Things we do to keep us sane

[pedro]

wow,sane,hmmm,might be past that point , oh well ,just by remembering to breath deep and pull it all back to earth and cemtre is the best way i know to keep on top of the insane mess we call a functioning planet
light and love
Pedro

[Xan]

There's nothing like daily meditation in one's quiet center to build up sanity, little by little.

Here's one: Three Steps into your true nature - http://www.spiritualforums.com/vb/showthread.php?p=32551#post32551


Xan

[blackraven]

Lilstar07 - What a great post! So positive! I meditate daily to bring myself back to a positive place to which I can continue to operate within for the remainder of the day. But my greatest passion is my art. I reach my greatest spiritual plateau each time I put brush on canvas. I have 9 of my numerous paintings hanging on my home's walls, all of which tell a little story. I feel totally in my element when I am painting. It's the only time when I do. Unfortunately I haven't painted in 2 years. But that doesn't mean the paintings aren't upstairs in my mind waiting to come out onto canvas.

Blackraven

When it comes to real insanity, now that I have become sane, I don't have to think much about staying sane. I am positive, even in my belief that it is impossible to go backwards from how far I have come. I do not believe in relapse, therefore my reality is what is. I believe mental illness can be cured completely.
Naturally, I still have down moments, certainly they are nothing compared to clinical depression, those moments I celebrate as genuine and true, things like sadness, and resentment that comes up, have to be dealt with, not shoved inside to build up and explode, thus i do not always agree with distractions. I believe in being positively aware of emotions, dealing with them, making the choice to move on and learn from them, and changing my reality to a positive one. It is always our fault to how we react, we always have a choice of the matter. Things cannot be blamed, on anything else. We always have the power to defeat anything. The power of the mind is greatly disregarded.
I defeated Schizophrenia, Psychosis, Bi Polar, Clinical Depression, Borderline Personality Disorder, AntiSocial Personality Disorder, Addictions, and all of the other mental illnesses i was ever diagnosed with, I even have a new found love for the snow and gloomy weather, when i before had Seasonal Affective Disorder.
Well in all, it was a lot of things that led me to complete recovery, but the main things were faith, positive thoughts, and letting go of each and every resentment and fear, being truthfully honest to myself. And learning self awareness.

Some random things I did, were compile a huge playlist of songs to listen to, that were all positive. Music reaches my soul. I also danced, hip hop, and krump and belly dance. Dancing makes me happier than anything, i get into such a trance, i can release all my emotions that way, especially if i dance in public, or at a bus stop, where everyone can see my embarrassing scene, and i celebrate my individuality, and love myself.
Krump is an interesting dance style, it originated on the streets, as a way to stray from violence. Gangs and fighting parties, would use Krumping in order to fight. The whole point of it, is to bring out your soul, your emotions, and release it through extreme moves, and you battle without touching the other person. That is what all dance should be, not just based around releasing anger, but to dance and release your soul.
I also like to work out, but considering how i used to be addicted to it, i had to cut down. I found new enjoyment in things i used to despise, like relaxing.
I still remember the first time i felt real happiness. It was stunning, amazing. And the first time i felt real love. I had never felt those things in my entire life. Being thankful helped me, and learning to be happy.

Writing poetry and novels and journalling... i used to say it kept me sane. Because i could release my hatred and torment on paper, but all it ever did was allow me to bask in my disturbing ideas more, and it never really did me any justice. I still ended up locked away in mental institutions for insanity and attempted murders.
But considering, i have millions of pages of the most disturbing things, i realized writing like that, was never truly helpful. Focusing on the problem never made me any better. Instead i stopped writing about bad things, and changed to only writing good things. The same about talking about my problems, i used to think it was good for me, hashing over the problem, repeatedly, to everyone who would listen. It was not good for me. I could talk for hours about my problems, but that did not enable me to let them go, it only worsened them. Sort of like reliving trauma.

I find happiness in everything, and if i don't, i make myself. I view all of life as beautiful and happy. And i pay attention to the little, small things, that i would have taken for granted before.

Very nice post Ciqala, thank you.
I can definitely relate to what you are saying about reveling too much in your problems. Sometimes there is a morbid sense of relief or joy however slight or masked from being at the bottom of the barrel or with your back against the wall. I think it is the knowing that life can't get any worse so this is a safe place to be.

Coming back to the positive, i tend to breathe out my worries and torments. Literally i inhale deeply and breathe them out through my mouth with a long exhale then bask in the nothing between breaths. Thee really is a strange tingling joy between breaths, once you have oxygenated your body by breathing for a while.

It also helps to realize that most of fears are just in our head. They are things that haven't happened yet and are unlikely to happen either. Often it is that third party that enjoys developing the woes whilst you look on in terror.
It can help also by becoming the witness. Witness what your mind is doing and often it will stop. Don't try to rationalize or justify, just witness the process like a mental pause between breaths.

On an even more practical note, exercise is very beneficial as it releases endorphins which are natural opiates to help you deal with stress and anxiety. Also it makes you feel useful and gives purpose to your day.

Another thing one can do which helped me out of the last cloud is repeating mantras to yourself.
Every day
In every way,
I AM
Getting better, and better,
AND BETTER...

Say it a few times with the emphasis as illustrated and then smile even if you don't feel like it.
The mantra when repeated, true or not will trick you into thinking and feeling better. The smile is an automatic reaction, when you smile ( try it now ) you automatically raise your vibration. Its another trick. The body is the mirror of the soul and nowhere else can we gauge the souls temperament better than the face.
Remember that film where the lady says " i never did care about the little things" and then she smiles?

Good luck everyone, be present here and now and be grateful ( another trick ).

Just to add also that i know it can be difficult to receive help. One feels like shutting themselves off using their worries like a big duvet to disappear under.
Just remember that in order to receive help the door must be open as with most things in life.

To gain more knowledge a master takes on an apprentice as it is the giving that opens the door for them to receive.

In order to experience love from someone else one must first love one's self.

If you need money then give money. When ever i give to the homeless on the spur of the moment it always comes back.

If you feel you need help then open the door to receive it by giving help where you can. Come out from that blanket and give someone a kind word or two. Smile at a stranger. It doesn't have to be something big, you just need to open the door.

Learning keeps me sane! and it is something I constantly strive to be doing. I find comfort in the realization that we CAN'T worry about the things we have no control over; we have to take our hand of cards and play our game the best we can, (but in a way, like poker, we do have some CONTROL over how our cards play, ie; trading in for another, etc...) and how do I do this? By LEARNING all I can about my "cards" and other players' "cards" so I can play the best game possible. Please keep your minds open- it's our BEST medicine!

[Xan]

Here's a good way to get sane and make sure you stay that way:

EFT - Emotional Freedom Techniques - http://www.spiritualforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=4478


Xan