mindfulness quotes

[mirry]

Ever since my CBT introduced me to mindfulness I have found it very useful for my anxiety. Here are some of my favourite quotes.....

"THERE IS NO WAY TO HAPPINESS - HAPPINESS IS THE WAY"


THE EARTH IS WAITING FOR YOU
--------------------------------
The earth is always patient and open hearted.
She is waiting for you.
she has been waiting for you
for the last trillion lifetimes.
She can wait for any length of time.
She knows you will come back to her one day.
Fresh and green, she will welcom you
exactly like the first time,
because love never says, "this is the last time"
because earth is a loving mother.
She will never stop waiting for you.

by : Thich Nhat Hanh.

[mirry]

If my happiness at this moment consists largely in reviewing happy memories and expectations, I am but dimly aware of this present. I shall still be dimly aware of the present when the good things that I have been expecting come to pass. For I shall have formed a habit of looking behind and ahead, making it difficult for me to attend to the here and now. If, then , my awareness of the past and future makes me less aware of the present, I must begin to wonder whether I am actually living in the real world.

Alan Watts.

[mirry]

A lovely site to visit

http://www.positivepause.com/

[ksmith]

Thanks Mirry

I had a look at the site and it made me feel like going out for a walk somewhere beautiful. I'm interested in mindfulness (eg., I've read a few things on this forum about it) and think the concept of it is probably the way forward.

Kay x

[mirry]

Hi Kay, I am facinated by mindfulness because it has really helped me with my anxietys, I found I was constantly thinking ahead ,,,, "what if I panic", or "oh no Ive got to walk into that shop with all those people in it "

then if I wasnt thinking ahead Id be thinking back ,, "I never used to panic"
" I used to be able to do that or this "

but by concentrating on the present moment it enables me to function better, re training the mind takes alot of hard work but I find I enjoy doing it.
Let me know if you find any good sites on it
take care

[happyone]

Hi

I followed the link suggested as a nice place to visit.

I was almost in tears, which is some mean feat as I never cry (courtesy of Citalopram)
I have been toying with this mindfulness for a while. I will have to look into it.

Thanx
Happyone
xx

[Under~The~Stars]

Hi Mirry,

I just wanted to say that I looked at the lovely site you recommended on here and it really was beautiful. Thankyou for sharing it, and for sharing some quotes. It brought a tear to my eye, which doesn't normally happen with me. But it was happy tears. :)

Just watching something like that makes you feel a whole lot better. I will look back on it whenever I feel down or need some motivation - which will be the majority of the time :sign20:

Thanks again Mirry :hugs:

[Piglet]

Mindfulness and present moment awareness are very much key words for me and I feel sure they help me keep positive.:D

Stuff that has really helped me with this is;

1. Thoughts of power & love by Susan Jeffers

2. Feel the fear and do it anyway by Susan Jeffers

3. Don't sweat the small stuff by Richard Carlson

4. Wisdom affirmation cards by Louise Hay

5. I can do it cards by Louise Hay

6. Present moment awareness by Shannon Duncan (my bestest on the subject and really easy to follow)

7. How to be happy dammit by Karen Salmansohn (a funky modern version with lots of pics)

8. How to change your life by doing absolutely nothing by Karen Salmanssohn (another funky funny book)

I hasten to add all these have been gathered over time and some I bought 2nd hand off Amazon (use Nic's book link to the site). I also use www.holisticshop.co.uk (http://www.holisticshop.co.uk) an awful lot and get my affirmation cards from there - which you can see properly before you decide if they are for you.

I absolutely believe in living in the present moment and work consistently to try and achieve this in the hope that one day it will become as automatic as the negative thinking did!! :)

Piglet xx

[mirry]

thanks for all those recommendations Piglet, I will be checking some of them out soon.

Im cooking a roast dinner mindfully now . :p

[Piglet]

I've just eaten veggie sausages and butternut squash, topped with gravy very mindfully too hun - lost it a bit by not being in the least bit mindful with a breakaway biscuit !!;)

Piglet :)

[mirry]

glad you liked it , have you checked out this one ?

http://wonderofitall.com/

[Karen]

Thanks for that link Mirry and the book recommendations Piglet.

My CBT therapist recommended a mindfulness course but it is too expensive unfortunately.

Karen

[mirry]

they are all on the daily motivator, I like this one......
http:// (http://tj)thegoodnessoflife.com/

[Under~The~Stars]

Thanks for the book list Piglet. I will need to look into getting some helpful ones to read. :read:

And those links are great Mirry - just watching them is so relaxing, and makes you feel a bit better. :)

Thanks guys :D

[feege]

:cloud9:

Beautiful link Mirry - thankyou:D

I am really keen to know and study midfulness too.. I have been meaning to read more about it and not made the time yet - but I will!

I can't get enough of sites like that!

Take care hon xxxx

[mirry]

What is mindfulness?

I like Jon Kabat-Zinn's definition of mindfulness.
"Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way;


On purpose,

in the present moment, and

nonjudgmentally

First of all, mindfulness involves paying attention "on purpose". Mindfulness involves a conscious direction of our awareness
We sometimes (me included) talk about "mindfulness" and "awareness" as if they were interchangeable terms, but that's not a good habit to get into. I may be aware I'm irritable, but that wouldn't mean I was being mindful of my irritability. In order to be mindful I have to be purposefully aware of myself, not just vaguely and habitually aware. Knowing that you are eating is not the same as eating mindfully.Let's take that example of eating and look at it a bit further. When we are purposefully aware of eating, we are consciously being aware of the process of eating. We're deliberately noticing the sensations and our responses to those sensationsWe're noticing our mind wandering, and when it does wander we purposefully bring our attention back.
When we're eating unmindfully we may in theory be aware of what we're doing, but we're probably thinking about a hundred and one other things at the same time, and we may also be watching TV, talking, or reading -- or even all three! So a very small part of our awareness is absorbed with eating, and we may be only barely aware of the physical sensations When we're eating unmindfully we may in theory be aware of what we're doing, but we're probably thinking about a hundred and one other things at the same time, and we may also be watching TV, talking, or reading -- or even all three! So a very small part of our awareness is absorbed with eating, and we may be only barely aware of the physical sensationsand even less aware of our thoughts and emotions.
Because we're only dimly aware of our thoughts, they wander in an unrestricted way. There's no conscious attempt to bring our attention back to our eating. There's no purposefulness.
This purposefulness is a very important part of mindfulness. Having the purpose of staying with our experience, whether that's the breath, or a particular emotion, or something as simple as eating, means that we are actively shaping the mind. Left to itself the mind wanders through all kinds of thoughts --including thoughts expressing anger, craving, depression, revenge, self-pity, etc. As we indulge in these kinds of thoughts we reinforce those emotions in our hearts and cause ourselves to suffer.
By purposefully directing our awareness away from such thoughts and towards some "anchor" we decrease their effect on our lives and we create instead a space of freedom where calmness and contentment can grow.

Hope this helps explain more about mindfulness.:)

taken from
www.wildmind.org (http://www.wildmind.org)

[Quirky]

I find the mindfullness stuff interesting too. My CBT lady got me to do a mindfullness meditation type exercise last time I saw her and it did relax me a little. She also wants me to do a course of it at some point.
In the meantime she recommended I read a book called Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn. I have started reading it but finding it a bit heavy going so far.

Lisa

[mirry]

Ive got a dvd (somewhere ) by Jon Kabat - zinn , hes very good and is very deep. I prefer the DVDs cos I can close my eyes and relax.

[Piglet]

I think that's why I like Shannon Duncan cos he makes it all very simple!

Piglet xx

[Quirky]

Is that really a good book then Piglet? Just wondered as my current book is so huge to hold and it's realy heavy going reading wise and very americanised (no offence to any americans reading I just mean it's written in a different style to what I'm used to).
Is it called present moment awareness the one you mean? as I see they have that on amazon quite cheap. I suppose I should try and stick with my current book as CBT lady recommended it but it's such a hard read so it may be worth me trying the one you mention.

Ta mate,

Lisa x

[Piglet]

Well Shannon Duncan is american but it's written very simply in the way us brits respond better to - well it must have been for me to have grasped the principle lol!!

It's a slim paperback and I have now read it twice, the first being over a year ago and I knew I liked it then cos it got to stay in my collection. I've bought so many books over the last few years and very few get added to my drawer.

It's a great starting place for a very interesting subject.

Piglet :)

[Quirky]

Thanks Piglet, that sounds good and I may get that at some point :) I like the sound of it being slim and simple - unfortunately not like me! lol.

Lisa x

[mirry]

oooooo Lisa , you know what - weve been invited for dinner at my mother in laws on saturday along with family visiting from America and Ive gained a stone over the winter , (so dont want to see anyone) ,lol. So all this week since getting the invite Ive been dieting "mindfully" concentrating on what I am eating and its working, I feel like ive lost weight doing it .

[Quirky]

Hi Mirry,

I can really relate to all that, I feel like I don't want to see anyone until I've lost the weight too.

The mindful dieting sounds interesting, trouble is at the moment I keep mindfully (or non mindfully more like) putting chocolate in my mouth! lol.

Good luck with it,

Lisa x

[mirry]

Had a good clear out today and found my papers from my CBT course :yesyes:.

one of the papers is about mindfulness practise ,,,as follows.........


THE GOAL OF MINDFULNESS PRACTICE

Mindfulness underpins balanced and well-adjusted human existence.
The goals of mindfulness practice are simply to practice and to experience "wise mind". You're in wise mind when your emotions and thoughts work together so that wise action is easy,even when your life and or cirumstances are really hard.You are in wise mind when you can meet every moment of life as it is, not as you would have it be, and respond to it skilfully.
People have different names for wise mind. Some call it "the true self" , others call it "spirit" and others refer to it as "being centred".
The name doesn't matter. What matters is the capacity to have it. And everyone has that capacity. Further, any one and every one can decide to work on making the capacity for wise mind stronger and stronger.

Notise that we're not saying that the goal of mindfulness practise is happiness or having a life free from trouble or having an experience of
non-stop joy. However,, people who practice mindfulness will tell you that they get better at enduring pain, better at solving problems, better at not creating misery for themselves, and better at participating fully in those moments of life that are joyful.

[Piglet]

Yes I totally agree with all that and I guess I do call that 'being centered'.:D

Piglet :flowers:

[psychannie]

'Wherever you go, There you are' J.Kabat-Zinn.

It's refreshing to see a positive site like this. I've just been recently introduced to and am about to embark on the journey of becoming mindful. I've been recommended a text that I'm just beginning - I'd like to pass it on, read a preview and see what you think: 'The Mindful Way Through Depression - freeing yourself from chronic unhappiness', by Williams, Teasdale, Segal and Kabat-Zinn, Guildford Press. It includes a CD.

'My mind is where my key stroke is'

[margaret jones]

Fantastic site i will email it to my friends Thank You Mirry

[ladybird64]

Is there anyone on NMP that uses mindfullness in their daily lives, or has tried it in the past?

It is something that I don't think I could get my head around at all but I haven't looked into it in any detail so would like to hear from those who have some experience of it.

Thanks

[psychannie]

Hi Ladbird64,
In reference to you question, the book above which I mention is suitable for beginners. A really simplified way of teaching technique and practice, it includes a CD. I've also yet to get my head around mindfulness - but I'm going to!

Leighanne :)