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

[smallwolf]

hi quirky,

it depends on what you are looking for and whether there are any practical elements in the "course". I prefer to have someone talk to me while I do it. But I would also think you could easily borrow a book on the topic from your library as well. I am also a little skeptical about some people and free courses... will they tease you with the free course wanting you to pay more for the full thing?

And there is plenty of good, free information available as well. A good place to start would be...

https://cci.health.wa.gov.au/-/media/CCI/Mental-Health-Professionals/Generalised-Anxiety/Generalised-Anxiety---Information-Sheets/Generalised-Anxiety-Information-Sheet---02---What-is-Mindfulness.pdf

Once you have read that, what questions do you have?

Another page to look at is...

https://au.reachout.com/articles/mindfulness-is-it-for-you

and have a look at the section "What if I'm finding it hard?"

[quirkywords]

Thanks smallwolf for listing resources, I will try some.

The course that I did was run by a University and was all free .

[blondguy]

Hi Everyone.. New posters are always welcome too!

Hey Sleepy...thanks for helping us understand mindfulness with your own lived experience...Nice1 🙂

Hey Jstar49....you mentioned 'To me, the process of detaching from our thoughts and experiences, stepping back, as you say, to observe, almost as if we are observing someone else, is freeing' Yes..the impact of the here and now happens to me as well Jstar....I hear you loud and clear...great post!

Hey Quirky....thankyou for your ongoing care here and across the forums. Just for myself after having my own chronic depressive and anxiety I found that counselling (even with my GP) was a godsend it provided me with a platform on which I could heal effectively even using the power of distraction and mindfulness combined

Hey Tim....your understanding of mindfulness is a bonus to the Beyond Blue forums....me included! Thankyou so much for the helpful link you posted above....I have stolen your link and posted it below for everyone 😉

https://cci.health.wa.gov.au/-/media/CCI/Mental-Health-Professionals/Generalised-Anxiety/Generalised-Anxiety---Information-Sheets/Generalised-Anxiety-Information-Sheet---02---What-is-Mindfulness.pdf

have a good weekend everyone

Paul

[Guest_1643]

hi all

i've been doing fair bit of mindfulness, and stil staying away from using the word itself 🙂

i enjoy it and feel that with practise i learn some good tools

it seems to be about focusing ur attention consciously

it also normalises my negative thoughts, as usually the meditations mention that its normal and okay for thoughts to enter and pass

[quirkywords]

sleepy thanks for your feedback. I too dont use the term mindfulness but to try to focus on one thing especially if I feel myself becoming stressed.

[Ggrand]

Hello Everyone....

I have heard many times to let our thought pass through our mind without thinking on them..I find that very difficult to do..If something bad comes into my mind and I try to let it pass through...my next thought that pops into my head is usually something to do with the thought that I ignored....they just keep coming each thought to do with the previous thought....

I can do and enjoy practicing mindfulness when I first wake up with my morning cuppa tea outside on my veranda...watching and listening to the birds starting their day....tasting my cuppa tea, with my hands cupped around the cup to keep them warm and feeling the sun or cold breeze on me...

Go inside again, clean my home...sit down and rest, then my brain starts picking on me for not being active or the piece of fur that I missed....lol. Our ever active minds constantly moving from thought to thought...each day...The only way to slow it down...well for me..is to sit outside and let nature take charge of my thoughts and feelings for a little while...

Kind thoughts everyone..

Grandy..

[smallwolf]

Hi all.

thought for today...

“Stop, breathe, look around and embrace the miracle of each day, the miracle of life.” ~ Jeffrey A. White

[Jstar49]

Hi all,

Maybe it could be like ....listening to the chatter of a child....mild interest, not too much attention, as the child's conversation will usually diverge onto something else very soon!

Just a thought!

Cheers,

J*

[Moonstruck]

Hey BlondGuy.....hello stranger!

Its been a while hasn't it? I see this great thread is still going and see that so many folk still have trouble grasping what mindfulness is and how it feels etc? I saw one writer said they even avoid using the word and refer to it another way! Some folk seem to find it frustrating buying books and doing courses on "How" to "master it".

I must be a simple soul..[you and I know that isn't right, right?) so I wonder why Mindfulness is clear as crystal to me, its benefits, how it can hit you out of the blue and that's really wonderful...and also, how to deliberately, easily and smoothly practise a few minutes or as long as you want in that state I am happy to call "mindfulness"...no books, tapes or lessons required...none, zero.

ages ago I have posted from time to time several experiences of my own...described them in detail, trying to convey to others what it is and how I "did it". You don't actually "do" anything, you just let it happen ..trust me.

but I obviously didn't explain it clearly enough...one was about a town square in our main street; another about blue wind chimes in my garden; and another of a man playing with his dog on the beach.......I won't go into any more as I don't feel my explanations were understood...I felt like saying "hey folks, look, read, right here...this is how mindfulness works and feels".....but I mustn't have explained it properly....oh well...c'est la vie!!!

Love Moon x

[blondguy]

Hi Everyone New posters are always welcome too!

Hey Sleepy21....Jstar...Grandy...Quirky and Tim 🙂

You are amazing people for taking the time to help others by posting and thankyou

Hey Moon....you are far from simple Moon and thankyou for the super kind post!...I never expected this thread to still be active as the interpretation of mindfulness is best left to the individual....I am happy that you find peace of mind using mindfulness as a helpful tool

Hey Sleepy21.....Thankyou for your post 'I've been doing fair bit of mindfulness, and still staying away from using the word itself' I guess its horses for courses with what 'tag' we find helpful....After years of therapy in the 1980's I was taught the meaning of genuine and calm acceptance. Mindfulness was never mentioned yet they probably mean the same thing where grounding ourselves is concerned

Huge hugs

Paul