— Dalai Lama
Mindfulness is a set of skills for healing, intuition, insight, calmness, focus, resilience, and hope that you can use to counter the inevitable adversity of chronic illness.
Psychology Today defines mindfulness as:
"a state of active, open attention on the present. When you're mindful, you observe your thoughts and feelings from a distance, without judging them good or bad. Instead of letting your life pass you by, mindfulness means living in the moment and awakening to experience."
Mindfulness is not something I have mastered - not even close but I have been working on it for over a year now & I am handling my illness better. Basically, it is worth the effort.
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Pain and Illness are among the most challenging experiences we can have. It’s unpleasant and can be extremely difficult. Mindfulness shows us how we can make a difference in our own experience.
Mindfulness practices can help us see how we pile extra layers on top of the pain, chronic illness and other physical and mental difficulties, and how to let go of them.
"Practicing mindfulness is still a learning process for me. I'm by no means an expert. But over the years I've been fortunate to learn some of the basic skills of how to be more mindful.
Here are 9 ways mindfulness has helped me heal with chronic illness and can help you too"...(http://blog.healingwell.com/2012/02/9-ways-mindfulness-helped-me-heal-with.html):
1. Be good to yourself, treat yourself with kindness and compassion.
2. Live life with awareness in the present moment.
3. Know yourself, don't let your illness define you.
4. Enjoy the beauty of things as they are, not as you wish they were.
5. Recognize and explore sources of healing, peace, spirituality, and calmness to develop your resilience for the hard times.
6. Seek healing by serving others around you.
7. Surround yourself with people that love, support, and inspire you, especially when facing adversity.
8. Let go of the life you had planned and accept the opportunities and hopefulness of the life that awaits you.
9. Be grateful.
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If I compare myself to where I was mentally and physically a year ago it's hard to recognize the old me. Same thing when I compare myself to 6 months ago. Day to day comparisons are more varied and difficult. I am trying to get away from them actually because if I have 2 great weeks followed by a few bad days and am constantly comparing the now to the then, I am setting myself up for sadness, grief, guilt and disappointment. It's not easy to stop this cycle. Indeed we live in a society and culture that prides itself on things like "before and after" photos for weight loss. How do we make progress and hold ourselves to new standards without comparing the old and the new? This is a topic I need to explore further myself as I am constantly trying to find balance - giving myself a pat on the back for all my progress without getting stuck in a non-stop cycle of shoulds and wants for tomorrow or next year.
I am an academic - analytical by nature. I think of my brain as the stock market exchange electronic board - always going, always showing ebbs and flows, gains and losses. Sometimes I wish I could just hit pause; put my brain into sleep mode like I do with my laptop! But such is the struggle of a thoughtful person.
So as my friend Heather likes to say to me (with love!): K.I.S.S = Keep it Simple Stupid. LOL When my brain is going non-stop and my mouth is following, it's good to be reminded that simplicity takes practice and is worthy in its own right. It has value for our minds and bodies and in our relationships as well. Simplicity is not the enemy. Learning to live and love simply is a real art - one I have yet to master. I am an amateur at best. I am simplifying my diet, and some of my relationships. In the meantime I am taking on more creative endeavors, and also more responsibility. Learning to live simply does not actually mean life will be simple or easy. What a paradox!
The basics of mindfulness:
"Mindfulness as a concept comes from Buddhism and is key to meditation in that tradition. It means being present and in the moment, and observing in a nonjudgmental way, says Susan Albers, psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic. Mindfulness encourages you to accept who you are, and trust yourself. Don't judge yourself for having the feelings you have -- just allow yourself to feel them.
Mindfulness is becoming more integrated into psychological therapy in the United States. Therapists have found uses for it for everything from post-traumatic stress disorder to eating disorders to anxiety. And its effectiveness for stress reduction and other benefits have been supported in scientific studies.
"You are able to really consider all your possibilities and make choices that are thought out, as opposed to just responding to situations based on a reactive kind of response," says Karen Sherman, psychologist and author of "Mindfulness and The Art of Choice: Transform Your Life."
Zen at your desk:
http://cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/health/2010/10/26/ask.the.doc.raison.meditation.cnn.html
*For some reason I cannot upload this video but if the link above doesn't work go to youtube and type in ZEN AT YOUR DESK!
"In psychology, mindfulness is a tool in the bigger therapy picture, which may also include medication or other interventions. Formal meditation practice can be part of this, but it's not required for patients to start incorporating the principles of awareness and openness into daily life." (http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/16/mindfulness.therapy.meditation/)
I have struggles with meditation: I have trouble calming my mind enough to do it but practicing mindfulness with these tips I have provided has helped me. When in doubt start journaling. Take one of the nine suggestions above and write it out then just free write on the topic. You can write to yourself, a specific person or an audience. What you do with it is up to you. Start trying to do this exercise 2x a week if daily is too daunting. Sit with it until something flows. It's for your benefit - grammar and spelling do not matter. It's okay to use abbreviations. It's okay to get into specifics or go off on a little tangent here and there. If this is what's coming out then chances are it's what's going through your head more often then you realize. Even if it's trite, petty, or embarrassing it's okay. Part of mindfulness is self forgiveness, and self love. That means forgiving your worst offenses and loving your most difficult traits! It takes practice.
Start small but make it an exercise like your diet and your gratitude adjustments, and your social skills - all the topics we have covered here Between Health & Wealth Avenues. If all you can focus on is your Lyme then write about that. Try to avoid the words should and would, but if you find you have used them during a free write acknowledge it and let it go. It takes time to change your mindset, your thinking, your words and your reactions especially towards something like a chronic illness. The point is you want to be getting stronger and keep moving forward. And it's impossible to this in one sitting. Know that now and look forward to the challenges and changes that mindfulness can bring into your life.
For me writing this is part of my mindfulness challenge. And it is a challenge but it also feels good. So on that note here is a parting thought...
Truly may you be mindful and live life to the fullest each and every day. Wishing you health & happiness until we meet again. Y'all come back now ya hear? : ) Peace, Audrey
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