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]

“If we focus on how we physically feel in our bodies and the sensations our habits bring up for us, we can really start to distinguish between the ones that currently serve us and the ones that definitely don’t.” ~ Becki Sams

[PartTimeBrewer]

"We need to act intuitively, that is, to act spontaneously from a heart that is tamed of desire and craving." - Seven Taoist Masters

[Aggie]

This is wonderfully stated.
We drank for happiness and became unhappy.
We drank for joy and became miserable.
We drank for sociability and became argumentative.
We drank for sophistication and became obnoxious.
We drank for friendship and made enemies.
We drank for sleep and awakened without rest.
We drank for strength and felt weak.
We drank “medicinally” and acquired health problems.
We drank for relaxation and got the shakes.
We drank for bravery and became afraid.
We drank for confidence and became doubtful.
We drank to make conversation easier and slurred our speech.
We drank to feel heavenly and ended up feeling like hell.
We drank to forget and were forever haunted.
We drank for freedom and became slaves.
We drank to erase problems and saw them multiply.
We drank to cope with life and invited death.
People who drink to drown their sorrow should be told that sorrow knows how to swim.

[PartTimeBrewer]

Sometimes miracles are just good people with kind hearts.  ~  Tiny Buddha

[PartTimeBrewer]

“If you could erase all the mistakes of your past, you would also erase the wisdom of your present. Remember the lesson, not the disappointment.“  ~  Tiny Buddha

[PartTimeBrewer]

"It's better to question everything you think you know than to think you know everything. Stay teachable."  ~  Timber Hawkeye

[PartTimeBrewer]

The power of keeping 'doubt' in our lives; mental flexibility.

[Jozee]

Yes!

[PartTimeBrewer]

"I cannot do everything, but I can do something. I must not fail to do the something that I can do." ~ Helen Keller

[Jozee]

I love this one!

[PartTimeBrewer]

“Civilized life, you know, is based on a huge number of illusions in which we all collaborate willingly. The trouble is we forget after a while that they are illusions and we are deeply shocked when reality is torn down around us.” -J.G. Ballard

[PartTimeBrewer]

Expecting the current situation to be permanent is one such illusion. What are others?