Mindfulness in Today's World
Hi. How can I practice mindfulness in a world full of so much chaos and hate? I live in the United States if that helps give some context. I would love to just hide from the entire world for a day, go off the grid. The closest I've gotten in hiding under the covers with a book and flashlight. I want to take one step forward to find happiness again but the negativity world shoves me back two steps before I can even lift my foot
you see whatever you want to see. You probably are tired of seeing media and millions of people despair at the words of someone clueless on twitter.. and all that evil people causing despair..
but please, how many are there ? Can you find 10.. 20 , even 1000 ? Given there are 7 billions of us now, why that specific focus.
You talk about mindfullness and awarness. look, search for those thausands selfless people, who work valiantly and relentlessly to make a better world. see the billions who love and cherish theri families, lives and the world. Do you count yourself to the good ones ? if not ,why not ?
and if you do.. why ?
@Lexloveslife
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@Lexloveslife
Hi Lex thank you for being so open on this-the truth
Here is my very thought out sharing for you that I do hope will help you be mindful in a world that yes-chaos....
Every day brings a choice: to practice stress or to practice peace. ~Joan Borysenko
One of my deepest desires is to be able to look chaos in any form, square in the eye, and levitate up to the next level of not letting any of the anarchy affect my inner homeostasis. Whatever the drama be work, family, friends, worldly, financial, school, natural disasters. I dont want any of it to enter my calm little cirlce! My desire is for peace, on the inside and all around me.
When we recognize that life is our mirror, we begin to understand that the outer chaos merely represents our mental state. If we can quiet our inner chaos, our outer chaos will simmer.
So, my fantasy is to be just kind of floating there in the lotus position in the middle of it all, with pushing and shoving going on all around me, yet I am untouched. I remain at ease and guarded by my peaceful light. Keeping this vibe of peace is hard to do sometimes when we are faced with the challenges of life. So....how can I manage mindfulness in chaos around me???
Visualize This is the first thing I do. I try to calm my mind down, and I start envisioning the outcome Id like to see happen. I dont get attached to these ideas; I simply start imagining myself happy, healthy, safe, and loved, and I begin to visualize a friendlier situation and outcome. Then I can rest in those good vibes as I remain cradled in my center. Thoughts have power.
2. Train your subconscious brain to have a different default thinking than it does now Wishful thinking for different circumstances isnt enough to transcend us weve got to feel it. If we wish for things to be better or different, but underneath it all we feel that we are doomed no matter what, then nothing will change. It takes us retraining our subconscious mind to have a different belief system. I personally like to use affirmations to help my mental and emotional fitness. Its a positive, uplifting thought that is to be repeated many times throughout the day until it becomes an inner truth and belief system.
3. Develop faith that things always turn out okay
In order for us to transcend our situation and create more peace in our lives, we have got to feel it. The best way for us to succeed at levitating above the mosh pit is to have faith. To have faith, we must believe with conviction that everything will be okay, even if we cant currently see exactly how.When we possess faith, that inner knowing is a feeling that we have. We know. And we cannot evolve fully into the know until we have unrockable faith. Feelings have power.
I hope this little bit can help you and maybe get started
@RumpleSteeleSkin
This is very helpful, thank you!
@RumpleSteeleSkin Do you believe things always turn out okay?
@Zeraphim
I believe what makes things "ok" is the attitude we carry within us
@RumpleSteeleSkin How so?
@Zeraphim
hmmm well hmmm Im lost of words right now...
Well it does concern your attitude-you know. In the most difficult of situations there is a spot of "it's going to be ok" That doesn't mean cured, saved, healed etc. Just means that well.........HOPE haha must be late for me as I can not think right now.
@RumpleSteeleSkin That's okay. I'm getting tired too. I'll be heading to bed soon myself, so please don't feel obligated to reply right away. We all need our rest. :)
You're saying that, even when things feel very bleak and so on, you can hold onto the hope that things will improve going forward? Is that right? Please feel free to correct me. I don't wish to misrepresent you in any way.
@Zeraphim
YES
I am not saying or excusing no ones pain, grief, trauma-by no means. It is so tough for many to find that "tiny size musturd seed of hope/faith" but it's there-it really is. A person, a quote, something on tv, a link someone gives for support. It is in all of us. We really have to dig deep in ourselves
@RumpleSteeleSkin It's your desire to honour both the pain without minimizing it, as well as remind those that there is hope for themselves, is that correct? It's my desire to help lift others from their suffering and to reclaim hope in their lives as well. :)
I'm curious, is faith and hope one in the same for you? Are they different? If so, what do the words faith and hope mean to you? How do you define them, for yourself?
@Zeraphim
Hi Zeraphim good to see you back. I just want others to know they are not alone in any situation they may be facing. So you ask what is faith and hope. Lets see what both these are....
Hope-a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.
Faith-complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
For me hope and faith go hand in hand and feed the goal,purpose whatever it may be. This can mean differant things to everyone.
@RumpleSteeleSkin Thank you for clarifying what hope and faith mean to you. I ask because I've come across different definitions from different people and I didn't want to assume what it means for you.. :) It seems like, though they are each different, they can both be used for one's benefit, particularly in getting through a difficult time.
I'm intrigued by faith, as it involves a sense of feeling and knowing future conditions. I'm curious how one uses faith to know everything always works out. What is your best example of a time when you used faith to know something would work out and it did?
@RumpleSteeleSkin I hope you're doing well and have given some thought to my question. I look forward to your reply. :)
@RumpleSteeleSkin I hope you're doing well and staying warm. On my end, there's been a lot of snow and it's getting to where we need to be inventive about where to put it all, lol!
I'm still curious how faith works. Does the belief that "everything always works out," alone alter the future somehow, so that we avoid hardship? Using faith alone, could a person avoid every potential future tragedy indefinitely?
@Lexloveslife thanks for posting this reminder. We are surrounded by focusing on things that do not leave us feeling comfortable. Rather than hiding from the world or trying to change it, I am working on the practice of refocusing my attention to things that leave me at peace: the breath going in and out, the sounds, smells, sights and feel of life around me. It is not magic but its effect can seem magical when it works.
Feel free to visti our free mindfulness video resource library https://www.7cups.com/forum/MindfulnessSupportCommunity_106/ResourceLibrary_1062/
or attend a session where we experience mindfulness https://www.7cups.com/forum/MindfulnessSupportCommunity_106/ResourceLibrary_1062/
@soulsings
Awesome resource, I appreciate this
It sounds like your goal is to balance staying informed about worldly and local events with being able to cope and maintain your emotional well-being. If that's the case, here's what I've come up with that I hope will help:
Awareness of how much one is consuming news and other media (also social media use, as this exposes us to headlines without us seeking it).
Awareness of intensity of emotions, anxiety, stress, and any other mental health symptoms one is currently monitoring when consuming news and related media.
Consider limiting news media exposure, unfollowing from blogs and feeds that don't serve your goal of staying informed without sacrificing your mental health and well-being in the process.
Balance media consumption with coping methods to help make staying informed manageable.
Consider distress tolerance exercises to help cope with intense emotions, anxiety, or stress, if you find yourself feeling vulnerable and can't tolerate the moment. These help get you through the intense experience without making things worse for oneself (such as resorting to unhelpful or harmful coping mechanisms). Practice the skills when you don't need them so they're second nature when you do need them. https://www.getselfhelp.co.uk/distresstolerance.htm
Distract yourself from worrying thoughts about world events or tragic stories and build positives into your day with this list of self-soothing suggestions and other enjoyable activities.
https://www.getselfhelp.co.uk//distract.htm
Consider emotion regulation exercises and forming a regular habit of practicing them to help balance any emotional struggles one may experience on a regular basis. This can help reduce the power stressors have over oneself when they come up. https://www.getselfhelp.co.uk/emotionregulation.htm
Consider learning the skill of self-compassion and forming a regular habit of practicing the skill. It involves mindful awareness by tuning into your own emotional experience, acknowleging you're struggling or even suffering. The other two steps are normalizing your experience by reminding yourself you're not alone in feeling this way, and then fostering kindness towards yourself, like you would treat a friend going through the same thing. This helps acknowledge and soothe your emotional distress in a mindful way.
Use mindfulness to focus on one's physiological responses, rather than focusing on one's thoughts or
@Zeraphim
Wonderful sharing here-thank you!
@Lexloveslife
Hi, I can understand what you are saying. You talk about the world being full of chaos and hate, where I am, I deal with chaos and craziness in the family and at work. That is something to live with every day and not quite possible to get up and walk away from. I have to admit in this chaos of mine I have very minimal friends who I am ever so grateful to and always thank them for being in my life. But I guess how I cope with my external chaos is, to stay away from news and social media, this has made a great difference to me. After all there is only so much difference I make to the world. If I can make a difference to a few people in need around me I feel that is my achievement. Reading, movies, going for walk, coffee with friends, being mindfull in the little things slowly can make a difference to our inner calmness. Even something like being mindful when brushing teeth. Flashlight under the duvet is fine now and again but try be brave and do the little things that make you comfortable outside the duvet too. 'I'm the best' took me years to say it to myself and now I say it at work, try enocourage other to say it for themselves too. I do get the strange looks but who cares, saying it makes some people smile and I feel that is an achievement. I know I have neglected myself for years. Recently soon as I started paying attention to myself, suddenly my perception has changed to, 'I can do this........thing called living'.
@knowledge57
i don't think i have friends anymore. at least, right now, I don't want much to do with them. Same with my family. I just want to isolate.
@Lexloveslife Have you used mindfulfulness to become aware of how often you desire to isolate before? It might be useful information, knowing how often and how intensely you feel the urge to withdraw. If it's very often or quite intense, it might be an indicator you could use some extra support. You may consider talking with a qualified mental health professional about it.
It may also be useful to ask yourself in a journal the reasons why you wish to withdraw. Is it a feeling? Thoughts? Prompting events? Write down any ideas you might have.
One last one I forgot to include.
Challenging intolerance of uncertainty. One doesn't need to know the future in order to find peace in a reality where many outcomes are possible. This pdf worksheet can help with intolerance of uncertainty.
@Lexloveslife
This is me,also. Soo busy going 100 miles an hour..when I crash, I binge watch tv and read-next thing I know, i uave lost 2-3 hours. But even while reading,watching tv-I still get side tracked with too many thoughts running through my uead. I'M going to go on the resources to see if I can figure out how to "just be in the moment"
