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]

"As soon as we identify with any role or image, it is already a limitation. It is like a mold that we pour ourselves into, and then wonder why we feel contracted." ~ Joseph Goldstein

[PartTimeBrewer]

"Remind yourself:
You didn’t go to sleep
hungry last night.
You had a choice of what
to wear this morning.
You have access to
clean drinking water.
You have access to
the internet.
You can read.
The secret
to being grateful
is no secret.
You choose to be grateful,
again and again."

~  Marc & Angel Chernoff

[Jozee]

I am grateful for all of the above.

[PartTimeBrewer]

"Get curious about life! When we take things for granted we tend to become a little mindless, whereas curiosity fuels mindfulness!"  ~  the Mindfulness Project

[PartTimeBrewer]

"What you pay attention to grows. Stop managing your time, start managing your focus. Practice focusing on what matters, and letting go of what does not."  ~  Marc & Angel Chernoff

[PartTimeBrewer]

"Changes to your external life will not work nearly as well as changes to your internal one."  ~   Everyday Mindfulness

[PartTimeBrewer]

"Reminder for a busy day: Stressed? Pause, assess and recognise what you're feeling. Then you can choose how to respond rather than letting it happen to you."  The Mindfulness Project

[PartTimeBrewer]

"Sometimes you have to accept the fact that certain things will never go back to how they used to be."  ~  Tiny Buddha

[Jozee]

I’m trying very hard.

[PartTimeBrewer]

"We are not present in the now – we are the now. The now is not a container that holds our self along with everything else. It is our self, eternal presence."

  ~   Rupert Spira

[PartTimeBrewer]

"Practice is like raising a duck. If it grows fast or slow, it's the duck's business not yours. Let go & just do your own work."  ~  Ajahn Chah

[PartTimeBrewer]

Practice as it is used here means doing your own 'personal work'; doing what needs to be done. Sometimes, it is slow; sometimes not. But like the duck, it will grow, just on its own schedule. The only way out is through.