Meditation and Mindfulness

[Zlajo]

That help me too! ACT is based on zen, which is not religion. That is philosophy and my friend recommended me zen few years ago. Unfortunately, I didn't listened her.

But few months ago, I discovered ACT and now I am reading great book:

The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety: A Guide to Breaking Free from Anxiety, Phobias, and Worry Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Now I feel big changes in my life.

[baku]

I don't meditate even though there are many opportunities to do so here in San Francisco. Instead, I listen to Pema Chodron on YouTube or listen to her tapes, which are available at my public library. I think that if you're in a crisis state, meditation and tapes do not necessarily help. Sometimes, when I am not in crisis mode, I build up my internal resources so that when I do get into crisis mode (which still happens, but happens less), I can deal with it better. The good thing about anxiety or negativity is that it's transient; it's horrible but it will only last so long. That's one of the lessons I learned from Pema Chodron that has helped me tremendously.

[isis]

I strongly recommend meditation. After looking at several websites, this one remains my favorite:

www.wildmind.org

[softshock11]

It works perfect with anxiety, impatience and feeling closed up around people.
everyone should have a power mantra

[familyguy]

I started looking at mindfulness meditation after watching this great presentation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nwwKbM_vJc

I tried to practice it myself but found it quite difficult to sustain. My mind keeps wandering around. But the concept of living in the present really helped me.

Will try the resource recommended on this thread. Thanks!

[rad]

I meditate on a daily basis, I use Holosync meditation. I'm actually using it now as I type this.

Meditation is important because you can find out the real reasons why you have social anxiety. You can have awareness of the thoughts that are causing the social anxiety, along with the feelings and emotions. Because social anxiety is not just about the anxiety, there are certain thought patterns, beliefs and past childhood memories that go with it. Meditation helps to bring that into conscious awareness, slow your thoughts down, and you can even write them down on a notebook. And then I neutralize those thoughts with EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique)

[don36]

They tried to teach us about Mindfulness at a hospital I used to be a patient at - they had a great CD which they played each morning - I'm sure it is just one of many techniques but it was great - the method was basically to just sit with your eyes closed and listen to whatever sounds were around you at the time. It was difficult at first , but after a while it really did help me relax, and after a session each morning I would be relaxed all morning - hard to believe but true.

I had completely forgotten about it until I saw this thread about 2 minutes ago. Thanks for reminding me - the hardest thing that I've found is to actually keep doing it when I get back home. It's probably more laziness on my part, not because it doesn't work.

Thanks again.

[Fetch]

I'd really like to start meditating... Have been thinking about it for a while now actually. But I have a lot of questions about how it is done.

Is it best done at night before bed? Or in the morning after waking up?
Should you not do it on a full stomach? Or does that even make a difference?
Should I meditate to soft soothing music or maybe some ocean sounds, a guided meditation or nothing at all? Also, if you do have any specific music suggestions I'd love to hear them!
Do you sit on the floor cross legged or on a chair? What about a balance ball?

That was a lot of questions... I would really really appreciate some answers!!

[don36]

Hi Fetch,

well I think some people will tell you different things to me but I know that I'm really lazy and have trouble with motivation. I have learnt a few different methods while I was an inpatient at a hospital - mindfullness comes from Zen Buddhism - with it's emphasis on being in the here and now - so the thing is to try and focus on what is happening right now. The best one we ever did did not require anything much at all - didn't really matter about any of the things you asked above - which is great because you can do it anywhere, anytime. It was basically just a matter of closing your eyes ( technically you don't even have to do this, if you don't need to. ) , and listening to sounds. Or you can focus on your breathing instead, but for some reason the listening to the sounds around me really worked. We didn't have to actually do anything. It was weird at first, and seemed very strange, but the aim is just to quiet your mind a bit - we did it every morning at 8 o'clock - after a while I really looked forward to it, it often actually felt like I'd had a Valium or something and it lasted all morning. Maybe look it up on youtube? or I'm sure there are plenty of CD's around as well.

My problem, especially when I was younger, was my ego - for some reason I always thought that for something to help me it must be very sophisticated and clever ( stupid, I know! ) I used to be a bit of an intellectual snob - I thought I was so clever - it was just because I was young and ignorant. Now I don't care how simple it is - the simpler the better - as I said, I'm lazy!

[Deserted]

Meditation works wonders for me. Go for it!

[Hyperborea]

Good site about meditation and mindfulness.

http://www.audiodharma.org/series/1/talk/1796/

[courtneyharris788]

I'm just doing yoga because it relaxes me. I am also wearing KECHARA HEALING CHAKRAS necklace. It Strengthens mental health & well being. Try it for yourself.

[Tanya88]

i just recently started meditating, it has worked wonders for me. It is difficult to get into at first but it is really great for calming my body down and decreasing my anxious reactions to things. I now meditate twice a day, once for ten minutes and the second time before bed for 30 minutes. It eases my mind.

[koiviston33]

Thank you – I have read this and smiled and it has really made me think

social wallpapers
desktop wallpapers

[Psychofarm]

Originally Posted by movingforward80

I think if you keep on practicing meditation; you will get better at it. It's like building a muscle.

My previous therapist, who specialized in anxiety and convinced me to start a meditation practice, said those who stand to derive the most benefit from meditation often find it the most difficult. I think this is true, as those of us with anxiety in one form or another often have a very active mind with run-away thoughts, as well as physical symptoms that interfere with reaching a meditative state (we are a very sensitive bunch, on the whole).

I have seen some benefits but my biggest obstacle has been the discipline to practice regularly (who would think sitting and doing nothing for 20-30 minutes could be so challenging!). I practiced nearly every day for almost 3 months and my overall mood improved as well as sleep patterns, but I got back into smoking pot again briefly (which really interferes with calming my mind) and have since corrected that once again, so I'm giving it another go.

[jerii]

Meditation is my main stress control mechanism. It has improved every facet of my life, hands down.

[xacto]

I meditated consistently for about a year, and I'd say it was one of the better periods in my life (in general and in terms of SA). I'm trying to get back into it now.

For those looking to get started, I recommend the book "8 Minute Meditation" (http://www.amazon.com/Minute-Meditat...ute+meditation)

It's very easy to read, entertaining, and gives you a taste of several different types of meditation. It's a step-by-step guide. If you just do what the book says, you should see results.

This is my first post on this site. I hope it helps someone.

[Harmony1]

Originally Posted by Volcom23

I'd already tried meditation and I'm working on it now. I still don't see any results but I could see that my negative thought patterns are slowly subduing. I don't know if meditation really helps me but the idea of mindfulness guided me in my everyday life. Mindfulness is good. Any good books can you suggest that will help me in doing my daily meditation?

Dunno about books, but I have a 'Contentment' App that reminds me every day to enter some positive things and then meditate for a while.

I've never done much with the meditation, but have found journaling and keeping track of my mood to be helpful. When keeping track of my mood I noticed after a while that the ZERO days never lasted more than a few days, so eventually I got used to the idea that whatever I was feeling was temporary and it didn't bother me so much anymore.

[AdrienBronersDad]

I'd recommend Holosync I've been using it everyday since 2009 and it has changed my life!!

http://youtu.be/tzpXa9PRqZc

[Marc999]

Originally Posted by AdrienBronersDad

I'd recommend Holosync I've been using it everyday since 2009 and it has changed my life!!

http://youtu.be/tzpXa9PRqZc

First post and you spam some random link, pertaining to the questionable Holosync? Thanks for trying to sell your wares and take advantage of people in a vulnerable state, mr. man.

On target: Yes I've done mindfulness meditation sessions before with an east Indian practitioner. Group sessions were usually once per week, for 6 week duration. Each session was about 2 hours in length and consisted of a weekly topic which was discussed, followed by various meditation practices. Breathing exercises, chants and so on.

It was quite relaxing, yet I did find that unless you actively practice it at home, then it almost becomes just a novelty to attend and nothing that lasted. So, in other words, you have to be very disciplined and want to do this while away from the group atmosphere. I just wasn't persistent. Perhaps I'll try again sometime.