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]

I have a routine I perform every morning. It starts with a half hour of moving meditation in the form of Tai Chi and ends with a series of Namaste bows directed at elements of my life for which I am grateful. The last one, every morning, is directed toward where my old beagle, Buddy, lies buried. I specifically thank his memory for teaching me how to just BE and to lead an authentic life. He came by it so naturally.

[PartTimeBrewer]

"Children are happy because they don't have a file in their minds called 'All the Things That Could Go Wrong.'" ~ Marianne Williamson

[PartTimeBrewer]

"As you grow older, your world gets tinier and tinier because you believe you don't have options until you die in a rut."  ~  Ruby Wax"

[PartTimeBrewer]

"If you only end up with the gift of simply noticing things as if for the first time, notice their novelty, it will outweigh how much stuff you've accumulated or what job you ended up with."  ~  Ruby Wax

[PartTimeBrewer]

it can even outweigh that fear of all those things that could go wrong.

[PartTimeBrewer]

“There’s no liberation without actually leaning forward and looking at the things we habitually run away from, in order to see things as they really are, not as we’ve imagined them.” -  Lama Rod Owens

[PartTimeBrewer]

“The untrained mind keeps up a running commentary, labeling everything, judging everything. Best to ignore that commentary." ~ Plato

[PartTimeBrewer]

"Do that thing that you don’t want to do as quickly as you can. The longer that it is on your mind the more chance it has to bring your mood down."  Everyday Mindfulnes

[Jozee]

I agree with this 100%.

[PartTimeBrewer]

"And remember, patience is not about waiting, it’s the ability to maintain a positive outlook while working hard for what you believe in." ~ Marc & Angel Chernoff

[Jozee]

Need practice on this one.

[PartTimeBrewer]

"Mindfulness and self-compassion allow you to see and acknowledge the tenderness and pain in your story without falling under the delusion that the story defines who you are. It may be your story, but it isn’t you."  ~  MindfulOnline