Mindful does not mean mind-full

Infobesity is a sign of the times. Information is everywhere all the time. Anyone can post anything and if it’s controversial or strange, chances are you, or I, will click on it.

• Man eats 12 cheeseburgers in one sitting…then explodes.
• Yoga teacher wins $800,000 and spends it all in a single Lululemon shopping spree
• Shortest person in the world marries tallest person in the world then gets divorced for shortest marriage ever

Tell me with a straight face you that wouldn’t click on those stories...

We’re all bingeing on information. But there comes a point when a break is needed. Therein lies the power of the word “Mindful.”

Often connected to meditation or yoga, mindfulness practices are increasingly popular, and ever-intimidating for those of us who have a hard time being still or quieting the mind.

But really, it’s quite simple. If you can avoid being mind-full, it’s the secret to being mindful.

So here are 3 essential steps to going on an information diet today:

• Trust in the Power of Silence:

Try it right now. Turn down the volume on your surroundings.

Take 1 minute of silence. Seriously. Give it a try.

A minute of silence is to the tired mind what a soak in the hot tub is to the tired body. How good does a soak in the hot tub sound during this freezing winter?

C’mon. I’ll wait:

Turn off the music. Push back from the computer. Don’t be too cool for school.

Shhhhhhhhhh.

How was it?

A wise one once said, “Silence is not the absence of sound, but the absence of self.”

• Do you really need to click on that?

Here’s my personal strategy: When I’m tempted to click on something that I know is truly a waste of my time, I’ll spend those 30 seconds sending loving thoughts to someone instead of filling my mind with junk. Try it.

• Make Room for Magic:

Some of the world’s most amazing geniuses said their great revelations came in moments of mental peace or freedom. Mozart would tell of “the excitement he felt as thoughts bombarded his mind. Melodies would simply arrive, linking themselves together in proper sequence as though the complete order was already known from the start.” Einstein said, “I never made one of my discoveries through the process of rational thinking.” Mozart and Einstein were tapping into what the yogis call the collective consciousness, an atmosphere of intelligence available to everyone, but reached by few.

Today is as good a day as any to decide whether you’ll be mindfull -- or mindful.

(For more Dave Romanelli, go here to learn about all of his free Happier courses.)

Happier meditation expert David "Yeah Dave" Romanelli co-founded One Yoga, one of the first yoga studios to mix music, technology, and fashion with ancient wellness practices, and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Food + Wine, Newsweek, and The New York Times, and others. His second book, _Happy Is The New Healthy, was just published._