TBD

TBD on Ning

              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.

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"The here and now is always a good place to take shelter. Don't leave home without it."  ~  B. D. Shiers

"Today is a great day to take a fresh look at things."  ~  Everyday Mindfulness

Hint: Yesterday was too, and in case you miss them both, tomorrow will be the same.

"The truth of a life really has little to do with its quality. The quality of life is in proportion, always, to the capacity for delight. The capacity for delight is the gift of paying attention."  ~  Julia Cameron

(Some stray thoughts left over from yesterday's passage.)

The capacity for delight, like happiness itself, can be quite elusive when it becomes a primary objective in itself. Notice in the quote, it is not an objective, but a by-product of paying attention. This works because your focus gets diverted from all of that angst and depression that has been suppressing your sense of the delightful.

It's like one of those optical illusions where an intentional shift of he focal length of your vision allows the perception of an image that was formally hidden in the chaos of the picture.

"Every ordinary moment, every little detail should be a celebration of your personal understanding. Your smallest acts should be permeated with reverence."  ~  Dang Ming-Dao

"Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about God while one is peeling potatoes. Zen spirituality is just to peel the potatoes."  ~  Jack Kornfield

"There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called Yesterday and the other is called Tomorrow. Today is the right day to Love, Believe, Do, and mostly Live."  ~  Dalai Lama XIV

"Don't believe everything you think. Thoughts are just that - thoughts."  ~  Allan Lokos

"See your thoughts as images flickering across a screen. They are random and rarely do they hold much value."  ~  Everyday Mindfulness

I want to raise a small objection to the people at Everyday Mindfulness on that last quote. The point they are making is OK, we do tend to overvalue all of our thoughts for no better reason that our ego gets involved. But every valuable idea you have ever had began as one of these flickering images, known as thoughts. Ego free awareness is required to distinguish the gems from the dross. But they are right in pointing out that there is a lot of dross.

"In order to go on living one must try to escape the death involved in perfectionism."  ~  Hannah Arendt

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