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]

"In mindfulness, we start to see the world as it is, not as we expect it to be, how we want it to be, or what we fear it might become." ~ Danny Penman

[PartTimeBrewer]

"Be the reason someone feels welcome, seen, heard, valued, loved, and supported."  ~  Tiny Buddha

[PartTimeBrewer]

"The mystery of life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.."  ~  Alan Watts

[PartTimeBrewer]

"I am suffering. Why? Because I want things to be otherwise. Simple." ~ Zen Moments

[PartTimeBrewer]

"Smile every chance you get this holiday season. Not because life has been easy, perfect, or exactly as you had anticipated, but because you choose to be grateful for all the good things you do have, and all the problems you know you don’t have."  ~  Marc and Angel Chernoff

[PartTimeBrewer]

Messenger by Mary Oliver

My work is loving the world.
Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird-
Equal seekers of sweetness.
Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.
Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.

Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?
Am I no longer young, and still not half-perfect? Let me
Keep my mind on what matters,
Which is my work,

Which is mostly standing still and learning to be astonished.
The phoebe, the delphinium.
The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.
Which is mostly rejoicing, since all the ingredients are here,

Which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart
And these body-clothes,
A mouth with which to give shouts of joy
To the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,
Telling them all, over and over, how it is
That we live forever.

[PartTimeBrewer]

Blessed are those that can give without remembering and receive without forgetting. ~ Elizabeth Bibesco

[PartTimeBrewer]

"This very moment is the perfect teacher, and, lucky for us, it's with us wherever we go." ~ Pema Chodron

[PartTimeBrewer]

"We don't have to agree with what someone is saying, but listen with the intent to understand, not to judge."  ~   The Mindfulness Project

[PartTimeBrewer]

"Think of your mind like a snow globe thats shaken every time there's a negative emotion. Meditation stills it so you can see more clearly."  ~  The Mindfulness Project

[PartTimeBrewer]

"If life has felt like an emotional roller coaster this past year, just do your best right now to steady yourself with simple rituals. Make the bed. Water the plants. Rinse off your own bowl and spoon. Simplicity attracts calmness, peace, and wisdom."  ~  Marc and Angel Chernoff

[Jozee]

Good advice and I’ll try.