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]

When you think about it, this is just the Serenity Prayer represented as a flow chart.

[PartTimeBrewer]

Yeah, but even though there is a logic to it, worry isn't something that always heeds logic. For those of you who are without worry, just go on about your day. For the rest of us:

[PartTimeBrewer]

I have long thought that the great evangelical world religions like Christianity, Buddhism and maybe Islam were guilty of trying to convince people that they were spiritually ill, no matter how satisfied they actually felt, and therefore needed their prescribed cure. Like a psychiatrist (perhaps with an urge to buy a boat) convincing a potential patient that he was disturbed and needed a long treatment. Case in point: Original Sin. I always thought that these religions were fine for those who benefited from them, but that there were people who had found their answers elsewhere or really weren't so in need of "saving" to begin with. But I'm beginning to wonder if these people aren't a bit more scarce than I had thought.

The Buddha started with the observation that "Everybody suffers." and I suppose that at some point in their lives, this is true. Enlightenment in Buddhism is the realization that the worst part of the suffering is the emotional reaction you put on top of the suffering. It requires a readjustment of attitudes that you make yourself and is not dependent upon any outside Divine interaction. This is a deep, fundamental distinction that separates Buddhism from the others.

I have heard devout practitioners of the Abrahamic religions justify partaking in Buddhist practices, like meditation, because Buddhism at its heart is secular and does not require worship of any particular Divinity. I don't deny that they can benefit from these practices, I just feel that they are missing the point if they don't realize the emphasis on self-healing.

[PartTimeBrewer]

"You can not change the future, you can change your habits. And surely your habits will change the future."

[PartTimeBrewer]

Another example of the paradox. I am reminded here of night vision. If, in low light, you stare at something, it is much harder to make out than if you use your peripheral vision. Anticipating the future is like that. It is illusive if you try to focus on it directly.

[Angharad]

You're a wise guy.

[PartTimeBrewer]

"Beware of destination addiction, a preoccupation with the idea that happiness is in the next place, the next job, and the next partner. Until you give up the idea that happiness is somewhere else, it will never be where you are."  ~  Robert Holden

[PartTimeBrewer]

Another way of saying it is more productive to value the moment you are in than to attach yourself to an illusive future.

[PartTimeBrewer]

On a (too) personal note, I wish I could find a way to express this in a convincing fashion to person(s) in my inner circle. Sometimes I feel that I am just the chauffeur to someone else's quest to find a "greener pasture."

[PartTimeBrewer]

Today, just a set of pithy aphorisms I will need to get thru the day.

"Without any kind of supervision, your mind creates more problems than it solves."

"Your inner critic will never shut up - but you can learn to stop believing what it says."

"Go easy on yourself.  Whatever you do today, let it be enough."

"If we could see the whole truth of any situation, our only response would be one of compassion."

[PartTimeBrewer]

"Being happy is not the objective - Being able to have a full range of emotions - understanding where they came from and how to move with them and through them while keeping yourself regulated is the objective."  ~  @Rippleefectch1

[PartTimeBrewer]

Sounds like a reasonable goal if someone is suffering from depression and/or anxiety. But do I really have to throw happiness under the bus, or is this just another sneaky way to achieve happiness by not focusing on it directly? Ultimately I think we will have to adjust our definition of the word happiness.