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]

"The fact that the system is what it is doesn’t absolve you, the individual, from the necessity of figuring out how to navigate it and not be corrupted or broken by it, or even thrive in it."
~ Christina Pazsitzky

[PartTimeBrewer]

“What can anyone give you greater than now,

starting here, right in this room, when you turn around?"

~ William Stafford

[Aggie]

Evergreen trees are very shy, they never take off their leaves.

[PartTimeBrewer]

“I am enchanted by the Sermon on the Mount. Being merciful, it seems to me, is the only good idea we have received so far. Perhaps we will get another good idea by and by—and then we will have two good ideas.”
~ Kurt Vonnegut

[PartTimeBrewer]

“We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” ~Joseph Campbell

[PartTimeBrewer]

“Your emotions are like waves in the ocean. Trying to change or escape them is like trying to stop the waves. It’s exhausting and, ultimately, futile.” ~Dr. Mary Kate Roohan

[PartTimeBrewer]

“Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven’s sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories.” ~ Kurt Vonnegut

[PartTimeBrewer]

“Some people will judge you for changing. Other people will celebrate you for growing.” ~Unknown

[PartTimeBrewer]

“Strangely, life gets harder when you try to make it easy. Exercising might be hard, but never moving makes life harder. Uncomfortable conversations are hard, but avoiding every conflict is harder. Mastering your craft is hard, but having no skills is harder. Easy has a cost.”

~ James Clear

[PartTimeBrewer]

"There’s a sweet spot you’re aiming for where the task of noticing many sensations is gently challenging but not actually stressful."
~ Bodhipaksa

[PartTimeBrewer]

This is included in a set of instructions specifically for meditation, but it seems to me to be a guideline for extending meditation attitudes into our daily routines. The Buddha's 'middle road' is a 'sweet spot'.

[PartTimeBrewer]

"And remind yourself that patience is not about waiting; it’s the ability to keep a good attitude while working hard for what you believe in."

~ Marc and Angel Chernoff