Mindfulness

[PartTimeBrewer]

              I am starting a new thread here mainly for purposes of my own catharsis. It is my intention, at least at this point, to make regular contributions. Of course, if anyone else has anything to add, they are more than welcome. If you have any input, please contribute.

              Over a year ago I decided to deal head-on with my self-diagnosed adult attention disorder, (ADD). The inability to stay focused was becoming too stressful. I found myself sitting around watching the clock tick, yet I couldn’t keep “on task” with any project I started. Nothing was getting done and just starting something was becoming depressing.

              The smart thing to do was probably to get professional help, so instead I decided to try to heal myself, at least as a first try. Cognitive therapy and pharmaceuticals (UGH) might be the approved way to go but I decided to try meditation first.

              18 months and countless self-help books later, I still can’t bring myself to a regular, formal meditation program. But, along the way, I discovered informal mindfulness. Yes, I know it is the “Fad” right now. It is hard to navigate modern social trends without “tripping over” somebody extolling the benefits of mindfulness.

              Let me add my voice to the chorus.

[PartTimeBrewer]

"Paradoxical as it may seem, the purposeful life has no content, no point. It hurries on and on, and misses everything. Not hurrying, the purposeless life misses nothing, for it is only when there is no goal and no rush that the human senses are fully open to receive the world."

~ Alan Watts

[PartTimeBrewer]

"over the river, the shining moon;
in the pine trees, sighing wind;
all night long, so tranquil -
why? And for whom?"

~ Hsuan-chueh

[PartTimeBrewer]

“‘Finding yourself’ is actually returning to yourself. An unlearning, an excavation, a remembering who you were before the world got its hands on you.” ~Emily McDowell

[PartTimeBrewer]

"Where is your mind right now? Let go and come back to the present moment. Breathe, explore and experience whatever is here." ~ The Mindfulness Project

[PartTimeBrewer]

"Develop gratitude by paying attention to the little pleasures of life. Focus closely, savour the experience while it’s happening." ~ The Mindfulness Project

[PartTimeBrewer]

"Mindfulness gives us a chance to see ourselves anew in each moment. What might be possible without the old beliefs about ourselves?" ~ zThe Mindfulness Project

[PartTimeBrewer]

"Keep an open mind when listening to others. If we think we know what they're saying, we might miss what they're really trying to tell us." The Mindfulness Project

[PartTimeBrewer]

"If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath." ― Amit Ray

[PartTimeBrewer]

"Anxiety can be the 'check engine light' in our psychophysiological dashboard."

~ Mindrulness Online

[PartTimeBrewer]

But sometimes it sneaks up on us unawares if we don’t keep a mindful eye on our metaphorical dashboard.

[PartTimeBrewer]

"Running away from your problems is a race you'll never win. You cannot heal what you refuse to face.” ~Unknown

[PartTimeBrewer]

"The richness of present-moment experience is the richness of life itself. Too often we let our thinking and our beliefs about what we ‘know’ prevent us from seeing things as they really are."

~ Jon Kabat-Zinn