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]

"Peace doesn’t mean my life has no problems. It’s more like I don’t go to war with my problems."  ~  Jason Garner

[PartTimeBrewer]

"Everything we say at funerals should be said at birthday parties instead. We leave so much love unspoken."  Tiny Buddha

[PartTimeBrewer]

“It’s very easy to judge. It’s much more difficult to understand. Understanding requires compassion, patience and a willingness to believe that good hearts sometimes choose poor methods.” ~Doe Zantamata

[PartTimeBrewer]

"True open-mindedness is what I’ve tried to explain as mental silence, of being able to be completely surprised by reality, and to observe that it is not at all what you thought it was or what you were brought up to believe."  ~  Alan Watts

[PartTimeBrewer]

"... recognize that the self is only a construct, a simulation of our brain based on fragmented memories and misconstrued ideas." ~ Guo Gu

[PartTimeBrewer]

"The practice of nonseeking tells us that, fundamentally, we do not lack anything; the practice is there to help us realize that." ~ Guo Gu

[PartTimeBrewer]

"Life really is not the avoidance of death. Death is the avoidance of death: the constant terror of death, the constant putting it off, the constant vigilance that one will not die—that is death! What we call life is, fundamentally, willingness to die."  ~  Alan Watts

[PartTimeBrewer]

"Lose your expectations, just deal with what actually happens."  ~  Everyday Mindfulness

[PartTimeBrewer]

"Notice how you feel in your body when your patience is tested. Can you try to simply accept whatever is happening, rather than fighting against it?"  ~  The Mindfulness Project

[PartTimeBrewer]

"Your worst enemy cannot harm you As much as your own thoughts, unguarded. But once mastered, No one can help you as much, Not even your father or your mother. ” - Buddha

[PartTimeBrewer]

[PartTimeBrewer]

“Be kind to past versions of yourself that didn’t know the things you know now.”  ~  unknown