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

[mmMekitty]

I like the idea of (if I must), experiencing small moments of any sort of pain, over the experience of my mind telling me it was constant & full-on for weeks/month/years - one BIG pain.

I like to take moments to stop what i'm doing, just to see what I notice.... maybe I notice there is just one small area of pain, tht's it's not everywhere, not overwhelming... that's reassuring to me.

mmMekitty

[blondguy]

Hey everyone and thankyou for sharing too!

Hi Geoff....Thankyou for helping me out with your post. You made a very good point when you said "Mentioning this word (mindfulness) to a person who is really struggling with a mental illness, means nothing to them at all". You have made a good point here Geoff......if a person is having a full on anxiety attack I dont think that mindfulness would be of any help. Unfortunately....

Hi Tim and thankyou so much for your ongoing valued input re mindfulness. I was discussing chronic pain where rheumatoid arthritis is concerned...not osteo arthritis. You made a good point when you mentioned 'sometimes there are negative or worrisome thoughts about the pain' I appreciate your kind help yet there is some deformity occurring with the joints which does result in chronic pain which mindfulness cant assist with

my kindest always

Paul

[geoff]

Hi Tim, if someone is feeling well and happy in life, we don't even mention the word 'mindfulness' because to them what does this mean, they don't need to go down that track because to them, nothing is wrong.

'It means being aware of your thoughts and feelings without judgment', and these surely must include what's caused this and possibly why, so negative thoughts/feelings have to be included so that supposedly you can try and begin to feel better, and to do this you need to think about what's happened, so this is recapping.

Those who believe mindfulness has helped them, that's great, but for me you can't imagine something is going to improve until you've had the guidance from a psych and are able to move forward but there is the possibility from doing this, it could cause more harm and pain than good.

Best wishes.

Geoff.

[smallwolf]

Geoff,

I agree with you 100% in that...

I don't say that mindful can or does work for everyone. With any and all tools in this area some will work and some won't. If I try out something and it doesn't feel right then I would use that tool either. And.... I would remove the clutter from my toolkit also.

If I were in your shoes and assuming that I knew a little about mindfulness, I might also ignore professionals that include mindfulness as a strategy?

[smallwolf]

Kitty,

Perhaps in the examples I used it was more of a circuit breaker in its application but the result in living in the present was is still true.

Part of the problem I feel is that mindfulness is a very broad term covering both formal and informal methods.

Secondly, in doing those activities I can also or still have negative thoughts. You could say that I choose to ignore those. I am doing a puzzle. In fact when I did the puzzle while playing the game I in the first few runs there were thoughts intruding and taking me away from what I was doing.

A thought is just a thought and does not define you.

So when you do the dishes or something in the garden this can be viewed as mindfulness. You still have thoughts, it is what value you (plural) place on the thought and how you react. Do you fixate or can you go back to what you were doing? The dishes. Also, when doing the dishes you probably won't say I am doing mindfulness.

Going back to the origin... It was also a way of life. Not something added that we have to do in order to feel better.

When mindfulness was brought to the west, certain parts were borrowed for lack of a better word. As a method, it works for some and not others. From that you can get mindfulness 2.0 which helps those it didn't work with in 1.0. This cycle repeats. And now you have possibly everything coming under the banner of mindfulness.

If you break your arm you know what happened and will be in a cast.

If someone says let's try mindfulness. You might think I have no idea what that means and which one?

[geoff]

Hello Tim, yes I agree with you ' if I knew a little about mindfulness, I might also ignore professionals that include mindfulness as a strategy', quite agree with you.

If you break your arm you know what happened and it will be in a cast, then if you suggest mindfulness, then what for, you've broken your arm and only time will fix it.

Best wishes.

Geoff.

[mmMekitty]

Hello all,

I think Wolfie, you are spot on when you point out that people don't know what is meant when someone offers mindfulness. It has been so infused with other ideas & practices, while the spiritual/religious & way of life aspects were either watered down or removed. You really don't know what you are going to get when someone offers mindfulness without having a long conversation about what that word means, with them first.

I would like to think it is possible to practice mindfulness over a sink of dishes, & when I become distracted by the intrusive thoughts & unrelated feelings (maybe even I can put my aching back into the background - even though it's the washing dishes which prompts the ache), & when the distraction is noted, let it drift away & bring my attention back to the dishes.

I think, once upon a time, I could achieve what was intended, while listening to Carol King's Tapestry album. I would lie & listen, following every word & note, one by one as the sound entered my awareness, & so on until the end of the album. If any other thoughts & feelings came along they were as mist, floating by. I knew they 'happened', but I passed no judgement, made no internal comment even about them, literally, letting them go on by, because I was centrally located within my listening to the music. People could come & go from the room, talking & making noise, & I was undisturbed.

When I did that, the album seemed to take 3 hours! I felt it was a timeless place, a separate place, as well. Sometimes, I will still listen to some classical music & the notes are passing by, & I am following them as if they are rungs on monkey bars. I might single out a particular instrument. That's best for full orchestral pieces.

Ideally, I am wanting to have a time out from being highly conscious of my mind going over thoughts, pains I experience in mind & body, & other feelings associated with the thoughts & both physical & psychological feelings. It can certainly be a circuit breaker in this way. & if I begin to notice these things, maybe they don't come in all at once. Maybe I will recognise each one as separate items & see each is has an existence limited to the moment. I sort of think, each is like a grain of sand, plink, plink, plink. Not a whole beach, not dunes rolling over me, not so high, wide or heavy.

My success has been woefully limited. Practice takes a lot of discipline, like physical exercise, which I'm also not so diligent about doing regularly.

mmMekitty

[smallwolf]

hi kitty,

I have said this somewhere earlier....

1. do the best you can
2. don't get upset with yourself if does not work out. (You tried your best)
3. practice each day (not just when you need it)
4. don't judge yourself of your mind wanders

If I mention ice cream to you, you will likely think about that. So it is natural for your mind to wander. If you mind does wander then .... don't get upset your yourself, don't judge yourself.

I did it the best I can.

[blondguy]

Hi Tim... Geoff Kitty Quirky Blues Clues and everyone!

Thankyou Tim for sharing your knowledge re Mindfulness...It is very helpful & informative

I do grow weary of some 'health professionals' and 'naturopaths' assuming their patients understand mindfulness when they dont

I do volunteer work (off the forums too) and when a person is about to hyperventilate as a result of heavy duty anxiety symptoms I have always mentioned immediate distraction as an effective tool to try to offset any hyperventilation prior it occurring/or calling an ambulance

I understand that mindfulness is effective in stressful and/or low level anxiety situations (once a person understands the term itself)

my kindest

Paul

[missep123]

Hi everyone!

@smallwolf I really related to your advice pertaining to practicing everyday not just when you need it! I feel a though this is why sometimes I really struggle as I only implement it when I need it so at that stage I am not as 'used to it' or 'good at it' than I could be otherwise. I really want to practice mindfulness to the point that I can just click into it. However, I will make sure to take your other advice into account during this process including being gentle on oneself.