Lifestyle Mindfulness

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Dick Niaz

Yearning for TMMAC days gone by
Jan 14, 2018
12,279
25,547
I wanted to start a thread about "Mindfulness." It is a central part of my life. One I came to out of necessity when I felt like I was going to break from anxiety and depression. It was a really low point in my life and made some major changes including stopping drinking for a while, getting back to a regular exercise routine, keeping a daily journal, and meditating. The meditating brought me to Headspace (meditation app) which helped me start to understand the concept of Mindfulness.

For those who aren't familiar, Mindfulness is simply the purposeful awareness of all that is happening in the present moment within and outside you while withholding any judgement. We are not our thoughts or emotions. Those get in the way of us experiencing life in the present moment. We spend so much of our lives unconsciously thinking about the past (which we can't change) or worrying about the future (which we can't control) that we miss out on life, because all life is is a series of "right nows."

Understanding and practicing Mindfulness helped me to distance my true self and my well-being from the anxious thoughts and find inner peace in the present. It changed my outlook on life and will always be something I strive for. I would love to use this thread to discuss Mindfulness - introduce it to those who aren't familiar with it and hear thoughts from those who have embraced it. Hopefully this may help TMMACers who may be in need, and will also be a good reminder to come back to the present moment whenever you check the thread.
 
Jan 21, 2015
3,255
6,074
Yes! Its wonderful stuff

Took a course a few months ago, the wife was curious. It makes perfect sense. Whatever you're doing, just try to have as much attention on what's going on, not other shit past or future.

It's a lot like zen.

Super healthy
 

sparkuri

Pulse On The Finger Of The Community
First 100
Jan 16, 2015
34,420
46,562
You're right.
This is the thread I'm in.
I'm not worried about the next thread alert, it's just a little red flag, what's the worst that can happen?
It's gonna happen anyway, or maybe it's not, who cares?
 

Dick Niaz

Yearning for TMMAC days gone by
Jan 14, 2018
12,279
25,547
This is fantastic! I’m so glad this is a well-received topic. Credit to the community here for being vulnerable and supportive instead of the “OP is a fag” comments you might see on other sites.

Every Monday I send the people on my team a Mindfulness quote and some thoughts to kick off the week. I’ll post the quotes here as well.
 

RaginCajun

The Reigning Undisputed Monsters Tournament Champ
Oct 25, 2015
36,970
93,840
Every Monday I send the people on my team a Mindfulness quote and some thoughts to kick off the week. I’ll post the quotes here as well.
Definitely post them here. Great thread topic.
 

Hong Kong Phooey

Spreading The Coronavirus one Corona at a Time
Feb 12, 2015
4,771
4,736
Excellent topic Dick :)
The BRAIN is real , the mind is not. So many people wandering around without conscience. I call it the Jerry Springer syndrome.
Fortunately like some other members , i experienced Landmark Education many years ago. That was from EST and Werner Erhardts teachings.

Werner Erhard has been creating transformational models and applications for individuals and organizations for over 40 years. Werner Erhard is considered a leading thinker in academic and corporate communities and is currently engaged in rigorous examination and presentation of his ideas. As a creator of models he provides new paradigms to thinkers and practitioners in fields as diverse as philosophy, business, education, psychotherapy, third world development, medicine, conflict resolution, and community building. Werner Erhard has written many scholarly papers about the topics of transformation, integrity, performance, and leadership and has lectured at universities and schools such as Harvard University, The University of Rochester, Erasmus Academie, University of Southern California, MIT’s Sloan School of Management, Dartmouth College, University of British Columbia, Clemson University College of Business, Stanford University. Rutgers University, and UCLA. Werner Erhard's academic work has been cited in numerous academic publications.

I post from time to time to broaden the horizons of members too , good stuff :)
Landmark, The Landmark Forum, Landmark Course Syllabus and Landmark Forum details
( PS. Not everyone is going to get it )
 
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kneeblock

Drapetomaniac
Apr 18, 2015
12,435
23,026
I find things like Mindfulness and similar programs to be like the theosophy of our time. Theosophy was a famous ethos developed by a woman named Madam Helena Blavatsky who turned out to be a charlatan and fraud. It blended elements of eastern esoteric philosophy with western traditions of universalism.

Like Theosophy, mindfulness has had a lot of uptake among prominent people and has caught on in the mental health profession despite not being rigorously studied for its benefits and drawbacks. There's not enough info to say it's bad or good so I don't have a strong opinion about it, but it does seem to share a kinship with programs like LandMark, Law of Attraction, and Theosophy as part of a broad kind of neoliberal approach to mental health. This article I read a few years ago after seeing it spread through parts of the BJJ community gave a decent critique.

Beyond McMindfulness | HuffPost
 

Atto

Chinese Virus
Feb 11, 2016
4,750
5,611
You need to explain more about the changes it brought in you. Did it change the way you think? Etc etc
 

Enock-O-Lypse Now!

Underneath Denver International Airport
Jun 19, 2016
11,737
19,619
I find things like Mindfulness and similar programs to be like the theosophy of our time. Theosophy was a famous ethos developed by a woman named Madam Helena Blavatsky who turned out to be a charlatan and fraud. It blended elements of eastern esoteric philosophy with western traditions of universalism.

Like Theosophy, mindfulness has had a lot of uptake among prominent people and has caught on in the mental health profession despite not being rigorously studied for its benefits and drawbacks. There's not enough info to say it's bad or good so I don't have a strong opinion about it, but it does seem to share a kinship with programs like LandMark, Law of Attraction, and Theosophy as part of a broad kind of neoliberal approach to mental health. This article I read a few years ago after seeing it spread through parts of the BJJ community gave a decent critique.

Beyond McMindfulness | HuffPost

Lol @ Helena, at least you pointed out she was a fraud.

What you are talking about is the New Age movement it’s the same philosophy Oprah - Joey Rogan and all the other Celebs are peddling ...it’s along the lines of Alesiter Crowley’s teachings of Do what that Wilt ....

Humans and their Egos thinking they too are Gods of this World...
 

Dick Niaz

Yearning for TMMAC days gone by
Jan 14, 2018
12,279
25,547
You need to explain more about the changes it brought in you. Did it change the way you think? Etc etc
Where do I begin? I would say overall, I had been living my life unconsciously. As I got older I would worry more and more about things and my mind would never shut up. Mindfulness gave me the tools to accept that those thoughts/feelings were there without having to embody them. I realized that while I can't control what is happening around me, I could control how I responded to things. It made me look at the world through a new lens... or better yet, it allowed me to clear away all the crap that was getting in the way of me seeing clearly. I believe that at our core, there is pure bliss. So many of us though allow things (thoughts, feelings, stresses, worries, etc.) to get in the way of us experiencing that bliss. Practicing Mindfulness has allowed me to do a better job of recognizing when I'm "becoming my thoughts" instead of "being the observer of my thoughts." One of the analogies from Headspace is the idea of Blue Sky. The blue sky is always there. Sometimes clouds (i.e. thoughts) will come into view; sometimes there are lot of clouds; sometimes all we can see is the clouds and even the storm that comes with them. We forget the blue sky is still up there beyond the clouds. Mindfulness allows me to recognize my clouds (thoughts and feelings) and return to that blue sky. It is also a great analogy because storms always pass and the sun will always shine, no matter how dark it may seem at the time.

If anyone is interested in getting a little deeper into understanding Mindfulness, the book "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle was a game changer for me. I highly recommend!

 

IschKabibble

TMMAC Addict
First 100
Jan 15, 2015
15,829
21,573
Heart rate variability: A new way to track well-being

HRV is simply a measure of the variation in time between each heartbeat. This variation is controlled by a primitive part of the nervous system called the autonomic nervous system (ANS). It works regardless of our desire and regulates, among other things, our heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, and digestion. The ANS is subdivided into two large components, the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous system, also known as the fight-or-flight mechanism and the relaxation response.

The brain is constantly processing information in a region called the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus, through the ANS, sends signals to the rest of the body either to stimulate or to relax different functions. It responds not only to a poor night of sleep, or that sour interaction with your boss, but also to the exciting news that you got engaged, or to that delicious healthy meal you had for lunch. Our body handles all kinds of stimuli and life goes on. However, if we have persistent instigators such as stress, poor sleep, unhealthy diet, dysfunctional relationships, isolation or solitude, and lack of exercise, this balance may be disrupted, and your fight-or-flight response can shift into overdrive.

Heart rate variability: A new way to track well-being - Harvard Health Blog
 

Dick Niaz

Yearning for TMMAC days gone by
Jan 14, 2018
12,279
25,547
Heart rate variability: A new way to track well-being

HRV is simply a measure of the variation in time between each heartbeat. This variation is controlled by a primitive part of the nervous system called the autonomic nervous system (ANS). It works regardless of our desire and regulates, among other things, our heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, and digestion. The ANS is subdivided into two large components, the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous system, also known as the fight-or-flight mechanism and the relaxation response.

The brain is constantly processing information in a region called the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus, through the ANS, sends signals to the rest of the body either to stimulate or to relax different functions. It responds not only to a poor night of sleep, or that sour interaction with your boss, but also to the exciting news that you got engaged, or to that delicious healthy meal you had for lunch. Our body handles all kinds of stimuli and life goes on. However, if we have persistent instigators such as stress, poor sleep, unhealthy diet, dysfunctional relationships, isolation or solitude, and lack of exercise, this balance may be disrupted, and your fight-or-flight response can shift into overdrive.

Heart rate variability: A new way to track well-being - Harvard Health Blog
That is so brilliant, yet so sensical when you think about it’s simplicity. I’m definitely going to research that more. Thanks for sharing!
 

Judobill

First 100
First 100
Jan 15, 2015
5,979
10,057
They do Mindfulness training at my kid’s elementary school. When school starts every morning, the principal comes on the PA system and leads them with the Pledge of Allegiance, then she leads them in mindfulness meditation for a few minutes. I help out in their classes occasionally and it really calms them down and puts them in a good mood to start the day.
 

Atto

Chinese Virus
Feb 11, 2016
4,750
5,611
Where do I begin? I would say overall, I had been living my life unconsciously. As I got older I would worry more and more about things and my mind would never shut up. Mindfulness gave me the tools to accept that those thoughts/feelings were there without having to embody them. I realized that while I can't control what is happening around me, I could control how I responded to things. It made me look at the world through a new lens... or better yet, it allowed me to clear away all the crap that was getting in the way of me seeing clearly. I believe that at our core, there is pure bliss. So many of us though allow things (thoughts, feelings, stresses, worries, etc.) to get in the way of us experiencing that bliss. Practicing Mindfulness has allowed me to do a better job of recognizing when I'm "becoming my thoughts" instead of "being the observer of my thoughts." One of the analogies from Headspace is the idea of Blue Sky. The blue sky is always there. Sometimes clouds (i.e. thoughts) will come into view; sometimes there are lot of clouds; sometimes all we can see is the clouds and even the storm that comes with them. We forget the blue sky is still up there beyond the clouds. Mindfulness allows me to recognize my clouds (thoughts and feelings) and return to that blue sky. It is also a great analogy because storms always pass and the sun will always shine, no matter how dark it may seem at the time.

If anyone is interested in getting a little deeper into understanding Mindfulness, the book "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle was a game changer for me. I highly recommend!

I'll start reading it ..
 

tang

top korean roofer
Oct 21, 2015
9,398
12,402
They do Mindfulness training at my kid’s elementary school. When school starts every morning, the principal comes on the PA system and leads them with the Pledge of Allegiance, then she leads them in mindfulness meditation for a few minutes. I help out in their classes occasionally and it really calms them down and puts them in a good mood to start the day.
what a great school.
 

Dick Niaz

Yearning for TMMAC days gone by
Jan 14, 2018
12,279
25,547
Definitely post them here. Great thread topic.
Cool. Here was the message I sent this morning. I won't include all the messages from other weeks, but I'll post some of the quotes/images.

"How many times have we gone through a challenging situation in our lives only to come out better for it? It happens all the time. We are faced with something new or unexpected that might not be welcomed. We react with resistance, frustration, concern. Then we figure out a way to accept, adapt, overcome, or persevere. When all is said and done, we are often stronger for it. Maybe we learned a new skill or gained a new outlook. Often we look back and realize we didn’t need to spend so much energy or worry on our initial reaction to the situation. Many times we end up grateful we went through it. Maybe we wish we had had a different initial reaction so we could have embraced the challenge and more consciously experienced the growth we were going though while we were going through it. Mindfulness gives us that ability. Mindfulness allows us to recognize our natural reaction, accept that the situation is happening whether we want it or not, and apply a more purposeful response to whatever is taking place. So, the next time we have a curveball thrown our way, let that be a trigger for us to stop, breathe, and realize that our entire lives to date have been full of the challenges that made us who we are today. Doing so won’t make the situation go away, but it will allow us to lay down our resistance to it, maintaining a sense of peace and perspective.


Have a great week everyone!!!"