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]

Again, I'm going to post something that I feel is essentially correct, but argue with it anyway. I know people who would mindfully note their habitual reaction and then feel obligated to just do something else out of orneriness. The idea here is not to be biased against first reactions; they are initial approximations and probably adequate most of the time. The idea being expressed here is to consider alternatives (time allowing) before firing off that knee-jerk. Mindful awareness opens that miniscule hitch in time, opening choices.

[PartTimeBrewer]

"How often do you say "I have to" when you could say "I get to"? I get to work out. I get to work a job to provide for my family. It's a real game changer when you start seeing your obligations as opportunities."  ~  Tiny Buddha

[PartTimeBrewer]

This is easier to understand after retirement when certain obligations are no longer available even as opportunities.

[PartTimeBrewer]

"Learn to express what you are feeling without agonizing over it. It is a life skill every bit as important as learning how to read. Without it, dissatisfaction builds up, arguments break out, and relationships can blow up like volcanoes." ~ Haemin Sunim

[PartTimeBrewer]

If I fail to communicate some emotion, perhaps to spare someone's feelings or avoid a confrontation, am I not being ingenuine? Should the truth come out will it not erode my image of authenticity? 

[PartTimeBrewer]

I can see the other side of the argument as well. This is a case-by-case decision to be made.

[PartTimeBrewer]

Don't  believe everything you think! The mind regularly issues instructions that are unwise to follow. Mindfulness is the vigilant attention to thoughts as they arise so that you can chose to act on only the 'gems' and disregard the 'gravel'.

[PartTimeBrewer]

Or if you prefer a Biblical  metaphor, winnow the 'grain from the 'chaff'.

[Jozee]

"In today's rush, we all think too much--seek too much--want too much--and forget about the joy of just being." - Eckhart Tolle

[PartTimeBrewer]

"Peace is the result of training your mind to process life as it is, rather than what you think it should be."  ~  Wayne Dyer

[PartTimeBrewer]

"While mindfulness encourages a clear-eyed view of oneself and one's direct sensory experience, it also has a hidden agenda. Its mission is to put the ego into perspective so that empathy is no longer obstructed." ~ Mark Epstein M. D.

[PartTimeBrewer]

"Egotism starts to feel painful and one discovers that one can step away from it. In a world where nothing is as fixed as it seems, it comes as a great relief to discover that even the ego is impermanent." ~ Mark Epstein M. D.