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 meditation isn’t fulfilling your expectations, try again, but let go of your expectations."  ~  Everyday Mindfulness

[PartTimeBrewer]

“We long for permanence but everything in the known universe is transient. That’s a fact but one we fight.” ― Sharon Salzberg

[PartTimeBrewer]

"Mindfulness and self-compassion allow you to see and acknowledge the tenderness and pain in your story without falling under the delusion that the story defines who you are. It may be your story, but it isn’t you."  ~  Stahl & Flowers

[PartTimeBrewer]

"The suffering itself is not so bad; it's the resentment against suffering that is the real pain." ― Allen Ginsberg

[PartTimeBrewer]

“”What if“ and ”If only“ are two things that can attack your mental health just like that. Stop that unnecessary scenario in your mind.” ~ Wilson Kanadi

[PartTimeBrewer]

“Should” is a societal concoction—one that is propagated by pundits and preachers, by advertisers and marketers—but it does not exist in nature."  ~  the Minimalists

[PartTimeBrewer]

"You may not be able to control the impolite things some people say and do to you, but you can decide not to be endlessly reduced and distracted by them."  ~  Marc & Angel Chernoff

[PartTimeBrewer]

Mindfulness means remembering that it's your choice, not theirs.

[PartTimeBrewer]

"Do not waste time thinking about what you could have done differently. Keep your eyes on the road ahead and do it differently now." ~Karen Salmansohn

[PartTimeBrewer]

Aging actually helps with this one. What with my memory issues, I can't remember how I did so many things in the first place, thereby reducing the tendency to ruminate on the past. Mixtake? What mistake?

[PartTimeBrewer]

“The best possible way to prepare for tomorrow is to concentrate with all your intelligence, all your enthusiasm, on doing today’s work superbly today. That is the only possible way you can prepare for the future.” ~ Dale Carnegie

[PartTimeBrewer]

"The practice of staying present will heal you. Obsessing about how the future will turn out creates anxiety. Replaying broken scenarios from the past causes anger or sadness. Stay here, in the moment." Sylvester McNutt