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Mindfulness.......

9 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1562

There is a meditation technique called "being un-clutched", its from a spiritual master in India. You can search that on Youtube. Its about observing the thoughts and treat individual thought as is and not connecting them, letting them go, you just witness them as it arises within.

You can read more about the technique at:

http://nithyanandatimes.org/dont-connect-the-thoughts/

9 years ago 0 +0 / -0 421

Thanks guys! I will check all of the options out. I want to find something that fits for me. Shutting off my inner dialog is such a struggle for me. I seem to comment on life inside my head as a running narrative in a movie sometimes. This morning I proacticed being mindful of smells and sounds as I got ready for work....and ran through my morning routine. It was funny because I realized how much I'm multi-thinking all the time. To focus on just the smells, senses and the experience at hand was difficult for me. I did it a few times but, my brain always "caught on" and jerked me into another thought or line of thinking.

I wonder if I have become so used to the noise in my own head......

9 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1009

Hi ND,

Here is a good article on Mindfulness that may help clarify it. Mindfulness is not so much about meditation, although meditation does help in many ways. It's more about being connected to the experience and understanding it...

Have a read......

http://www.shinzen.org/Retreat%20Reading/What%20is%20Mindfulness.pdf

If you like audio meditation programs there are some really good ones out there. Can't say I'm too big on the guys voice in that Youtube form the post below. Paul McKenna has some awesome problems.

All the best,

Dave

9 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1562

I also like what Eckhart has to say in his book Power of Now:

You can create a gap in the mind stream simply by directing the focus of your attention into the Now. Just become intensely conscious of the present moment. This is a deeply satisfying thing to do. In this way, you draw consciousness away from mind activity and create a gap of no-mind in which you are highly alert and aware but not thinking. This is the essence of meditation. In your everyday life, you can practice this by taking any routine activity that normally is only a means to an end and giving it your fullest attention, so that it becomes an end in itself. For example, every time you walk up and down the stairs in your house or place of work, pay close attention to every step, every movement, even your breathing. Be totally present. Or when you wash your hands, pay attention to all the sense perceptions associated with the activity: the sound and feel of the water, the movement of your hands, the scent of the soap, and so on. Or when you get into your car, after you close the door, pause for a few seconds and observe the flow of your breath. Become aware of a silent but powerful sense of presence. There is one certain criterion by which you can measure your success in this practice: the degree of peace that you feel within.

So the single most vital step on your journey toward enlightenment is this: learn to disidentify from your mind. Every time you create a gap in the stream of mind, the light of your consciousness grows stronger. One day you may catch yourself smiling at the voice in your head, as you would smile at the antics of a child. This means that you no longer take the content of your mind all that seriously, as your sense of self does not depend on it.

9 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1562

I hear you. My mind too wonders a lot, but using this, it helps me contain the racing mind. BTW Yoga means "union with God", I too do few repetations of Sun Salutations, every day. While performing Yoga, we are to put the mind at work too. We are to inhale and exhale at precise steps, use the right legs to go forward and then finish it with left leg, all these are to keep you mind there with you, while you are moving.

9 years ago 0 +0 / -0 421

Thanks Foxman for the video info! I will check it out for sure. Guided meditation is better for me because I have constant noise, thoughts, dialogue going in my brain---always processing. I do practice yoga but the meditation has alway been a struggle. Thanks!

9 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1562

There is a youtube video called "Real Meditataion for Real Alcoholics" on youtube. There is a introduction video and a daily guided video. I do that meditation for 15 minutes everyday in the morning. Its geared to be centered, rooted within so, during the day when resentment arises or some discomfort comes up, you can fend off. You may start of with 10 minutes and slowly increase it. Because its guided meditation, if you are lost in the thought, you can get back to what he is asking us to do.

9 years ago 0 +0 / -0 421

I am trying to be mindful and live in the day...but, I think that I might be so used to pushing away any kind of in the moment thinking that I am having trouble with the mindful concept. It is overwhelming to think about the far future. its not any better living in the past which has always been my problem. I don't know how to practice living in the now....I want to but, am at a loss...maybe I'm too concrete? I don't know....any thoughts ?

9 years ago 0 +0 / -0 345

I've been researching mindfulness lately to get a better grasp of the concept. In a way it is much like the "one day at a time" mantra in that the focus is on the day at hand. I have been practicing this skill and do find it has a lot of merit. I no longer think about "never" having a drink as has been mentioned before as it is quite overwhelming. But to embrace just this one day and all it unveils is something that anyone can do. It takes a lot of pressure off when you banish the "what ifs" and "if onlys" as they no longer exist or have a place in this mindset. I focus on my physical and emotional being, the aesthetics ' of my surroundings, the chatter of nature and human activity.

I have discovered as I tune into the abundance of daily stimuli, nourish my body with the nutrients it needs and treat myself with love and respect I am rewarded with an amazing sense of well being.

Thanks for putting this topic in the forefront Dave. It really has impacted on how I approach life.

9 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1009

Hi ND,

I'll start sharing lots of links various subjects if you want but as a start here is one on the Addictive Voice. I found it helpful when I was getting going and I know of others here that go a lot from it as well:

http://rational.org/index.php?id=115

All the best,

Dave

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