Mindfulness and Other Mind Games

Sundenis said...

...sensory deprivation in a flotation tank. I have not pulled the trigger but probably will soon.

Gentlemen,

If you are going to try that, make sure you watch the old(er) movie "Altered States",

/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altered_States

and report to us if you notice any unusual physical changes...

Robert

"I've found Echart Tolle's "The Power of Now" helpful in learning to live in the present moment. "

I did not expect to see a Power of Now reference here, that book will change you, if you let it. You liked it Dreamer?

"Probably not many here would be too interested but "Meditations" written over 2000 years ago by Marcus Aurelius has a lot of relevance today."

I am, not much has changed in those 2000 years, talk about an RCT.

I've explored a variety of relaxation techniques since the 1960s going through Transcendental Mediation (TM), The Relaxation Response, guided imagery, a host of others, and, more lately mindfulness. What I actually practice is a custom mix of what I have found works for me.

I am also a fan of Rick Hanson's book "Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love & Wisdom" which arrived at pre-Dx at a time in my life when I really needed a boost due to other, non-physical health issues.

The bottom line, for me, is that through the practice over time, I have learned that thoughts will continue to flow and attempting to block them is a fool's errand. However, what I have learned to control is how I react to those thoughts emotionally. I recognize the thought, and say "Oh, you again," and go on to the next thought, I don't pull up a chair and invite the unpleasant thoughts to sit and visit for a while.

BTW, a few years ago I was in the pilot run for a Massive open Online Courses (MOOCs) offered by U.C. Berkeley, "The Science of Happiness." The class covered much of what I later found beneficial through both my wife's cancer treatment and mine. The course is now free and self-paced:


/www.edx.org/course/the-science-of-happiness

Well, I pulled the trigger, Wednesday will have a one hour massage and a one-hour "float" which is the sensory deprivation tank.

When I had my MPMRI, which was also an hour, the technician asked me if I was concerned about small spaces, I said: "I have been in a torpedo tube with a torpedo" she said you good!

I am intrigued by the float tank and am looking forward to it. I have experienced a few longer meditations like 45 minutes and have come away really at peace. I will let you all know how it goes.

I don’t see mindfulness as religion at all, my understanding of it is that it’s just learning to focus on the now by creating a different relationship with, or view of, anxiety.
I think that big picture, this thread is about ways to cope with stress and anxiety, not religion at all.

If any of the other mods disagree, feel free to lock.

It’s not overtly religious, I’d say.

Redwing,

While it's true that Jon Kabat-Zinn is a Buddhist, he adapted Mindfulness and sanitized it of religious content for his patients at UMass Medical. Mindfulness may be practiced by people of any faith or no faith, without violating any faith tradition. The administrator of HW has publicly advocated its practice, so I think we are very safe in discussing it.

sorry, I just read Jim's post - repetitive

Anxiety can have roots in brain chemical imbalance. I've had generalized anxiety for most of my life. Celexa, an anti-anxiety selective serontonin reuptake inhibitor, is incalculably helpful. Life is good.

It doesn't really matter but these are 2 different things. Mindfulness isn't really religious at all, meditation doesn't have to be either but most people say ( deleted - no ref to religion ).
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Though it’s often a fine line, here’s the main difference between the two: Meditation is a large umbrella term that encompasses the practice of reaching ultimate consciousness and concentration, to acknowledge the mind and, in a way, self-regulate it. It can involve a lot of techniques or practices to reach this heightened level of consciousness — including compassion, love, patience, and of course, mindfulness. So mindfulness is a type of meditation, alongside tantra, yoga, silence, breathing, and emptiness.

Mindfulness is the act of focusing on being in the present, such as focusing completely on drinking a hot cup of tea, taking in its scent, warmth, and taste and removing overpowering emotions from the mind.

“Mindfulness is a form of meditation,” Lodro Rinzler, a meditation author and teacher, as well as founder of MNDFL, told Medical Daily. “There are many forms of meditation, including contemplation and visualization, but mindfulness is the type where you bring your full mind to an object.” Being mindful of your breath, for example, is a common form of mindfulness during meditation. Following your breath improves your awareness of being in the present. This is called mindfulness meditation, known as shamatha among Buddhists.

The practice of meditation predates the idea of mindfulness, (deleted - no reference to religion, rule number 6)

Post Edited By Moderator (Pratoman) : 8/12/2018 7:49:40 AM (GMT-6)

I've recently started using CBD oil for anxiety and have found it most helpful.

Saipan Paradise said...
This thread gets better by the minute. Denis, take me with you! I desperately want sensory deprivation!!

Larry, dogs are definitely GFYPH.....

HA...what I want is sensory elevation

I'm so glad Prato is getting serious about self-help, and mindfulness is a fine effort, not to be taken superficially....ya gotta be patient and work at it, Ken.

I've been lucky, the only help I've needed is the love and support of my wife, Silvia, and my therapy dog, Sophie.

Yep, like I said earlier, for years I meditated and even was trained in hypnosis in Anesthesia and self hypnosis. But in latter years, though I was pretty dedicated and took classes and read books, I changed my mind about their value and I settled on reading just one book on different subject matter and concentrating on it. To the point where I might be said to meditate on it's pages. But I was previously quite dedicated to the practice of meditation, as many are these days, so I hear. I was less of a fan of it however after I had already quit, and later found out that the secret mantra assigned to me at graduation from meditation classes was the name of a **** ***(asterisks place by BB).

Post Edited (BillyBob@388) : 8/12/2018 4:12:17 PM (GMT-6)

I began formal sitting meditation practice in 1968...counting breaths 1-10, then 1-2, then "in,out" until I could just be "empty". I employed it as a sleep aid and as a way to get through moments of extreme anxiety. Thoughts are like bubbles floating up through the water - I just watch them go by, but I do not follow.

Then I began using it in my Taekwondo (martial arts) practice. I found that - if I could be "empty" in the ring, I was fast like lightening. I could do serious power breaks, I learned how invoke the Red Tunnel vision that accompanies a state of extreme rage and direct it at a stack of boards or a concrete block. (fun factoid - when I found out where the big red switch was to turn on my rage, I also learned where to go to turn it off!!)

I moved on to a "walking meditation" state when I become Empty whenever I have a moment or opportunity while I am doing something else routine. When I am waiting for the doctor or standing in line at the store, I meditate. The best recent session was my last bone scan. The technician noted how well I did in the scanner, asked if I would allow her to do a full 3 -D scan of my spinal column (no charge). Altogether I ended up under the scanner for a couple of hours (this past March). I became Empty and just lay there breathing and observing as my mind went places. I did not "attach" to any thoughts, just watched them float by. I chose to consider it an opportunity for an extended meditation session to my own profit. Extremely restful and calming experience.

It is supposed to take about 20 years of 20 minutes/day daily practice to measurably thicken the grey matter in your cerebral cortex and to gain the level of serenity that is the goal of the practice. It gives one a measure of control (or the illusion of control, which is almost as good) over the emotional impact of life events.

"Mindfulness" is "being here, now" or "being in the moment". Example: If you are eating, pay attention to every bite. Cut off a small piece of food, smell it, look at it before putting it in your mouth. Chew it thoroughly, taste it completely, then feel it go down your throat and into your stomach. Do not think of anything else while you are doing this. Stop and appreciate it for a moment before you do that again.

That is how I am dealing with stage 3&7/8 acinar adenocarcinoma. I understand and accept that it is now part of me and will likely eventually kill me (if something else doesn't first). I have learned a ton about it in the last 5 years (part of that right here), have thought about all of the ways it can kill me, how much it could hurt, all of the treatments and the side effects, what I will have to do to deal with that....on and on until it is no longer quite so scary as it was at first. I have a game plan in place for where I am with it now and other things for when/if it gets "bad". Daily meditation is a major part of that strategy.