Mindfulness: What Is It? (Even if you dont know please post so we can help grow the forums accordingly)

[blondguy]

Hi Everybody

This is only the basic dictionary definition...

"Mindfulness is a state of active, open attention on the present. When you're mindful, you observe your thoughts and feelings from a distance without judging them good or bad. Instead of letting your life pass you by, mindfulness means living in the moment without judgement"

• Please be as blunt you wish....If you dont have an idea about mindfulness it would be great if you could let us know
• If mindfulness hasnt worked/or is too broad a concept for you it would great if you can let us know your thoughts too
• If mindfulness has helped you, please help others to help themselves by posting how you have embraced this mindset

It goes without saying that the forums are a judgement free zone and I really hope that everyone can jump in and have their say

Your input is highly valued no matter how you respond to this topic. There are no experts here...New Posters are Most Welcome!!

My Kindest Thoughts

Paul

[Wilma1]

Quirky good luck with that BUS walk...lol

I've been thinking a lot since I read CMF's post and wondered if I've been mindful more than I think I have. I use cross stitch to stop inner voices and chatter, it requires full concentration, maybe it's mindfulness. Yey if it is. W

[MarkJT]

Thanks all for the kind words and some really good replies above.

Quirky: I don't think you have to hit rock bottom to really appreciate it. If you are like me, you can sense yourself sliding into a bad day so if you can envoke some mindfulness you may be able to prevent that from happening.

CMF: I think you have nailed it there. You can get lost in yourself playing Candy Crush and other games, you can get lost looking at the clouds and stars and the one that i do a lot is getting lost looking at buildings, big ones. I sit and wonder how good the engineering is behind that building. Half the time i do not even know I am doing it.

Yes the butterfly story is a classic and i get reminded of it each time i see one!

Doolhof: Love your descriptions - walking (for me it is running) and taking in all the smells and sounds. Feel the feet on the ground and the wind against the face. Very chilling indeed.

I prefer the natural mindfulness as specified above but i also use the Smiling Mind and Buddhify apps to keep me going. Generally do it after a run and warming down.

Again, awesome thread Paul, thanks for starting it all that time ago.

Mark.​

[quirkywords]

Thanks Mark for your comments.

I need a good proofreader for my posts as I had to sack my last one.!!

Bush bush I walk in the lovely bush and hear my feet squashing the leaves smell the lemon scented trees, feel the rough and smooth bark as I hug trees, listen to the birds and watch the kangaroos bound boldly ahead. Nothing like the Australian bush.

Wilma a walk on a bus can be difficult and if not planned you can end on another's lap.!!

Quirky

[Doolhof]

Hi Quirky and All,

Maybe Mindfulness is another name for concentration, being aware of what is happening around you, being in the moment, appreciation for what is in our immediate environment and so many other things.

What ever you like to call it, it is a conscious or maybe even a non conscious effort to be aware of ourselves and our environment, a way of feeling more connected.

Quite often I feel myself very DISCONNECTED so mindfulness is supposed to be a way of making me feel more connected, grounded and a part of life.

It is hard to explain something I don't fully understand, so hopefully we are all making things clearer for each other.

Cheers all from Mrs. D.

[Doolhof]

Visualisation is something my psychologist has been trying with me as well. She talks me through a process of acknowledging where my problems/hurt/pain/issues sit within me.

The process is too long to explain, I just want to share with you my experience from yesterday. This may not be the right place to do so, but I need to share this with someone.

During the visualisation, the hurt, grief, deep sense of loss and tragedy of loosing my babies came to me like a huge black swirling mass in my chest that was empty and angry at its core.

By the end of the visualisation session, I was seeing and feeling this as a warm, almost glowing cacoon of pinkness with a smiling child sitting in the middle of what had been pain and confusion in the beginning. It warmed my heart and soul to this this child happy and content, smiling and laughing.

It is a vision I hope to be able to replicate myself here at home. Maybe after decades I will be able to release that unresolved grief.

Mindfulness and Visualisation, call them what you like, I'm going to try to incorporate both into my life more frequently.

Cheers all from Mrs. D.

[blondguy]

Good Morning everybody 🙂

Mrs Dools...hello....you just practiced mindfulness in your last post....just being in the moment without any other incoming thoughts....:-)

Mrs Dools mentioned " I was seeing and feeling this as a warm, almost glowing cacoon of
pinkness with a smiling child sitting in the middle of what had been
pain and confusion in the beginning. It warmed my heart and soul to this
this child happy and content, smiling and laughing"

Thanks heaps Mark for the clarity and making this so much easier to understand.....Really great stuff!

MarkJT Said: " you can get lost looking at the clouds and stars and the one that i do a
lot is getting lost looking at buildings, big ones. I sit and wonder
how good the engineering is behind that building. Half the time i do not
even know I am doing it"

Quirky, you have also practiced mindfulness with the green foliage....the birdsong.....living in the moment without thought intrusion! Good on you!

My Best. Paul

[quirkywords]

Mrs D

I was moved by your post, I appreciate you sharing you visualisations . I found it sad but also uplifting.

Quirky

[MarkJT]

Mrs Dools, I guess the difference between mindfulness and concentration is that you have to knowingly concentrate where as with some types of mindfulness you can be doing it without concentrating as you do not even know you are doing it.

With the guided mindfulness you have to concentrate though but agree that it is a very fine line...well it is in my thoughts anyway.

Mark

[Doolhof]

Hi Quirky,

The visualisation was very powerful for me. I didn't share my experience with the psychologist though.

[gld]

Hi CMF,

Love how you said, "I wonder if we 'over think' mindfulness as we try to achieve it". I feel i did it when i first started until i realized it was quite counter productive and i found it easier to achieve by not thinking about it. I do it by just begining with deep breaths and becoming relaxed and then i focus on the first sight, smell or sound that pops in.

Gen

Ps It is still something that i need to practice until it becomes something that will happen naturally when i need it.