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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

Starwolf mentioned "a common mistake is to fight (push forcefully away) intrusive thoughts.
Calm acknowledgment before focusing the mind elsewhere is the key"

Could not agree more.

like the quote from starwolf but I worry the acknowledgement will leave to obsessive thinking yhtn overwhelming.

How does one stop acknowledgement from leading to motr intrusive thoughts.

I used to obsess and fight my intrusive thoughts hard, the thoughts of hurting myself or other people really rocked me and I would absolutely chastise myself for thinking these thoughts and it would lead to negative thoughts about myself. It was/is a vicious cycle that overwhelms me.

I've learnt that reacting to these thoughts only feeds them and makes them stronger. Think about a child banging pots in front of you- you tell the child to stop but they keep on banging the pots - you get angry - the child bangs the pots louder and louder - it doesn't stop. However you tell the child to stop once, turn your back and focus on something else - the child will eventually stop because they loose interest (terrible analogy haha but I hope you get where I'm coming from).

I acknowledge the intrusive thought, tell it im disregarding because its fake new and focus on something else. I'm finding these thoughts are having less of an impact on me, im not reacting as I did and they are less frequent. I also meditate and practice mindfullness to reinforce this practice and it helps aswell.

IMO - acknowledging intrusive thoughts is key, your telling your mind that these are just fake news and moving on. Over time the thoughts loose their power and they disappear just as quickly as they appear. They still come and go though - but you dont react to them.

CMF
Blue Voices Member
Blue Voices Member
Hi all,

My little miss and I have been working on a jigsaw puzzle she started a while back. It's almost done. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy themv so I bought myself one today. It is are at distraction. Something I need at the moment.

Cmf x

I suppose I give my intrusive thoughts too much power.

I suppose these last 6 months have really worn me down and I do dwell on the past .\

Gambit and CMF thanks on your suggestions.

Hi Everyone...New posters are always welcome to post too 🙂

Hey Quirky and Gambit87....Thankyou for your super helpful contribution re Starwolfs' post. The bulk of the 'hits'(internet clicks) the forums have are from people that choose to read only which is great...(70%) So any posts you write benefit more people than the members here

Starwolf mentioned "a common mistake is to fight (push forcefully away) intrusive thoughts.
Calm acknowledgment before focusing the mind elsewhere is the key
"

Hey Quirky...I agree with you when you mentioned "I worry the acknowledgement will leave to obsessive thinking and overwhelming" I used to think the same way...as I was scared to 'let go' like yourself

Being able to use genuine and calm acceptance does work yet it does take determination and practice to accomplish....The answers are in Dr Claire Weekes book 'Self help for your nerves'

Dr Claire Weekes wrote this brilliant book a while ago....(thus the title)...yet she was a psychiatrist who figured out that 'acceptance' of intrusive/negative thoughts render them impotent and they lose their power as a result

Its a small paperback written in plain English....Its around $A15 and available globally in all languages

Thankyou Gambit for mentioning " I've learnt that reacting to these thoughts only feeds them and makes them stronger" Always a bonus to have you on the forums

Happy Friday everyone!

Stay well

Paul

Hi everyone and thankyou for being a part of the discussion too! Mindfulness can be difficult to take on board

Hey Smallwolf (Tim)...thankyou so much for your post!

Smallwolf (Tim) mentioned..."Mindfulness however been around for a very long time, but came into
western thought in the 1970s as a type of therapeutic exercise
" I had no idea that mindfulness has been around for so long! My therapy started in the early 1980's when I was in my early 20's and my counsellors never mentioned it as a management tool for my anxiety attacks..They did focus on the power of 'distraction' though

Hey Quirky....I do hope you get a chance to read Dr Claire Weekes book 'Self help for your nerves' Please excuse the old fashioned title....the book is mainly about false and intrusive thoughts. I hope you are doing ok

Starwolf* mentioned "a common mistake is to fight (push forcefully away) intrusive thoughts.
Calm acknowledgment before focusing the mind elsewhere is the key
"

* Starwolf is not active as a member of the forums

my kind thoughts always

Paul

smallwolf
Community Champion
Community Champion

Hey Paul (and everyone else),

Was listening to a podcast on relaxation which talked about different types of mindfulness. Some of these were

  1. mindful awareness
  2. mindful appreciation
  3. tactile mindfulness
  4. mindful observation

there were other mentioned. All have the same end result of acceptance of the current moment vs stress.

Smallwolf

can one combine all 4 types of mindfulness into one mindfulness.
thanks for sharing this.

Quirky,

Potentially but you don't have to.

While you could combine all in gardening (?) it is not necessary.

An example of mindful observation could be staring at a flower for a couple of minutes, noticing its shape, forms.

An example of mindful appreciation is typically a list 5 things at the of the day that you appreciate and might not otherwise think about?

Tactile is using your hands so... fidget toys, cleaning, gardening, art...

You could also try mindful listening... the exercise where you are told to listen to and identify the sound furthest from you.

So if you stare at a flower for a couple of minute then it is not meditation either. In the moment of the exercise you are just accepting, paying attention to/in the current moment without judgement. Besides who would cast judgement on a flower?

Tim

Hi Tim (smallwolf)

your input is Gold and thankyou for sharing your experience here..

some health professionals mention 'mindfulness' as a word without clarification and thats okay as they are only referring to their manual

Nurse Jenn mentioned (on another thread topic) "you dont need an app to experience mindfulness" Excellent!

One of the most inane questions I have read on the forums is..."Have you tried mindfulness?"

you rock Tim

my kind thoughts

Paul

Balance
Community Member

Good morning Everybody,

thank you for your appreciation on my post on Mindfulness.

These are the 7 words/qualities I focus on and practise ONE QUALITY each day:

The Focus on Monday is practising Patience
Focus on Tuesday practising Courage
Focus on Wednesday practising Healing
Focus on Thursday practising Faithfulness
Focus on Friday practising Caring
Focus on Saturday practising Stillness
Focus on Sunday practising Balance