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Go Back   Spiritual Forums > Spirituality & Beliefs > Meditation

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  #11  
Old 02-11-2019, 08:17 AM
JustASimpleGuy
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ariaecheflame
I do practice conscious breathing awareness, and body awareness/scanning for half an hour each morning. In the evening I practice non judgemental observation of my day (like watching a movie of my day in fast forward).

All of those are components of some of the practices you'll find in the MBSR course. I'm sure you'll make that connection if you already haven't. Sounds like you a have a leg up!
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  #12  
Old 04-11-2019, 10:24 PM
Ariaecheflame Ariaecheflame is offline
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Hello
I thought I'd share some of my experience of the course so far.

I've made my preliminary effort than read through week one.

Even reading the content and watching the videos is a mindfulness exercise in itself as my adhd brain gets so easily bored and distracted that I have to keep reminding myself to come back to the content rather then look at somthing random which captured my attention, like a crow or a mouse or a possum or the wind capturing the branches Lol.

There are three main categories of learning to participate in this week.

The body scan meditation is a little bit more comprehensive then the one I was doing in my own practice. I still always manage to fall asleep early on during meditation but the effects of my practice are still positive inspite of the fact that I fall asleep as soon as I stop moving lol. I often really seem to need that sleep anyway.

I learnt the true meaning behind the phrase 'coming to your senses' haha... Quite literally, it means tuning into your senses in any given moment.
I'm going to try to do this whenever I'm feeling overwhelmed in noisy environments where there are multiple sources of outside information to process. I often feel quite overwhelmed by all the different things going on in highly energised environments such as shopping centres..so. I think this exercise might help me remind myself that these sensations are not a threat to me which might help me to calm my nervous system.

There is also content in mindful eating which is cool as I was already beginning to look at my relationship with food.
I find eating a bit of an inconvenience, so I eat rather mindlessly yet hold onto weight even if I don't eat much.
So I'm looking forward to easing into the feelings and thoughts I have about nourishment.

I'm really enjoying the layout and content of this course, it's actually kind of fun.

Humans learn better when things are fun and I, sir or madam, am no exception.

Goodbye for now, dear readers!
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  #13  
Old 04-11-2019, 11:06 PM
JustASimpleGuy
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Very cool!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ariaecheflame
I learnt the true meaning behind the phrase 'coming to your senses' haha... Quite literally, it means tuning into your senses in any given moment. I'm going to try to do this whenever I'm feeling overwhelmed in noisy environments where there are multiple sources of outside information to process. I often feel quite overwhelmed by all the different things going on in highly energised environments such as shopping centres..so. I think this exercise might help me remind myself that these sensations are not a threat to me which might help me to calm my nervous system.

Yes, body scans are quite useful, convenient and relaxing to boot! I often settle into full body scan during driving or sitting at my laptop while working.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ariaecheflame
There is also content in mindful eating which is cool as I was already beginning to look at my relationship with food. I find eating a bit of an inconvenience, so I eat rather mindlessly yet hold onto weight even if I don't eat much. So I'm looking forward to easing into the feelings and thoughts I have about nourishment.

Oh yeah, I find it slows me down and I actually taste the food. In the past I use to wolf down food. I was known as a notorious chow hound. LOL!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ariaecheflame
I'm really enjoying the layout and content of this course, it's actually kind of fun.

I thought the same just browsing through the content and I especially liked the videos. The speakers are established in the field and the organization of the presentations is well thought out.

Frankly I was amazed when I found it and more amazed when I began to browse through it. MBSR training is not cheap and I don't know how well it's covered by insurance.

Glad you're finding it engaging and already seeing some aspects you can put into practice.
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  #14  
Old 05-11-2019, 04:37 AM
Ariaecheflame Ariaecheflame is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JustASimpleGuy
Very cool!



Yes, body scans are quite useful, convenient and relaxing to boot! I often settle into full body scan during driving or sitting at my laptop while working.

I have tried the body scan while driving but I don't it TOO relaxing and for safety reasons am not yet at the level to try again hahah


Oh yeah, I find it slows me down and I actually taste the food. In the past I use to wolf down food. I was known as a notorious chow hound. LOL!

LOL... relatable, I put my own fast eating down to "competitive youngest child syndrome"

I thought the same just browsing through the content and I especially liked the videos. The speakers are established in the field and the organization of the presentations is well thought out.

Frankly I was amazed when I found it and more amazed when I began to browse through it. MBSR training is not cheap and I don't know how well it's covered by insurance.

Glad you're finding it engaging and already seeing some aspects you can put into practice.


Yeah, I feel amazed too and excited. That is why I wanted to give a few updates here and there because it's such a wonderful resource.
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  #15  
Old 07-11-2019, 08:11 PM
Ariaecheflame Ariaecheflame is offline
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I'm at the end of week one and have begun reading for week two.

I'm very restless today. In week two, the practice is sitting meditation which I've done exactly none of because it seems difficult and uncomfortable lol
I find chairs generally uncomfortable so I think I'll sit on the floor on cushions.

I'm actually not looking forward to sitting meditation hahahahaha. I am in pain today, my body is aching which I've numbed with painkillers and caffeine lol. I'm having a rest day from meditation on the guidance of the actual course and also the guidance of my spirit guide.

There is meant to be a day each week of no meditation to prepare for the following week.

Hey, in the church I grew up in, the Sabbath day of rest was extremely important haha. I'm taking my Sabbath on Friday lol. My childhood deity would be proud haha.

I have had a guide during waking daydreams who is assisting me in this journey. Out of the blue about two weeks ago, a monk entered my awareness (in spirit) to mentor me. I am not religious, new age, Buddhist, I am nothing at all and I wasn't expecting a monk to enter into my awareness as a guide haha.

This guide said that he has a lot to learn from me, mostly patience haha ha. I have a highly distratable mind and a health condition which effects my hormones and moods, so I'm fairly unpredictable and changeable. Apparently I make an excellent candidate to teach patience haha ha. That makes me laugh so much!

Anyway, sitting meditation will be interesting, I feel like it will really get me to have a look at discomfort objectively.

I feel like a rest day really is needed lol... I need to ground and gather my inner strength for what is to come haha ha.

In other news -- this week I have enjoyed many more social interactions then usual. Usually social anxiety overcomes me. I met some interesting people and had some very lovely conversations while out in town, running day to day errands. Each of these interactions flowed without any real effort from me. I really didn't even try or look for connection... I guess that I just noticed it.

I even reconnected with an old collegue and we arranged to meet up at the local cafe next week!
I made contact with a few friends who live in different cities too.

The change this week has been that I feel more open and secure in my own vulnerability as a human being.
I'm really happy to have made so many connections this week.

So far, if I had to rate this course, I'd give it a 9/10 for the benefits I have noticed in my personalife and the flow on effects for others too.

I'm only taking one point off 10 because I don't like discomfort and I am not looking forward to sitting still lol!

That is an extremely biased rating system lol!!
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  #16  
Old 07-11-2019, 08:49 PM
JustASimpleGuy
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It's important to have a comfortable posture. I had arthroscopic surgery for knee cartilage in '86 so the floor is basically out, regardless how many cushions I use or how I arrange them. Doesn't do the trick and I've tried. Meditation can even be done lying down, just don't fall to sleep. LOL!

As far as discomfort, and I think you're talking about physical discomfort, I believe that was one of the early applications of MBSR - pain management.

Glad to hear you've enjoyed social interactions this week. No doubt the program is playing a part, and probably so quickly because of your attitude which seems very positive! We can shape our experience of reality, no doubt about that!

So it's a pretty intensive course I gather, what with the reading, videos and exercises/practices. In a way I'd think that gets one absorbed in the course. Don't give them time to think! Hahah!
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  #17  
Old 07-11-2019, 09:08 PM
Ariaecheflame Ariaecheflame is offline
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Lol...

No time to think ...

Speaking of thinking -

I think that a certain and of experience would be useful for this course, not absolutely required but useful perhaps.
If I'd come from a background of zero meditation I might simply take it at a slower pace then what I am.

When I first started meditating a few years ago, it was heavily focused on clearing ancestral wounds and karma, it was very visual and more like journey work and soul retrieval.

This training would not have been suitable then, at the same pace anyway.

In the domain of mindfulness meditation, I am a baby
A few months ago I couldn't even meditate on my breath for a few minutes because my boredom threshold was so low and I found boredom so painful.

Mindfulness has been in my awareness for a long time though. Decades even.

I think that every teeny, tiny, little experience of it up until now has all been part of an ongoing practice of sorts.
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  #18  
Old 07-11-2019, 09:56 PM
JustASimpleGuy
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ariaecheflame
Lol...

No time to think ...

Speaking of thinking -

I think that a certain and of experience would be useful for this course, not absolutely required but useful perhaps.
If I'd come from a background of zero meditation I might simply take it at a slower pace then what I am.

When I first started meditating a few years ago, it was heavily focused on clearing ancestral wounds and karma, it was very visual and more like journey work and soul retrieval.

This training would not have been suitable then, at the same pace anyway.

In the domain of mindfulness meditation, I am a baby
A few months ago I couldn't even meditate on my breath for a few minutes because my boredom threshold was so low and I found boredom so painful.

Mindfulness has been in my awareness for a long time though. Decades even.

I think that every teeny, tiny, little experience of it up until now has all been part of an ongoing practice of sorts.

It's all cumulative and I suspect the work you have already done, even though not technically mindfulness, will help because all types of meditations have similarities.
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  #19  
Old 10-11-2019, 12:21 AM
Ariaecheflame Ariaecheflame is offline
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Did my first sitting meditation yesterday.

While I was in the car with my husband, he was holding my hand which was actually quite a useful link for me to remain present. Lol... That's a romance story hey... Just kidding!
were waiting for my daughters show to start and I had 20minutes to spare for meditation.

There was a lot of outside noise though, music, passing cars, people talking on The street, dogs barking. I decided to use it as an opportunity to explore the sensations I feel around noise. Turns out that I find some noises painful. The sound of cars with certain engine types actually feel painful to me in my solar plexus and my heart. I am quite sensitive to car engine noises haha... And I notice the slightest change in how my own car or other people's cars are operating because of this.

I could feel the energy of the cars pass through my body! So I simply observed these sensations and let them pass through my body. After about ten minutes of meditation, I noticed that I could still feel the physical sensation and the vibrational wave of the passing cars but I allowed them in, almost like experiencing a labour contraction!

I sensed when a car was coming and I just allow the wave of energy to pass through. I noticed that I feel the energy of things and places more so then energy of individual people, I feel collective energy. I do occasionally feel individual energy but I'm more naturally sensitive to collective energy and the energy of places and sometimes things.

I'd like to do some more of this kind of meditate as an experiment. I'm interested to see if it might help me to be more tolerant of noisy environments.
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  #20  
Old 19-11-2019, 10:51 AM
Ariaecheflame Ariaecheflame is offline
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I'm in week three and still going... It's a yoga week which I'm actually happy about as it's nice to get energy moving after week two...

It has actually been quite a difficult week this week as I've really had to sit with a lot of uncomfortable emotions. I've never truly resonated much with yoga until now... It is nice to put actual physical motion into the emotions. I guess it helps to energetically shift some of the tougher painful cdrappy stuff.


I must be fairly ready to embrace the entire process though as I'm determined to see it through to week eight.
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