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Mindfulness. Anyone tried it?
I attended the first of a ten part course on Mindfulness today, run by my local council. I'd not heard of it before and thought it was probably just a load of hippy dippy claptrap, but it actually seems quite promising. This is the cbt type based Mindfulness, and appears to be about living in the present moment. We did some meditation which left me feeling lovely and destressed, but I feel like I've put in a ten hour work day today.
Looking forward to next week though.
Has anyone else tried one of these courses and did they help you in the longer term?
Looking forward to next week though.
Has anyone else tried one of these courses and did they help you in the longer term?
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The moment, i.e. neither a memory or an imagined thought.
How can 'you' be in the moment?
How could 'you' ever instigate that?
How would 'you' ever know if it's ever been in the moment if it's not of thought or memory?
How is that mindful?
It helped me talk bollox!
superlative!
Most useful thing for my GAD that I learned
JKZ is the person who has done the research around mindfulness, and put it on the map, literally across the world. He is the voice of Mindfulness.
It's around an hour long, and a little wordy, but he does explain what Mindfulness is, and what it isn't.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nwwKbM_vJc
This is another useful link re how to get into Mindfulness without spending a lot of money ... the book mentioned has a 8 week course on Mindfulness in it.
http://mbct.co.uk/
This CD is the voice of Jon Kabat Zinn giving instruction on developing Mindfulness...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Guided-Mindfulness-Meditation-Jon-Kabat-Zinn/dp/1591793599/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1398464774&sr=8-5&keywords=jon+kabat+zinn
There is something quite hypnotic about his voice, and it is easy to fall asleep - which isn't really the idea - but then if you're having problems getting to sleep, it's probably going to be good for you anyway - just in a different way.
Mindfulness involves getting into a state of awareness that comes between being awake, and being asleep. Everyone goes through it whenever they fall asleep - but so quickly that you wouldn't notice it.
JKZ refers to it as: 'falling awake'.
To understand it you need to do it - then it will make sense, and you will know what it means to be Mindful. You can't think yourself into Mindfulness, because it's the opposite of an intellectual process.
Mindfulness has been approved by NICE, and is in use in some parts of the NHS.
If you are suffering with depression or stress, it's worth asking your GP what is available in your area.
Ive tried it twice for two separate issues I have and to be honest I find it a load of BS. Ive been trying to lose weight for most of my life and cos I comfort eat ive been told that everytime I want to eat something im to break down the feelings and analyse them to death. By the time id finished this so called mindfulness stuff I was more depressed and weighed more then when I started!
The other time was on a pain management course. Apparently im not to dwell on the fact that I'm in so much pain I want to cut my own legs off, im supposed to sit quietly and meditate.
I do believe in the power of breathing and it has helped me through pain on occasion but really I learnt nothing more then common sense and a load of unrealistic stuff which have no bearing on this thread so I shant go into it. What amazed me was both are funded by the nhs!
I also found when I was in the lessons I was completely buoyed and feeling positive because they'd talked you up into a frenzy but as soon as you left the doors you realise your still in pain/fat/depressed and these things have no effect in a real life setting.
I truly hope you find it works for you, perhaps im to cynical for my own good but personally I would save my money.
Take care xxx
It's techniques are considered to have a fairly high efficacy and as a component of treatment it shows great promise when embedded within DBT as a way of managing traditionally 'difficult to treat/manage' psychiatric patients including those with BPD.
It did feel a bit cultish during the session. They kept repeating ''Because it works!'' a lot.
I've been practising staying in the moment when i'm out and about , rather than dwelling on problems, but part of my problem is not getting stuff done, so I can't see how not thinking about paying bills etc is going to help me.
I did buy the best book going (so I'm told) by Professor Mark Williams. It comes with a CD of exercises and these are excellent. It was very reasonable on Amazon and gets great reviews.
What worked for me in the end was hypnotherapy, and learning to self-hypnotise. Much more useful than mindfulness for me, and leaves me relaxed rather than drained.
Peter_CJ, I've read with interest your posts on Mindfulness, which is something I hadn't heard of before reading your previous posts on the subject. I need something to combat stress that has left me with a chronic illness. I'm reading Mindfulness in Plain English and I'm interested in getting a CD for some practical help and practice. In your post I've quoted, you've linked to a book with an 8 week course and also CDs with JKZ's voice. Are you able to recommend which one of these I should start with as a complete beginner? Thanks
Thanks so much for the tip Jimbo. I've googled it, it looks good. Going to start tomorrow
If you want guidance during the practice of Mindfulness, then JKZ is the one to go for.
There are imitators popping up all over the place now, but I recommend getting it from the horse’s mouth.
JKZ communicates calm and relaxation in his voice, if you listen to his CD you will see what I mean.
There is more to Mindfulness than just meditation, which is what the book explains.
That said, it taught me some really easy ways to stay positive - simple things about how you use language (a bit NLT like) - rather than saying "I'm ok" if someone asks how you are, say something like "I'm fantastic".
And like Mindstore says - It Only Works!
Thanks for your reply. I think I need guidance during the practice to get me off to the right start..... I tend to live in my head, so my head is usually buzzing and I find it difficult to quiet my mind of my own accord!
I am hoping that this could help me to control my stress levels and make a big difference to my life.
Aim to focus on your breathing without changing it. Your mind will wander, that's part of the process, and to be expected. When you notice your thoughts straying, just refocus on your breathing.
The harder it is, the more you need it – see it that way around.
Breathing is automatic, i.e. it’s controlled by your autonomic nervous system, and meditating can be about learning to observe what is going on within you.
As JKZ says: “we can't forget to breathe”, because it’s a part of us that runs on autopilot.
Stress is often due to automatic thoughts running just below the surface of conscious awareness. When you start to get in touch with those thoughts, it can be a bit scary, or cause irritation, it can feel as if things have got worse. Whereas, it’s just the early part of making some progress. You are starting to open up your awareness. But you don’t need to do anything except observe, while continually returning the focus to your breath, i.e. don’t chase the thoughts, just let them go, and return to the automatic part of you that carries on breathing 24/7/365.
I don't have any experience with the CBT based ones - but I do have a little experience with Vipassana meditation retreats. I'm sure they must have a lot in common.
Mindfulness meditation has transformed my life. I used to be extremely irritable, constantly stressed out over all kinds of things, regardless of whether it was a trivial or substantial matter. I couldn't appreciate the things going on in my life, especially other people, because I found myself dwelling on the past or fantasing about some future where things would all work out right. I would get myself stuck in the same ruts of thinking day after day after day.
Don't get me wrong - I'm far from perfect. I'm not saying I don't still experience these things, because I do. It's pretty normal, especially if you've developed these thought habits for years upon years. But they don't affect me anywhere near as much as they used to. When I get upset or irritated about something, those feelings don't linger with me for the rest of the day, the way they used to. Non-judgemental, impersonal awareness changes the way things are experienced. Anger that is noticed is different to just being angry. Lust that is noticed is different to just being lustful. Joy that is noticed is different to just being joyful.
It's this part of mindfulness that is most rewarding. The calm and concentration and you often feel while sitting in a meditation session can be relaxing and peaceful, but very gradually, if you maintain the practice, the mindfulness you cultivate during those sessions starts popping into the rest of your day and provides you with a different quality of life.
Thanks for this. It's going to be a struggle at first but constant stress is something I really need to get to grips with as it's ruining my life. Even thinking about certain things makes me feel immediately ill and uptight.
Snozzcumber, the way you were sounds like the way I am now. Hopefully I can get the same effects as you. How long did it take you to notice a real difference?