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

[blondguy]

Hi Everyone....new members are always welcome to post too!

Hey mmMekitty ...Thankyou for being a part of the Beyond Blue family and sharing your life experience

mmMekitty mentioned an excellent point where mindfulness is concerned....'I think mindfulness exercises are useful because instead of cluttering up every moment, they help to declutter'

Nice1 👍

my kind thoughts

Paul

[smallwolf]

Mindfulness is quite a broad topic and perhaps part of the confusion of "what it is" comes from the definition itself. You can google that.

For example:

1. "leaves on a stream" is an exercise in which you are sitting by a stream and putting your thoughts on leaf and accepting them as they flow down the stream.

2. mindful eating is another example in which you focus on the object you are eating. And you might be distracted with your own thoughts but you then focus on the object you are eating mindfully.

3. walking and looking for some things (eg rainbow walk) is also mindfulness. (even washing up can be a mindful activity!)

each of the above example are all seen as mindful activities and yet are different. In the first example, it is allowing and accepting thoughts to come and go; in the second, it is focus on the thing you are eating at the time; and in the last there is physical activity and using eyes to find things.

where mmMekitty talks about de-cluttering, this could also be taken as acceptance in putting the thought onto a leaf and letting it go down the stream.

the act of reflecting on a post in this thread then could perhaps been considered a mindful activity itself.

[smallwolf]

To Geoff....

Sorry to hear about the negative experiences you have had. Such comments are wrong and damaging.

Secondly, mindfulness may not be for everyone. So I acknowledge that.

You also mentioned "as soon as you leave doing this exercise, back you go to where you were". This has happened to me also and I have spoken about this with my psychologist as well in a few sessions. Instead of the leaves on a stream, used the version involving a train or bus. The issue for me was the same bus stopped at the station every minute and same thought to put onto the bus as it left. So that one did not work for me.

To Everyone ...

Mindfulness is like learning to ride. May seem impossible at first but will patience and practice can become easier over time. Keeping in mind that it does (/may) not work for all, being open to the possibility is ...

And finally, while I am no expert, mindfulness is only (?) a tool to help reduce mental illness related issues, not necessarily designed to make you think happy thoughts.

[LorenaC]

Hi everyone,

I just want to share some tips that i found useful for me. The best way that i can experience and understood mindfulness was thinking and living the present moment but also be aware that the mind want to be jumping from the pass to the future and viceversa, and as part of mindfulness we have to accept that ( no fight with the natural state of the mind) and in this process that is the very first step, being aware of that, once you realise it you can start to call you mind to the present tin an easy way how having your attention/focus to something particular such as plant, its color, smell for example.

Mindfulness can be understanding as keep you alive with your five sense.. feeling the life.

[Elizabeth CP]

Mindfulness is a tool for MH issues which includes a wide variety of techniques. My psych has recommended it several times but he understands that many forms of meditation, relaxation and meditation don't work for me. We have discussed different options and I've been encourages to try them to find what works for me.

I am trying to get outside twice a day and spend time focusing on 5 things to look at - really looking at the details. I then feel different things noticing textures, temperatures, pressure wind on my face ext. Then I try to notice as many different sounds such as birds, rustling leaves, cars in the distance etc. I then look for things with different smells ( today I rubbed my fingers on different herbs in my garden to smell them. This focus on different senses takes my mind off other things which helps. unfortunately at the moment my anxiety is so high it doesn't last long but at least my mind gets a small break.

Each of us need to find the method which works for us not what works for everyone else.

[geoff]

Hello Elizabeth CP, yes I agree that we need to ' find the method which works for us not what works for everyone else', so the word Mindfulness means what, it's an expression, maybe a magic term that is said to patients and when explained to them it means absolutely zilch, an example, someone says that you're driving too fast, well what does 'fast' mean, it has many interruptions for everybody, another one, we're told that exercise is good for mental illness, does that mean walking out to the letterbox and back inside exercise, maybe, maybe not and who's going to give judgement because everyone's thoughts would be different.

What people qualified or not, say what this word means is their interruption and not necessarily what I think.

My last psychologist said to me that I shouldn't be taking all the 50 pills I need a day because he has never taken a pill, not even for a headache, so who's right, my doctor has prescribed all of this medication because I need to take it, and if this psych told me about mindfulness could I possibly believe a word he said.

Geoff.

[quirkywords]

Elizabeth I agree with you and Geoff about mindfulness being what works for you. I have stat3d this before on this thread and I know some may think my interpretation of mindfulness is not what they think or what they have been told or read in books .
I feel if it works for the individual that is what counts.

i have known people who have a mental illness and have to,d be they cope with out medication snd if I tried hard enough I could to. All the mediation and mindfulness will not help me without my medication. That is my reality.

I think mindfulness and meditation help me to slow down and focus and remain calm when I need to.

What I like about this thread is it gives us a chance to discuss and see different perspectives on mindfulness. Thanks so much Paul for starting this thread and your concise summaries of the posts.

[Ggrand]

Hello Everyone...🤗..

I think that everyone has their own ideas what mindfulness means to them...

I fought a long battle within myself to be able to sit on my front veranda without feeling vulnerable....It was well worth the battle, because I have now a morning routine that works for me...

My first cuppa tea is inside, after half an hour or so my second cuppa tea i have sitting outside...looking out across the mountains in the distance, the trees both far away and close and watching and listening to the birds...Is this mindfulness?....well I don’t know, but I do know it helps me to start my day with a little less anxiety about the chores I need doing...

Is it the warmth of the sun that makes me feel more relaxed, or the birds, the trees or the mountain ranges in the distance?....I don’t know...While I’m sitting outside I don’t consciously try to look or do the 5 senses thingy...I sit outside because it helps me...My mind still wanders onto bad or unhealthy thoughts, but for some reason while I’m just sitting and relaxing outside they don’t feel so overwhelming..and I get a sense of peace and belonging to this world...

While inside, thoughts can become overbearing, am I alive just to clean my house every day, even though it doesn’t need doing...is this my life..cleaning daily, trying to keep my mind busy day in and day out, only to go to sleep and do it all again....possibly it is...but I do have a little peace each day, by sitting outside, away from the drudgery of everyday chores, away from the four walls in my home, away from overbearing thoughts of not being useful to anyone...

I like what I call my little bit of mindfulness...it keeps me going, it cleanses my thoughts for a little while, it pleases my eyes with what I’m looking at, it gives me some gentle music from the birds and the breeze the trees, it gives me a feeling of warmth from the sun....Whether or not it’s mindfulness I don’t really know...but it does help me, to know that outside my front door...There is another world, full of life...that is their for me, to help me, to relax me a little and give my mind a rest, to give my eyes and ears some pleasurable sights and sounds...because inside doing my chores I can’t seem to be able to be mindful...

I think...that mindfulness is different for every person...

My kindest thoughts everyone..

Grandy..

[smallwolf]

Hi Everyone,

Elizabeth CP did not say anything about medication. Rather, said it was meditation not working and then went on to say what worked for her.

I do not think that anyone here suggested mindfulness or medication and you could not have both. I can even remember reading Lost Connections and the author (if I recall) was against against medication still recognised that it works for some people and did not tell them to stop. In fact I would say that it is irresponsible for someone to say that.

Perhaps an example ... I make a mistake. That's all that happens. But from there it descends into feelings of being useless, a failure etc. With mindfulness it "can" give me a chance to recognise it as a just a mistake and not a judgement on myself.

With that said ... "research shows that it doesn't have consistent results for everyone" (verywellminded.com)

It is not a universal panacea. Like exercise, it is a tool that can be used and part of our toolbox. If it does not work for you, then throw it out of your toolbox.

[mmMekitty]

Hello all,

Mindfulness linked to eastern religion, I suppose so. [me research]. But language evolves, meanings and usage change. At the outset of a conversation, people could discuss what important terms mean, so they have a definition they agree on, for their purposes. It does not have to be a dictionary (which one?) definition either.

I want to emphasize that mindfulness can be however we define it for ourselves. That is, your personal practice and definition are all that matters. I makes no difference to me how you define it, what you do to practice it, even whether you do at all.

I sit here, thinking, my definition might include simply taking these momentary pauses I have been taking lately, to think/recall/focus on what the bleep I am wanting to do NOW! Right now, this second.

I get so distracted I get cranky. I forget what I am doing, how to do/what the next tiny step is that I need to do, it's driving me 'nanans (& they don't like that).

I got a rule now: I do not do anything else while cooking. So far, I have burned a few meals, but have not set my smoke alarm off. Each moment I am cooking, I am conscious I am cooking, whether I am doing the bit that requires me to cut up stuff, stir a pot, think where I am putting the spoon, etc. Edible ✔: I am happy.

If that's a daily mindfulness for me, then who is anyone else to tell me it is not?

Hi Geoff,

I don't think anyone is likely to find that one single therapy, drug, activity, technique - to be all there is. I am surprised that your Psychologist said what they did. Your treatment with them is supposed to be centred on what you need. That's another ongoing conversation I have had with my PDr.

I have had a previous PDr tell me far too much about themselves, and suggested too often that I ought to say, be into footy. No, footy don't do anything for me. I don't get the attraction. I don't like the noise. He put me on antidepressants, said I would have to keep taking them indefinitely. The drugs didn't work for me, so when I found this PDr I am with now, he was happy to wean me off them and see what happens. Sure, my emotions might be somewhat more volitile, but my learning to deal with them is of more use to me. Bleeping hard though.

From your post, I would be v cautious because if you were to drop all the meds you could be in a precarious state indeed.

Grandy, you so impress me. The way you get yourself outdoors, and appreciate all it can offer you, and how you describe it is beautiful.

mmMekitty