Types of Meditation
Comments
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@Kookee I love that list. I've already listened to a couple. I think a lot about the end and meditate on the end and resurrection by reviving second-hand jewellery. I've been doing it for about a year now, as something I can do at home. I love projecting onto the jewellery!
@Rachel_Scope I hope you find something you like. Based on what you said, I really think you're looking for mindfulness meditation to disconnect. If you do, maybe I can find one for you? If you do, how long would you like?
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@Kookee I've could never do any craft to save my life. But I'm actually really good at this. I mean not fabulous but really good. My brain is changing so much with my disability. It's incredible. And I love doing the jewellery. So it's not just that I can do it, but I love doing it. Bonus!
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@Kookee I'm really reluctant to say disability has been good for me because it's whitewashing my disability. You know what I mean? What I'm happy to say is what a friend said to me many moons ago - everybody can do something, regardless of limitations. And I add that we all have limitations. Even without disabilities, everyone is challenged to varying degrees. So I say that I like to be productive and contribute to society, but the work I did before becoming physically disabled I could no longer do. So I'm so happy that I finally found an alternative that I can do - making jewellery. Does that make sense?
I would love to see your drawings, if you feel comfortable posting. Isn't there a thread somewhere for posting our art or something along those lines?
On the topic of meditation, I find a lot of times my head is just in the clouds and I can't focus. So I've come up with an idea to use an intermittent meditation bell - the more disconnected I am, the more frequent the bell ringing. I'm going to do it today to keep me focused as I alternate between computer work and house chores. Here they are in case anyone else is interested in giving this a try.…
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Hi @Kookee and thank you for listening to my different point of view.
I've been doing the bell a lot and it really helps to clear the disconnecting. I hope you like it too.
I understand why you don't want to share your drawings. Yes, I'd love to share my jewellery pics. Will do that soon.
It's still so enjoyable to be listening to the Rumi meditation. In fact, I'm going to listen to it now.…😊
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Hi @Kookee
Yes, I see tons of great stuff. I'm a repeat type of person, though. I like the layers of the first Rumi video you suggested - the narrator's voice, the music and the words. Depending on my mood, I focus on one or more of the three layers. I have a ton of saved songs, albums and playlists. Once in a while I add something new to the mix. Sometimes music is just background music and sometimes it's my focus. Sometimes it's half and half. I don't know how others listen to music as I've never asked. But I always thought that's what others do. Now I'm wondering if I'm an oddball in this..... 😊
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Free session by Sangha Live tomorrow night: The Art of Savoring
In the practice of meditation, we are often focused on the task of getting to the cushion and paying attention, but how much of this task are we actually enjoying? To really enjoy ourselves in meditation, we need a practice that goes beyond attention and mindfulness alone. We need to find joy in the micro moments of being present and aware.
Enter the art of savoring. When we savor, we don’t just pay attention to what is happening, but we also become curious about, appreciate and prolong our momentary experiences. In this Sunday teaching, Lama Willa will explore the topic of how to restore joy to our practice by learning to relate to this moment with more openness, interest and depth. We will learn that it is possible to cultivate the conditions for the arising of a spontaneous joy in practice that makes every meditation session feel like your first.
Teacher: Willa Blythe Baker.
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The importance of space.....
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@StarryEyed That is a wonderful example, Starry! It reminds me of Mindfulness for Health, the book by Vidyamala in which she tells a story of a woodcutter who seemingly has no time to sharpen his axe and therefor has no other choice than to work with a blunt instrument while 'he huffed and he puffed'. LOL.
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Hi @SmellyBin 👋🏼😊
I'm glad you liked that. I'm not familiar with the story you speak of, so I googled it. Do you mean this one....?
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Yup, that's roughly the same story, @StarryEyed. How are you today? A bit of space around whatever is there?
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@SmellyBin, that's a great use of space when chopping wood. 👍🏼 Makes me think of this....
Today is filled with a lot of pauses as it's a day of house chores and weekly errands. So I'm doing lots of different things, and I do each slowly and purposefully, with a pause after each. What are you up to?
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I am trying to get by. It sounds as if you are in quite the right headspace, so I'll not add more than saying for me there is self-doubt.
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I have space for you if you want to say more. 😊
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That's a powerful phrase, Starry! Thank you for your kindness, I know it is out there but at the moment it is hard to see past those that rejected me.
With the holidays coming up I am feeling unhappy about it for the first time in a decade. We haven’t been doing anything around Christmas for the past seventeen years, for me those are days nothing out of the ordinary (every day can be Christmas, right?!).
There is only a handful of people that I am still in touch with from before I got ill. This past year there has been quite a bit of news coverage for PAIS (those ill with ME, LC/PC, etc.) and still no one who I used to be close with or friends with has reached out. Not acknowledging my difficult circumstances or suffering, yet they get to celebrate the way they are able.
That is me being human, I know, but geez it hurts. There is so much grief…0 -
It's hard to say how you feel or think about the situation, because I don't know your circumstances or the people involved. Perhaps the best approach is to tell you a bit about how I might be and might react in that situation, and see if any of that is useful to you. I'm basing this on past experiences....
These are thoughts that might come to mind:
- How could they do this to me, especially during the holidays?
- I thought they cared about me - obviously not.
- I don't want to be alone during the holidays.
- Life is unfair.
- Why me?
These are some of the feelings I might have:
- Alone.
- Abandoned.
- Misunderstood.
- Irrelevant.
- Invisible.
- Unwanted.
And then I would say those are all appropriate feelings and thoughts. And then I would allow them to wash over me, processing them. I would consider when in my past I had felt those feelings and thoughts, because having had them in the past amplifies them now. So I sit with where they were in my past too. And sit some more. And let them be because thoughts and feelings aren't good or bad or right or wrong. They just are there. Let them breathe. And then I can integrate them into my life so the next time they present themselves in my life - and they probably will - I will be able to process the situation easier.
In my experience, thoughts and feelings become a problem if you try to ignore them or avoid them.
I have spent a lifetime - and will continue to - trying to allow myself to think and feel. It's a beautiful world when you can show up with the appropriate thoughts and feelings.
I hope that's helpful.
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Oh wow, what a thoughtful response, Starry. That really means a lot.
Yeah, I know my pain is validated, but somehow I cannot shake off the feeling that I am not good enough. Otherwise, why would all these people have chosen to behave differently ever since I got ill? The answer to that question has of course nothing to do with me, but it feels personal. Even if these people have not been a part of my life for over ten years. Weird how our brains work and keep hanging on to patterns, right?
What makes it so hard today, is the fact that my partner will be gone tomorrow. I am very nervous to be on my own, thankfully I’ve got a lovely neighbor who will be at home and knows about my situation.
He’ll be going to a birthday party where there will be lots of those mentioned people and also will be visiting his parents. My relationship with them is practically non-existent.
Indeed, what you say about feeling irrelevant sums it up with all the celebrations and cups of coffee and cake and chatting while I’ll be on the sofa at home. On my own.
But this is similar for lots of us. We chronics deserve a medal, don’t we?!Unlike you I am not yet able to process the situation easier, but at least I am learning to be kind to myself. Sure, I do know I am not less, but the grief continues in this cold world.
And yeah, you even made me smile saying I need to sit with my feelings and then… sit some more :)Thank you, @StarryEyed
PS - about avoiding those feelings having the opposite effect: for anyone experiencing feelings of being excluded, don't hold back and feel free to share. It might be the only way to make this harsh world a tiny bit softer…
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You're welcome. And thank you for asking for my input.
You might want to consider what you want out of your situation. To learn to be alone? To make new friends? To enjoy the holidays? To be comfortable with your uncomfortable thoughts and feelings? To have someone show compassion and/or understanding? To find clarity?
....So many possibilities as to what you might want. Focus. A focus can change the landscape dramatically.
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I also find this George Harrison reflection most helpful when I'm really, really stuck...
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Another day, a new chance for some lightness – not that there is anything wrong with the dark. Everything is part of life, right?
I’m looking up at the sky, wondering with whom I am connecting in this way. I know for certain there are people indeed cheering me on. How’s that for focus, @StarryEyed? Waving at you right now :)
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