Meditation and Mindfulness

joyfull

Hi Goldilockz & Shane and other mindfull friends,

Please don't be down on yourselves. It's human to have habits they just come with the territory. When those self judging thoughts come up, just return to noticing breath or whatever method you use. No big deal, no battle, be kind & gentle. You're all doing just fine. Be happy and smile inside. I'm just relaxing the mind whenever it occurs to do so - then a flurry of niggly ratty thoughts pop up & play for a while - then they subside - then another lot - then noticing breath - & on and on. All just passing on by.

XXX

[Deleted User]

joyfull wrote: »

Hi Goldilockz & Shane and other mindfull friends,

Please don't be down on yourselves. It's human to have habits they just come with the territory. When those self judging thoughts come up, just return to noticing breath or whatever method you use. No big deal, no battle, be kind & gentle. You're all doing just fine. Be happy and smile inside. I'm just relaxing the mind whenever it occurs to do so - then a flurry of niggly ratty thoughts pop up & play for a while - then they subside - then another lot - then noticing breath - & on and on. All just passing on by.

XXX

Very good advice. I often forget just to let go and watch the breath, especially as my anxious thoughts have a sense of urgency about them that makes me take note. hank you Joyfull, I'll practice that today xx

candygirl

GOLDILOCKZ sorry you are feeling poop at the mo hun:(:(Maybe we could go on the doasone site at 2pm and have a 5 min breathing sesh at the same time?:D:D
My lecturer lent me the Williams book as well as several JKZ books the other day, plus have just got Mindfulness for dummies out of the library:D:D
I have noticed I have had hardly any panic attacks, or knee jerk reactions to stressful situations, whilst I have been meditating:D:D

[Deleted User]

candygirl wrote: »

GOLDILOCKZ sorry you are feeling poop at the mo hun:(:(Maybe we could go on the doasone site at 2pm and have a 5 min breathing sesh at the same time?:D:D
My lecturer lent me the Williams book as well as several JKZ books the other day, plus have just got Mindfulness for dummies out of the library:D:D
I have noticed I have had hardly any panic attacks, or knee jerk reactions to stressful situations, whilst I have been meditating:D:D

Hi Candy,

Sorry, just got your message, but we could do a breathing sesh at 3 or 4? I'm actually planning to do a proper mindfulness session later today, just haven't got round to it yet but my OH is going out tonight so I have no reason not to. You are doing so well with the mindfulness, a true inspiration to me. xx

AprilLady

Hello everyone! :wave:
I came across this thread as I was just randomly browsing the forum, and I'm glad I did!
I've struggled with anxiety as long as I can remember, and I finally plucked up the courage to go to counselling last year. My counsellor actually suggested I try mindfulness, and I did do a bit of investigating, but never got round to trying it. This thread has inspired me to have a go in the hope it might help! Things are pretty stressful at the moment, and I haven't been sleeping properly, so anything's worth a try!

Goldilockz - your comment on the first page about your mind chattering away like an old woman at a bus stop made me laugh so much! :rotfl: Mine does the same thing - it would be nice to make it shut up for a while, haha!

candygirl

Deleted_User wrote: »

Hi Candy,

Sorry, just got your message, but we could do a breathing sesh at 3 or 4? I'm actually planning to do a proper mindfulness session later today, just haven't got round to it yet but my OH is going out tonight so I have no reason not to. You are doing so well with the mindfulness, a true inspiration to me. xx

Awww thanks hun:D:DAre you feeling any better now?:Dand welcome APRILADY:):HELLO:

juliebunny

Hello, I've just caught up on the last few pages. Have been full of cold this last week and no energy to do anything but had to drag myself back to work:( where the managers are enough to drive you to lose the will to live they are so inhuman and thoughtless.

The book recommended looks good, and I love guided meditations. I've got a couple for helping me get to sleep at night. I've used them recently for the first time in a while and last night I dreamed of a loved one who passed over last year. In my dream she was relaxed and happy and I felt like this is what she was telling me as I believe this is one way our loved ones come back to visit us. Then when i woke up a lavender candle i have had MOVED several inches to in front of her photo where I also keep an angel that my Best friends nannie bought me for Christmas (she also passed over a few weeks ago very sadly) Strange....but true....!

I think I need to get some more exercise too but can't face doing anything in a class or the like. Does anyone do anything at home? I heard its supposed to be a pick me up. I don't have a games console unfortunately as the zumba fitness looked fun but I think thats for PS, Wii etc.

[Deleted User]

Hello all! And a warm cuddle to all the newbies!

AprilLady: I am so glad you've discovered mindfulness, I hope it works wonders for you. As for sleeping, if you do mindfulness just before bed it can really help quiet that 'old lady' mind. I've often fallen asleep doing it just before bed. I guess anyone who has a mind will struggle with it from time to time. Mindfulness and meditation puts you back in control instead of allowing your mind to run away with you, as mine did earlier today before I gave myself a good talking to! I wish you all the best and hope you'll keep us updated.

Candygirl: How are things going with you? I am better thank you, I've just been letting things get to me, worrying about the future, looking to the past and thinking 'poor me'. I actually went to a meditation teacher last week and she taught me some visualisation strategies to make myself feel safe and protected, which have been a real help to me.

Juliebunny: I'm so sorry your managers at work are so dreadful, what field do you work in? I begin a new job on Monday so I'm really hoping my fellow colleagues are nice people, I've had my fair share of crappy colleagues in the past too! I hope your cold gets better too.Your experience during the guided meditation is fascinating. During my day retreat a few weeks back, my friend said she had a very uplifting experience where she was able to speak to her dad (who passed away 2 years ago) and he was saying to her that he was ok and telling her to look after herself. She was happier than I've ever seen her after that experience.

As for exercise, I hear ya! I have several exercise DVDs gathering dust on the shelves. Have you thought of yoga? Or would you like to try something more energetic than that? I have put on a lot of weight since moving to England in late December (mainly because my OH is such a wonderful cook and being unemployed means chocolate is never too far away). I'm hoping that having a new job and meeting new people will motivate me to do something about my weight and do more exercise.

candygirl

Hi hun,
Glad you're feeling better:j:jI'm doing really well, and got DGS over tonight, and up to now he's slept all night;):D

AprilLady

Thanks for the welcomes and the warm cuddles!

I was going to start off by getting the Mark Williams book that a few people have recommended, but as money (lack of!) is one of my main worries at the moment, I don't really want to buy it, and the copy at the library already has 5 people waiting for it! So I might go back over this thread and look out for some of the free recommendations first.

Juliebunny - recently I've been trying to do a bit more exercise as I pigged out over Christmas, and even a tiny bit a day does help me to sleep a bit better. When it's been nice outside I've forced myself to go for a 30 minute(ish) walk every day - walking quickly - and I've also started Maya Fiennes' Kundalini yoga to detox and de-stress. To be honest I found it a bit weird to start with (there's a bit of chanting), but I've already started getting better at it after only a few sessions. You don't need much floor space so it's easy to do at home, and it is quite calming.

I also had a Rosemary Conley exercise dvd, which was quite good as I don't find her patronising like a lot of other exercise people, but unfortunately my living room was a bit too small to do it properly - I kept hitting things and whacking the light shade when I was trying to do sideways skipping things! :rotfl:
Also, I found some simple toning exercise videos on YouTube (again with a non patronising woman!), that you only need a couple of weights for - or soup cans if you don't have weights, as she keeps reminding you! If you're interested I'll try and find them again.