My Rheumatolgist has advised me to look into Mindfulness Meditation, I am going to order some books from Amazon for me to study but wondered If anyone on here had tried it, or know something about it and could advise me on what it is and what I should be doing Or if someone has wrote a post I could read.
I have tried counselling and CBT but he thinks this is what I need and should spend sometime getting to know it. I thought the best way to get to know more about it was by asking the people who know about it, and that's you hopefully
I am still on my positive streak so want to put as much into this as I can, normally I wouldn't give it a try as I know nothing about it, that would have been my negative thought
I am told to use this to help control my pain and depression, with not having a clue I'm pretty nervous about doing it, I want to start correctly and be aware of what can happen and what I can achieve through doing this.
I want to be prepared, to know something before I start, any information is helpful.
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Meditation is really just a "slowing down" of the thinking processes and/or a "letting go" of worries/ anxieties - with the added benefit of "loosening" our attachments to ego-identity.
It's a way to both relax/ release built up tensions and to take a moment to see things from a fresh perspective, since it tends to clear your mind with continued practice.
I don't know if you're after specific suggestions for how to meditate or practice "mindfulness", but, if you are:
1.) a lot of people practice observing their breath (inhales and exhales) as a form of meditation and it works well for them.
2.) I don't get great results from suggestion #1, myself. I achieve more calmness and clarity of mind by instead placing my hand on my heart and focusing my attention on the sensation of the heart region of my chest, where my hand(s) rest.
In any case, the point is to become more aware of processes outside of your daily thinking habits/ routine - to both "expand" your awareness and lessen the strength of your thoughts over how you feel.
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I thinkI can give that a go just find it hard to empty my mind, I know it will take practise but this at least gives me a head start thank you :)
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You don't empty your mind. You just let the thoughts come and go. It is regular meditation and entering that state that helps to reduce the normal flood of thoughts but it is never about emptying your mind.
It is about focus on breathing and accepting what does and doesn't come.
If you try to empty your mind by suppressing thoughts that will actually make them more intense. I think of meditation as like unclogging the mind and dealing with a lot of things that are just below your everyday consciousness.
You know those joke cans full of worms that jump out when you pull the lid of? That is what the mind is like in modern life. It is filled up with all kinds of repressed junk which we push down and don't actually deal with.
Meditation helps to clear that out but it is a constant process like exercise because the can is constantly being filled up with the lid being put back on.
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Ok think I have got it. Concentrate on your breathing let the thoughts come but don't focus on them is that right. Start doing a minute at a time slowly increasing the time...
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Yes that is right. If you want some guided meditations I have some MP3s somewhere which I can send you links to download. These tend to be longer though 25-40 mins which can be intimidating when you are starting out.
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I would like the links but think 25 minutes is a few months off as yet. But I will get there.
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the are several great talks on mindfulness ovr on ted talks that will give you an idea of what it's all about. I've been practising it for a while now and find it very helpful for my depression. most of it is just simply training your mind to focus on the task at hand so you can fully experiance the moment you are in.
I'll grab a couple of links for you.
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Great thank you, I will watch these tomorrow, Its just what I need to hey started. Thanks again :)
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Bravo! excellent post lady@karenb54, ud Leasehold monitor screens with your words, I appreciate the time and beautiful words for my post that continued success
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your welcome and thank you :)
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I've tried it and it works really well. You don't even really need a book to do it. Just set aside some time to sit or lie down and concentrate on your breathing. You can start with as little as 5 minutes a day. Just focus on your breathing and let any thoughts come and go without getting too caught up in them. Don't try to clear your mind if you feel thoughts distracting you just concentrate on your breathing. I do this several times a day for a minute or so and even that small amount helps. I was going to a weekly group in Hexham - it was hard to get there but having the formal practice with others really helped - it forces you to do it.
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Brilliant thank you. I have tried meditation a long while ago but gave it up as I couldn't stop my mind from thinking, I should have tried harder. I'M going to give this a go tomorrow as everyone is out :)
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No problem. Don't worry about the thinking. It will gradually reduce as you so do more regular practice but unless you are some kind of master guru it will never completely go away (some people would say that it can't).
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My brain has been active for 52 years is going to be a miracle to completely empty it but mind hubby says the opposite lol Thank you. will def start trying tomorrow :)
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I use candle meditation (Google it) - I do it 20 mins a day and am v.happy with it. I certainly know the days when I don't do it now!
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I've never heard of that, I'll take a look in the morning. Thank you :)
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Stare at the centre of a candle for 20 mins. Simple :)) Good luck Karen.
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That's simple I could do that. Thank you :)
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Some people find candle meditation better as your eyes are open as opposed to closed like in normal meditation. Luckily I can do both ;) Let me know how you do OK?
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Will do and thank you :)
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Hi, I've been reading your posts for a while now and wanted to suggest to you a book called "A Course in Miracles".
It has a theory based Text, a 365 day Workbook that uses mindfulness (paying attention to your thoughts) and meditation (letting go) to apply the Text to your everyday life in order to experience Peace of Mind. It also has a Manual for Teachers that gives answers to questions like "How is healing accomplished?" and "Does healing need to be repeated?", and a Clarification of Terms to minimize time wasted/ peace delayed on unnecessary controversy.
Buy the book, or read it for free on the internet (because there is no copyright), or go type 'David Hoffmeister Lesson 1' into Youtube and he reads the whole thing out to you.
This could be the "journey without distance to a goal that has never changed" that you have been looking for and you can blog about on Steem.
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Thank you. I really appreciate that. I will check this out. Thanks again :)
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