Mindfulness help
Any help for understanding or being able to do mindfulness?
I don't feel emotions anymore and not sure what to do.
@courageouspanda2006 hugs you tightly 💗💗 don't worry everything is gonna be ok 💖 I'm right here for you we all are 💖
For me what helped is sitting outside in the garden (preferably watching the sunrise) with a cup of coffee and some country music playing, and just look around see the beauty in the sky, feel the breeze listen to the birds waking up, and soon I started to feel gratitude for all these beautiful things. It won't work for everyone, but slowing down and allowing ourselves to feel there moments of peace can really help 💖💖
@Tinywhisper11
Thank you
@courageouspanda2006 I feel u soo much pandaa. I had the same feeling, too. What I did was change my environment. I was in my room all the time, although I went outside, but it was all the same for me—days passing by, where I had to breathe. Then I started socializing more. I was around nice people. I was around people who were working hard towards their goals. The ones who were positive. It might be hard to find them, but literally anyone working hard is gonna help u. Just tell them what your plans are and try talking positively, and when u make progress, it will make u feel things.
I suggest giving this a try. I hope u glow soon💛
@courageouspanda2006 do you think some social connection could help... maybe even online interaction or reading a book or watching a movie and getting involved in their emotions to feel a connect?
@courageouspanda2006
Perhaps a habit of "checking in with yourself," asking whether your mind is wandering or focused on the present moment. That can be hard if you're doing something boring. Yet, even when doing boring stuff, like laundry, paying attention and maybe focusing in how to best fold and put stuff away, can actually help the time to pass and make the task to be more satisfying. There's something to be said about really feeling good about how well you've done something.
As far as not feeling emotions, it's worth considering whether it's because there are some emotions you'd rather not experience. It's hard to filter out what might be considered negative emotions without blocking other emotions as well. That's why people often feel numb after trauma, unwilling to feel anything because opening up to their inner feelings is likely to manifest painful emotions.
If a person wants to feel emotions, accepting their full range is the path. I believe emotions are either felt consciously or subconsciously, but always present one way or the other. So, when a person says they're not feeling emotions, they may sense "numbness" consciously, but those suppressed emotions continue to affect them in ways they may not be able to anticipate.
Going back to mindfulness, besides the form of it I mentioned above, that involves being in the present and performing activities in a way that involves clear focus on what is transpiring before your eyes.
Another form of mindfulness, which is the one I think you're really talking about, involves quieting thoughts to the extent possible, and deeply sensing self, both the feelings in your heart and how you're experiencing your immediate environment. Many people do this as part of a meditation. Progressive relaxation meditations help calm the mind while opening it to deeper levels of thought and awareness. There are also "mindfulness meditations."
There are a lot of resources online that discuss mindfulness. Also, I use Youtube to keyword search for meditations, and I've found a lot of really good ones.
Wishing you the best.
@Spiritriver
Most things, like laundry or even washing dishes, I'm on autopilot.
I have buried my emotions for so long, I think I forgot where I buried them. All I do is work, eat, and sleep. I'm on autopilot 99% of the time anymore and not sure how to turn it off. My life seems like it's stuck on repeat.
@courageouspanda2006
I kinda like autopilot because I can do one thing while thinking about something else, but even with that, I sometimes find myself changing how I approach doing some stuff, for example reversing the sequence of household chores. Some chores I find tedious and feel more resistance or irritation than seems reasonable towards them. Then I ask myself why I'm feeling that way, and usually find that the resistance is more of a problem than the actual thing I'm bothered about.
Also, when on autopilot, I do intermittently assess how I'm doing with the current thing I'm working on. I'd say that when doing chores, autopilot is optional, but maybe the best results occur when switching from autopilot to mindfulness at what feel like convenient intervals.
Remember the movie, "The Karate Kid," and the "wax on, wax off" sequence? That combined mindfulness with autopilot. Mindfulness involved making sure all surfaces were properly covered and polished. Autopilot involved the actual muscle movements involved in the polishing process. So, I guess autopilot and mindfulness can work like hand in glove.
Music elicits my emotions, as do memories, both positive and negative. Maybe emotions can be "awakened" by remembering times when they were experienced. For example a time when running and playing in the grass, feeling the sun and smelling fresh cut grass. Yes, there are some memories best not pursued, but others that can be lifelong gifts. That's true for me, even though I had a really rough start in life, and continued difficulties for half my adult life.
Going back to music, it might be worth experimenting with how you feel while on autopilot and listening. Have you ever thought about audiobooks?
That's good insight regarding buried emotions. It acknowledges their existence, even if not consciously sensing them. It's pretty common that people will be so preoccupied with "left brain" pursuits, such as finances, career, and social issues, in other words, things that occupy the "inner dialogue" that it creates a distance between intellectual thought and emotional perception. That's why hard working people can find themselves too burned out to feel anything.
I'm pretty sure that in order to have a decent emotional life, there needs to be balance between work, play, personal fulfillment and even taking time to mindlessly "veg out," to simply relax and think about letting the mind wander and explore itself.
@courageouspanda2006 Do you read books about this? There are some good book recommendations. Also, https://dharmaseed.org/collections/ is a very good resource with thousands of hours of teaching.
@courageouspanda2006
There are many guided mindfulness meditations on YT. You can start there. Also going outside and experiencing nature is good, like some have recommended.
@courageouspanda2006 you don't feel because you're not connected to it. using tools to forcefully feel connected to things you are indifferent towards, doesnt seem right.
Also, Its not that you can not connect or wont be able to connect. You are currently at a different state in life. You are connected towards different things.
Suppressing what you're feeling: an indifference.. follow this path and see where it leads you.
