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]

"The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice."  ~  R. D. Laing

[PartTimeBrewer]

All that I miss when I am on autopilot.

[PartTimeBrewer]

"Become comfortable with not knowing."  ~  Eckhart Tolle

[PartTimeBrewer]

"

By emphasizing doubt rather than belief, perplexity rather than certainty, and questions rather than answers, Zen practice granted me the freedom to imagine."
― Stephen Batchelor

[PartTimeBrewer]

One way to utilize the present is to remove all the mistakes from the backpack of your memories and employ them as stepping stones into the future. ~ Inspired by Karon Waddell

[PartTimeBrewer]

Joy and sorrow are inseparable. . . together they come and
when one sits alone with you . . remember that
the other is asleep upon your bed.
-Khalil Gibran

[PartTimeBrewer]

Happiness and sorrow are twins, let them come and go like clouds.
-Yogaswami

[PartTimeBrewer]

Intentional attention is an art form. And like any art form, it comes easier to some people than others. But still, with practice, it becomes easier for anyone. If it is not easy for me, that only means I require more practice.

[PartTimeBrewer]

Thich Nhat Hanh: How to Learn Nothing New
“Usually when we hear or read something new, we just compare it to our own ideas. If it is the same, we accept it and say that it is correct. If it is not, we say it is incorrect. In either case, we learn nothing.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching:
Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation

[PartTimeBrewer]

"Not only higher forms of life but also many of the smallest insects are social beings who, without any religion, law or education, survive by mutual cooperation based on an innate recognition of their interconnectedness."
❖ Dalai Lama XIV

[PartTimeBrewer]

"If you are in the habit of creating suffering for yourself, you are probably creating suffering for others too." — Eckhart Tolle

[PartTimeBrewer]

"Nature, earth, the world – whatever you call it – is not simply something I am on but something I am. It is not outside of me: it is me, and I am it. There is no outside."

— Paul Kingsnorth