to create new ways to deal with them. Emotions we can’t deal with will often reappear again and again. Once you start to understand yourself and these emotions better, you will develop the ability not to react, and instead, deal with them with kindness, compassion, and more confidence.”
However, for ‘new ways’ to work, it takes time and commitment, and that is why Roberta has been offering free ‘mini events’.
“We have been meeting in the Washbourne Gardens, reading and talking about how we are doing. We do a couple of short mediation practices too.
“When sitting and sharing, we see others’ challenges and can relate: ‘Oh, let’s think of ways to overcome this’. The simple practice of shortly stopping, breathing and feeling how our bodies can teach us a lot.”
Those interested in connecting can email be.mindful.sharing@gmail.com
