Last updated: Aug. 15, 2025
It all sounds cliché: “Let’s free ourselves!” “Be Happy Now!” “There are no excuses – just do it!” It’s true, these ideas are now very popular. Almost everyone on the planet has heard these taglines from somewhere. They’re so popular that we’ve become immune to them.
Too often we accept defeat before our prime and give up on ourselves. Taking action to embody these ideas about happiness, freedom and empowerment is challenging.
We’re so busy living in the past instead of the present moment, we haven’t space within our minds and hearts to imagine something miraculously positive for ourselves in the future. You can change all that with mindful practices!
How Do I Train Myself to Be Open-Minded?
Here’s the reality: You can free yourself from limiting beliefs, thoughts, feelings, and habits. You can be happy when you choose to be happy.
It all depends on how much you are willing to release your current intentions, attitudes, and addictions – and to learn new ways. When I say addiction, I’m not referring to substances, which are also problematic. I’m referring to the chemicals that arise from specific self-negating thoughts and behaviors. Yes, we can and tend to be addicted to our own thoughts, emotions and behaviours.
To open your mind and excel at being free, clear, and positive, there are many things we can do. Here is a list of seven mindful practices for daily life that many people have incorporated into their lives and saw success. Each one of them is powerful all by itself. If you can invite all seven of these things into your life as habits, you’ll be further along than 99% of Planet Earth.
Let’s get to it with these mindful practices to learn how to live in the present moment!
1) Continually Forgive Yourself and Others to Create Emotional Freedom
Allow yourself to think lovingly of the people who have hurt you. Remember that it’s okay to make mistakes, even huge ones. There is no other way to truly embody a new piece of knowledge. We must allow ourselves to make mistakes and forgive them. Acknowledge them, endeavor to do better next time, and move on! Everybody will adjust.
2) Understand and Embrace Your Most Endearing and Empowering Attributes
If you cannot claim your gifts, beauty, and magic, who else will? Yes, our moms love us, but they love us because they want us to love ourselves. When we appreciate our best attributes, we love ourselves, we honor our births in this world, and we pay tribute to our mothers. Doing all this as part of our mindful practices, we reduce the barriers that prevent our futures from unfolding.
3) Stop Obsessing Over the Past and Practice Being in the Moment
It does not exist, except in the dark corners of your mind. We love to think about the things that occurred in the past, even things that never happened. Truth be told, no matter what the memory is, our minds have already polluted it. After 5 years, most of our memories contain only 20-50% of the actual events. During those 5 years, our little brains conjure ideas to validate our contrived self-concepts. If our memories were stocks, they’d never produce any dividends. Let them go. Stop replaying the past in your mind. Be here, right now, in the present moment.
4) Celebrate the Small Victories Until Victory Is a Staple in Your Life
If we cannot get a solid handle on how wonderful you are, it’s vital that you create a plan and celebrate every small step. By doing this, you’ll get in the habit of appreciating yourself, which is required to move forward and free yourself. Make celebrating victories part of your mindful practices.
5) Meditate and Pray Often to Calm Your Mind and Move Forward in Life
By meditating, we release self-limiting thoughts and feelings. When we clear our minds and hearts of energy and activity, we create more space for ourselves to grow. Khalil Gibran said, “Out of the well our sorrows dig, flows joy.” Breathe in white light, exhale. Focus on your inhale and exhale. Do this for 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes at night. It’s as simple as that.
6) Find Ways to Selflessly Serve Others with Zero Expectations
Whether it’s volunteering at a charity event, taking care of your aging family members, serving a local homeless shelter, or donating to a Native American community, giving works! It will help you get over yourself for a moment, and it can fill your heart with love and joy. Selfless service is the highest calling on Planet Earth.
7) Live in Gratitude and Watch Your Life Transform
Live in gratitude every minute of every day. Too many people complain about every little thing in their lives. From how their mail is placed in their mailboxes to bad customer service, too many people get caught up in the details rather than the gratitude. It’s petty and small-minded. When we consider the remarkable number of wonderful things and people in our lives, we release our negativity. When we release negativity and live in gratitude, you’ll open your mind and it’s remarkable what the Universe will bring to us. Celebrate small victories in life. Stay humble. Be grateful. Always!
Remember that millions of people have less than you. Millions. Remember that you are the embodiment of light. If you didn’t know it, let me tell you: you are made of stardust, and you are part of an ever-expanding Universe. Don’t play the small game. Play the big game. Get out of your own way, practice the 7 steps of mindful practices, and decide to free yourself from the past. It’s time to open your mind and grow!
Looking for more guidance in opening your mind? Book a private intuitive reading session.
Q&A
Q1: What does it mean to live in the present moment?
It means letting go of past memories that cloud your mind and instead focusing fully on the here and now. As the article says, our memories are often distorted over time – being present frees us from outdated stories.
Q2: Why is forgiving yourself and others important?
Continual forgiveness allows you to make mistakes, learn, and move forward without guilt. It also opens your heart to new experiences and relationships.
Q3: How does meditation help clear negative thoughts?
Meditation creates space in your mind by releasing self-limiting thoughts and feelings, which allows joy to flow in, as Khalil Gibran beautifully pointed out.
Q4: What’s one small way to build confidence daily?
Celebrate even tiny victories. Recognizing small successes trains your mind to appreciate yourself, making larger goals feel possible.
Q5: How can gratitude change your life?
Living in gratitude every day shifts focus away from petty complaints and opens your mind to abundance, attracting more positivity from the Universe.
