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But that literally is mindfulness. It is not a magic technique... Simply reflecting on your thoughts (and/or feelings) is basically the definition of mindfulnes

by kirab 9y ago

But that literally is mindfulness. It is not a magic technique... Simply reflecting on your thoughts (and/or feelings) is basically the definition of mindfulness. PS: It is sad that this marketing/self-help-book/guru/training etc. hype around "mindfulness" distorted the original simple meaning of the word mindfulness.

KozmoNau7 9y ago
Probably. My experience was that they were trying to teach common sense, wrapped up in mysticism and marketing.
- mattmanser 9y ago
  It's not common sense to most people, that's precisely why it gets recommended so much. It's very easy for you to say it is, perhaps because that's all you know. For some people you can get stuck in a sort of auto pilot, moving from acting on one thought to the next, instead of realizing they're just thoughts and you can let some go. I'm also a bit skeptical that you actually are mindful of yourself. When you actually do it and realize how it works, it's pretty amazing. I certainly didn't think "well, that's just common sense". When you actually do it, start observing your thoughts and feelings as separate from you instead of consuming them and getting caught up in them, it does bring calm and a feeling of refreshment. The best thing I use mindfulness for is stopping a destructive cyclical worry. As an example from the past, say I'm worried about a client not having paid his bill yet, I know they're having cash flow problems and I worry I exposed myself to too much risk. What can happen is that thought can spiral and keep popping into my head, intruding into my day. It might create a cascade of thoughts, what my bank balance is like, how might I get a partial payment, is it too early to phone, should I look for another client, what will I do with the existing work, should I have asked for better payments terms, etc., etc., etc. But the worst part is, I would have that exact same chain multiple times a day. It intruded over and over, until the client would pay (predictably) late again. But none of that helped when it was firing, it's not even that late yet. It just made me stressed and stopped me from getting what I needed to get done that day, sometimes I couldn't just place it aside. Using mindfulness, instead of consuming that thought and worrying about it, I can just look on it as a thought.
  - KozmoNau7 9y ago
    I used to suffer from a severe temperament, so I've had to learn how to control my thoughts and emotions, and how to not give a shit, figuratively speaking. I'm very good at clearing my head and only thinking about the things I care about. When I leave work, I leave work, both physically and mentally. Maybe that is mindfulness, I don't know. It just feels very far removed from the mysticism and mumbo-jumbo I was confronted with, which honestly just added stress, rather than mitigating it.
    - beaconstudios 9y ago
      the mysticism and marketing isn't part of the mindfulness itself, but it is part of the self-help and new-age religion industry which attaches itself to concepts like mindfulness and meditation.
mattmanser 9y ago
It's a bit more than that. It's your thoughts now and your emotions now and your sensations now. Just generally reflecting on thoughts is vague, the point of mindfulness is not to reflect on past thoughts or future speculations. This then gives you the power to manage them better in a few ways, including that thoughts are just thoughts and you don't have to act on them all, and actually be aware of how you're feeling and what actually caused that and how to manage that feeling if it's destructive.

by kirab 9y ago

KozmoNau7 9y ago

Probably. My experience was that they were trying to teach common sense, wrapped up in mysticism and marketing.

mattmanser 9y ago
It's not common sense to most people, that's precisely why it gets recommended so much. It's very easy for you to say it is, perhaps because that's all you know. For some people you can get stuck in a sort of auto pilot, moving from acting on one thought to the next, instead of realizing they're just thoughts and you can let some go. I'm also a bit skeptical that you actually are mindful of yourself. When you actually do it and realize how it works, it's pretty amazing. I certainly didn't think "well, that's just common sense". When you actually do it, start observing your thoughts and feelings as separate from you instead of consuming them and getting caught up in them, it does bring calm and a feeling of refreshment. The best thing I use mindfulness for is stopping a destructive cyclical worry. As an example from the past, say I'm worried about a client not having paid his bill yet, I know they're having cash flow problems and I worry I exposed myself to too much risk. What can happen is that thought can spiral and keep popping into my head, intruding into my day. It might create a cascade of thoughts, what my bank balance is like, how might I get a partial payment, is it too early to phone, should I look for another client, what will I do with the existing work, should I have asked for better payments terms, etc., etc., etc. But the worst part is, I would have that exact same chain multiple times a day. It intruded over and over, until the client would pay (predictably) late again. But none of that helped when it was firing, it's not even that late yet. It just made me stressed and stopped me from getting what I needed to get done that day, sometimes I couldn't just place it aside. Using mindfulness, instead of consuming that thought and worrying about it, I can just look on it as a thought.
- KozmoNau7 9y ago
  I used to suffer from a severe temperament, so I've had to learn how to control my thoughts and emotions, and how to not give a shit, figuratively speaking. I'm very good at clearing my head and only thinking about the things I care about. When I leave work, I leave work, both physically and mentally. Maybe that is mindfulness, I don't know. It just feels very far removed from the mysticism and mumbo-jumbo I was confronted with, which honestly just added stress, rather than mitigating it.
  - beaconstudios 9y ago
    the mysticism and marketing isn't part of the mindfulness itself, but it is part of the self-help and new-age religion industry which attaches itself to concepts like mindfulness and meditation.

mattmanser 9y ago

It's a bit more than that. It's your thoughts now and your emotions now and your sensations now. Just generally reflecting on thoughts is vague, the point of mindfulness is not to reflect on past thoughts or future speculations. This then gives you the power to manage them better in a few ways, including that thoughts are just thoughts and you don't have to act on them all, and actually be aware of how you're feeling and what actually caused that and how to manage that feeling if it's destructive.