FAQ

Find answers to some of the more frequently asked questions on the Forums.

Forums guidelines

Our guidelines keep the Forums a safe place for people to share and learn information.

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

blondguy
Champion Alumni
Champion Alumni

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

1,355 Replies 1,355

Hi everyone and thankyou for being a part of the 'mindfulness' discussion 🙂

Hey zguenzl...great to have your input on the forums! You mentioned "I practice mindfulness by using the SmilingMind app"...Thankyou for helping out

Hey Grandy....always a bonus to read your life experience and thankyou!

Grandy mentioned "My mind is too chatty, my muscles are very tense, my body doesn’t want to be still...I need to ground myself first" Ditto here Grandy.....I find 'Mindfulness' helpful yet being old fashioned I also prefer to ground myself....especially in this difficult period we are going through

Hey Emmen.....Thankyou so much for helping out with your helpful post!

Emmen mentioned a helpful app "Stop, Breathe & Think: Meditation & Mindfulness" Nice1 Emmen 🙂

Hey Quirky...what can I say? You are a 'rock' on the forums with sharing your wisdom and life experience..Your ongoing support on the 'Coping with the coronavirus' thread is wonderful to read 🙂

Hey Gambit....You are a serious legend on the forums and thankyou for your post above mentioning "I sometimes use the smiling mind 'walking' meditation" and....

Gambit also mentioned "I make sure I close my laptop at the end of the work day, leave the room and close the door behind me. I say to myself work is done for the day - its me time now" This is an excellent tip Gambit...I have been doing exactly the same since I joined Beyond Blue in 2016.....Great post!

Be well nice people!....Paul

geoff
Champion Alumni
Champion Alumni

Hi Paul and everyone who has contributed to this particular thread, I've found this site and I'm sure many of you have looked at it 'positivepsychology.com › Mindfulness'

To be 'Mindful' of a situation may not be consistent and change from each particular circumstance and from one person to another, such as you can do something for this situation but it won't work for another time and that's what we find to be frustrating because there maybe no comparison or similarity.

Take care.

Geoff.

blondguy
Champion Alumni
Champion Alumni

Hi Geoff and everyone!

I appreciate you mentioning 'positive psychology' as this is a subject that some private schools in Victoria are now including in their curriculum. I am happy that Beyond Blue have avoided mentioning 'mindfulness' in the 'Coping during the Coronavirus outbreak' thread topic as it wouldnt be helpful to new members during this difficult period

Thankyou for your input especially during this difficult time Geoff

Stay well

Paul

Matchy69
Blue Voices Member
Blue Voices Member

Hi Paul and everyone I was wondering if anyone is familar with the smiling faces app.My daughter was given this app to download on her phone to try by her psychologist.

Mark.

Matchy69
Blue Voices Member
Blue Voices Member
Sorry that app was meant to be smiling minds not smiling faces.

Is anyone else struggling with mindful meditation at the moment? I had gotten to a stage last year where I could easily lay down, put on a guided meditation and really just clear my head of all crazy thoughts. I don’t think that I have been able to successfully meditate once in the past few months. I purchased a lavender scented eye pillow to use when I meditate and that does help to calm me a bit but I am still not able to meditate like I used to.

ecomama
Valued Contributor
Valued Contributor

Hi everyone

Mindfulness to me is stilling the mind. Being in the present moment.

Even for a moment.

I have had quite a lot of meditation input and some of the lovely ways to draw my mind to a focus point is to focus on a flower in a small vase or a candle. At the moment I have a BEAUTIFUL big moon shining above a mountain and reflecting light across the water. I could stare at the moon for seconds! lol. Repeatedly 🙂

Things that help me during mindfulness moments or meditation are:
* open the back door of my mind to let the scrambling monkeys out and 'watch' them scrambling away - to let the monkeys in my mind escape. It brings me a chuckle but they happily leave, cheeky monkeys.
* hear sounds and know they are distant. Sense any other things and allow them to 'be'.
* attend to thoughts and know you command them. Tell them to sit and wait.
* putting a pleasant scent on my temples eg lavender to signal a change in mind space.
I choose different strategies depending upon my mood.

I know the more I have on my plate, the more I need these practises in my day. A monk once taught us to mindfully wash dishes! It's a pity I haven't transferred that habit to the rest of the housework lol. 😉

EM

quirkywords
Community Champion
Community Champion

Thanks ecomama for your list of mindfulness moments,

I think the trick is to try to find a way that suits you.

In this thread people have given examples.

I find that knitting now, just simple, helps me to concentrate and remain calm.

Hi everyone...New members are always welcome!

Hey Matchy (Mark)... Thanks for your helpful post...The 'Smiling Minds' app is good value when we are seeking some peace of mind for sure...The app does deliver when we use it frequently

Hey fred4761...Always great to have your input on the forums!....To answer your question..yes this is an unprecedented time to find mindful meditation for sure...The lavender scented pillow is an excellent idea to help us find some peace of mind....During the Covid19 period some of our usual coping mechanisms may not have the same 'grounding affect' as we used to experience..(just my humble opinion from my symptoms) yet every coping technique is a good one! I dont see any crazy thoughts fred...You have a wonderful focus 🙂

Hey ecomama...Thankyou for sharing your experience on the forums....The more help and lived experience we have on the forums the better we will be! You mentioned "attend to thoughts and know you command them. Tell them to sit and wait" You also mentioned 'Lavender' like fred4761 did....I may have to adjust my mindset!

Hey Quirky...always appreciate your life experience where ever you post on the forums....You mentioned......... "I think the trick is to try to find a way that suits you" (where being mindful is concerned)...Thankyou Quirky!

amazing people.....thankyou x

Paul

ecomama
Valued Contributor
Valued Contributor

From 2017, same thread...

Just Sara said:

Great thread Paul!

I don't think I need to add to Star's words as she's summed things up well, I'd like to say one thing to Penelope though; kids are more grounding than any other thing or activity!

Though, one can be 'too' grounded. This is for Dottie and anyone who suffers with depression. That's the 'heavy' feeling that drags around with us throughout the day. We feel depleted of energy/motivation and movement is exhausting. Everything's an effort!

With anxiety, we're 'up in the air' in our heads and somewhat detached from our bodies. Grounding brings us back to earth so we acknowledge our physical environment. Has anyone driven a car a few blocks without registering they've been driving? That's mindlessness as opposed to mindfulness!!! Ha ha (Thanks Paul...good one)

So, depression causes heaviness, and anxiety causes light headedness. Getting to the middle ground seems pertinent for both yeah? If you think about it, anxiety is a way to escape situations, and depression is feeling trapped in circumstances.

In other words, carrying around a heavy burden on our shoulders without knowing how to escape, (or give it back to the person it belongs to) is one way of looking at depression.

Anxiety is not facing what frightens us for fear of uncontrollable repercussions; constantly running away out of physical harm's way.

In summary? Depression and anxiety respond to very different forms of mindfulness. In fact, being individualised is best practice. If you think of what makes you feel lighter Dottie, and what gives me a sense of connection to my environment, it's opposite ends of the same pole. Not running away, and not being held down by our fears/beliefs.

I'd really like to hear what people think about this. It's my own theory, so please be kind.

Sara x

This is one of the best descriptions of anxiety & depression I've ever seen. Also what helps both. Thankyou Sara xxxx.

This most especially "Anxiety is not facing what frightens us for fear of uncontrollable repercussions; constantly running away out of physical harm's way." I relate to this exactly atm. I want to add it's not only physical harm's way. If we have experienced trauma with a person and are confronted with having to have any contact with said person, then harm we may be anxious to avoid is emotional and psychological too. "mindfulness of..acknowledging our physical environment" no wonder gardening is something I 'practice' a lot.
EM