Guide to Mindfulness

As professionals, we have our plates full with one task leading to another. Stress gives us little time to take a break and focus on the other side of our lives, the personal space. Our busy schedules make it too costly to spend a peaceful family time and catch up with friends, making the decisions harder. This is where being mindful of your life’s course comes in. Rather than getting consumed in the rat race we often talk about, we should rather pause and check what our life is becoming.

Adapting mindfulness is not rocket science; we can instill it in our life however we want to. The guide to mindfulness is all about adapting the right kinds of attitude to develop your capacity so that you lead a more meaningful life. The following attitudes can enhance your outlook on the world around you, giving you peace of mind. Who would not want that?

1. Acceptance – It does not mean accepting what others want you to; it is about coming to terms with your own feelings instead of running away from them. Once you acknowledge where you are, it will be easier to get to the needed change.
2. Curiosity – It is okay to have the urge of knowing something. Becoming curious about your own thoughts and feelings will lead you to answers. Ask yourself those questions which decode your emotions.
3. Let it go – Holding on seems easier, but it has pain hidden beneath it. You should be mindful of the harm negative memories can bring you, so do not dwell deep in the past which can harm your future.
4. Be rational – Rather than categorizing your experiences into good or bad, just observe them with an open mind. If you begin classifying them, your thoughts will be channeled in that direction.
5. Don’t strive – We often see escape as the easier option if things do not go as planned and jot down the goal for another experience. That is a bad practice; do not ruin your capabilities by being too dependent on goals.
6. Believe – Be confident in yourself, your intuition and mindful living.

Now that we laid out the paths of the ultimate guide to mindfulness, following are the driving forces which will get you to the destination. These factors will help you be aware of mindfulness so keep them in your sight so that you can turn back to them. Pin them up on your cupboard, maybe?

1. Intentions- As we often hear that actions are based on intentions; they are a major driving tool for your mindful journey. Interestingly, they are the starting and the ending points because intentions are what we hope to get out of a mindful change in our lives. Therefore, have faith in them and do not alienate from the motivation itself. Whether you want stress elimination or meet your true self, your intentions will keep you on track. The stronger your intention is, the regular you will be in practicing mindfulness.

2. Attention – In order to be regular in practicing mindfulness, you need to enhance your attention. You can develop attentive attitude through meditation be it tradition or informal.

3. Attitude – At this point, we would like you to go back to the attitudes we introduced to and pay attention to how you can adapt them easily.

Now that general rules of your guide to mindfulness are set, we will give you some daily life hack to enhancing mindful living. The great thing about this art is that you can practice it anytime; you do not need to go out of the way.

1. Communicating – When in conversation with someone else, hear the tone of yours and their voice. Catch your thoughts wandering away and drag yourself back to the conversation or else you will hurt feelings.
2. Exercise – Next time you step on the treadmill or go out for a walk; keep your mind on the track your body is on. Focus on your emotions and the environment around you rather than how the person in front of you is working out. Be curious!
3. Holidays – Take a break and treat yourself with a vacation away from your comfort zone. Sipping lemonade at the beach should not be making you plan your next holiday, rather enjoy the surroundings before you need to pack and leave. We would advise you to keep your camera and phone away, too.   
4. Music – Our moods mostly shift gears with the music we listen to. Plug you earphones and play your favorite songs and catch the sounds bits appearing from nowhere and then disappearing back into silence.
5. Live in the moment – It is either now or never, so slow down and get caught in the moment. Refresh yourself with sniffing the roses on the side of your jogging track instead of hurrying to finish the jog.

While you are done reading and thinking of where to begin the quick fix, bear in mind that being mindful is a journey not a destination. The simplest of actions will kick start a chain reaction and you will find yourself living life in a very simple way. You will begin to see things in the way they are, without any influence just so that you know what you need to be happy and what needs to be left behind because it is not needed for your personal and professional development. We wish you a happy journey!

Love,

Peace Quarters

www.peacequarters.com

Murray, Djokovic to meet in Miami quarters

MIAMI: Defending champion Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic will meet for the first time since last year´s Wimbledon final after advancing with ease Tuesday into the ATP and WTA Masters quarter-finals.

Wimbledon winner Murray dispatched French 11th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4, 6-1 while second seed Djokovic gave away a second-set point in a sporting gesture to Tommy Robredo during a 6-3, 7-5 triumph.

Britain´s sixth-seeded Murray, who trails the Serb 8-11 in their all-time rivalry, was looking forward to a repeat match with Djokovic after not playing him since last July. "We´ve played a lot and we always have long, tough matches. This will be a good test for me," Murray said.

Murray, who underwent back surgery six months ago, improved to 9-1 against Tsonga, advancing in 74 minutes.

The Scotsman, who converted on eight of his 12 break chances, won on his second match point as the Frenchman hit the net with a return. "It was a close match," Murray said. "I had lots of break points. Conditions were tricky with the wind. It was not pretty tennis but we tried the best we could."

Despite reporting some pain in his hips and lower back, Murray was satisfied with his level of fitness while remaining aware that he needs to monitor himself. "I haven´t seen my physio, I chatted to him a little bit after the match, but I need to get assessed and have him treat me. Hopefully I´ll be OK," Murray said. "It was a bit sore but I still moved well throughout the rest of the match, which is a good sign. I was probably moving better at the end of the match than I was at the beginning, so that´s probably a good sign."

Djokovic surrendered a point to his 16th-seeded Spanish rival in the third game of the second set after a linesman mistakenly called a Robredo return out.

Instead of re-playing, Djokovic donated the point, giving his opponent an advantage. Though Djokovic won the game, the gesture drew applause from fans who had to wait half an hour for the start of play after morning rain. "It´s something that is part of the sport and fair play. I expect everybody else to do the same. Of course, not everybody else is the same, but for me that´s something that´s normal, just a normal, natural reaction," Djokovic said.

The event got lucky with the weather as faint sun replaced the morning rain. "It was humid, swirly on the court, there was a lot of wind," Djokovic said. "I just was telling myself to stay mentally out there tough, composed and not get carried away by few points. I did well, served well. I made him play an extra shot in important moments and that´s why I´m satisfied with the overall match."

Djokovic, who has won six matches in a row against Robredo, is playing the event for the ninth time. He has a 28-5 record and also leads the way among active players for titles won in Miami, winning in 2007, 2011 and 2012.

The Serb finished off his win in 82 minutes with a forehand winner to the corner on the first of three match points. (AFP)

Idrees Zazay lifts Super Heavy Weight Boxing title

PESHAWAR: Idress Zazay lifted the belt put on display well before the super heavy weight bout in front of capacity crowd witnessed the thrilling battle at Lala Aman Boxing Arena Qayyum Sports Complex on Wednesday.

Known social worker of Peshawar Asghar Khan Khalil was the chief guest on this occasion.

Before the start of the bouts in different heavy weight and super heavy weight categories, the pugilists were introduced to him.

Organizing Secretary, Syed Kamal Shah Secretary General of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Boxing Association was also present.

The pugilists of the first Professional Boxing Championship being organized in different weight categories on weekly basis received thundering applauses during the introductory session.

In the first bout Idrees Zazay knocked out Muhammad Yousaf in the fourth round of the six rounds battle.

Idrees Zazay right from the outset dominated the proceedings and did not let his rival to play with free hands. His 1 and 2 combination he got lead at the points table against Muhammad Yousaf but it was left punch which resulted in knocking out Muhammad Yousaf in the fourth round.

Referee Arshad Qurashi counted in favour of Idress Zazay and thus he won the battle.

In the other weight categories like 75kg Rustam Zazay beat Noor Agha on points while Abdul Qadeer outclassed Lal Zada on points in 81kg weight category.

It was the 91kg weight category battle in which Bilal Afzal knocked out Imran Khan while in the 91kg plus super heavy weight category Idrees Zazay recorded victory.

At the end the chief guest Asghar Khan Khalil gave away belts to the winner of the different weight categories. (APP)

Former Pakistan cricketers criticise Bangladesh flag ban

KARACHI: Former Pakistani players hit out after Bangladesh banned their own fans from waving non-Bangladeshi flags at the ongoing World Twenty20 tournament.

Hosts Bangladesh issued the order after an outcry over images of locals waving Pakistani flags during the recent Asia Cup.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) made the ruling on Tuesday, on the eve of the country’s 44th Independence Day.

Former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad said the move violated the spirit of the game.

“I am surprised at the decision,” Miandad told AFP. “Cricket is a game which harbours sportsman spirit and this decision violates that spirit.”

Another former captain, Mohammad Yousuf, urged the BCB to rethink.

“I am sure that the BCB will take this decision back because it defies logic and I am sure the International Cricket Council will seek some explanation,” Yousuf said.

Yousuf, who played 90 Tests and 288 ODIs for Pakistan, said he had always been warmly received in Bangladesh.

“I have seen the home fans want to support Pakistan whenever their own team is not competing against us,” he said.

Younis Khan, another former captain, agreed Bangladesh should reconsider their decision.

“It is against the spirit of the game as you cannot stop anyone from supporting his favourite team,” he said.

Bangladesh and Pakistan face each other in a potentially crucial World T20 group match in Mirpur on Sunday.

Vettel, Franklin winners at emotional Laureus awards

KUALA LUMPUR: Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel and swim star Missy Franklin were named Laureus sportsman and woman of the year Wednesday in a ceremony in Malaysia that was tinged with tragedy over the MH370 plane disaster.

Germany´s treble-winners Bayern Munich beat out rugby´s All Blacks for team of 2013 and Rafael Nadal won comeback of the year at the glamorous awards show in downtown Kuala Lumpur.

The ceremony, packed with some of the greats of world sport, was preceded by a moment´s silence for the 239 people killed when flight MH370 crashed in the Indian Ocean in still unexplained circumstances.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who just two days earlier announced the fate of the missing Malaysia Airlines plane and passengers, said "our thoughts and our prayers" were with the victims.

"At this difficult time we draw strength from individual stories of perseverance, of generosity, of endurance. The nominees here tonight display those values," Najib told the audience in the Malaysian capital.

Vettel, F1´s youngest four-time world champion and in Kuala Lumpur for this week´s Malaysian Grand Prix, won sportsman of 2013 ahead of Usain Bolt, LeBron James, Nadal, Cristiano Ronaldo and Mo Farah.

Franklin, 18, beat tennis great Serena Williams and Russian pole vault queen Yelena Isinbayeva, among others, to the women´s award and afterwards she offered her condolences for the plane crash.

Spain´s Nadal won comeback of the year for his amazing recovery from a career-threatening knee injury when he won the French Open and US Open and returned to world number one.

Afghanistan´s cricket team were honoured with a spirit of sport award for their feat in rising from refugee camps and long-running conflict to qualify for the 2015 World Cup.

Spanish MotoGP rider Marc Marquez won breakthrough of the year for becoming his sport´s youngest ever world champion at the age of 20 years and 266 days.

Skier Marie Bochet of France, who was born without a left forearm, was named best sportsperson with a disability and British BMX rider Jamie Bestwick won the action sports award.(AFP)

Kerry meets Abbas to shore up Mideast peace talks

AMMAN: US Secretary of State John Kerry meet Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas Wednesday as he sought to rescue his faltering Middle East peace bid, amid fears Israel may scrap plans to free Palestinian prisoners.

Flying in to Jordan from an interrupted visit to Rome, he first held talks with King Abdullah II as he pressed his bid to "continue to narrow the gaps" between the two sides, his spokeswoman said.

He then went into evening talks with Abbas who had just returned from the Arab League´s annual summit in Kuwait, a US official said.

Under a July deal for the relaunch of the peace negotiations, Israel said it would release 104 Arabs held since before the 1993 Oslo peace accords in exchange for the Palestinians not pressing their statehood claims via the UN.

Israel has so far freed 78 prisoners and is due to release the fourth and final tranche on March 29, including some Arab Israelis jailed for militant attacks.But there are growing fears Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu´s cabinet may block the move.

"Israel is trying to worm its way out of releasing the prisoners. They will be held responsible for any repercussions of this," Palestinian minister of prisoners affairs Issa Qaraqe told Voice of Palestine radio.

He insisted Israel free all the prisoners.If the releases do not go ahead as scheduled this weekend, Palestinian leaders are threatening to renew their diplomatic push at the United Nations.

- League rejects ´Jewish state´ -

The Palestinians also won key backing Wednesday from the Arab League for their refusal to bow to Netanyahu´s demand to recognise Israel as "the nation state of the Jewish people."

"We express our total rejection of the call to consider Israel as a Jewish state," said the Arab League declaration, issued at the end of a two-day summit in Kuwait City.

But the Israeli side hit back that Abbas´s stand on the issue "could torpedo the peace process." The Palestinian leader had "boasted that he refuses to even discuss recognising the Jewish state, once again parading rejectionism as virtue," a senior Israeli official said.

"By reiterating his adversarial maximalist position, Abbas is undermining President (Barack) Obama´s vision of peace and torpedoing Secretary Kerry´s efforts to move the process forward," he added.

Qaim, Ebad, Malik discuss PPP, MQM ties

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and former interior minister Rehman Malik had a meeting with Governor Ishratul Ebad here on Wednesday wherein relations between Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) came under discussion.

According to a statement issued here at Sindh Governor House – the venue of the meeting – the leaders from both the sides expressed the resolve to deal with the challenges being faced by the country including law and order situation by rising above personal interests.

PPP and MQM have been trying to reach an agreement over a power-sharing formula in Sindh. They are hopeful of the MQM joining the PPP government within days.

Sources in the MQM had confirmed that the party would become part of the provincial government by the end of the week. They also said the power-sharing formula would be the same as in the previous PPP government.

It is believed that both the parties have settled over 80 percent of their issues.