New to the Mindfulness Community in February 2019? Say hello here! And get to know others who joined in February too!

@soulsings

Hahaha soul Lovely to see you here in February!

@soulsings lol

@LisaDeRegtMBPsS

Woot-Woot welcome Lisa

@practicingjoy

Hello there, thank you for joining the mindfulness community! :)

I think I understand how you are feeling - sometimes if I'm feeling a bit hopeless I feel less motivated to practice mindfulness. One tip that I have is to remember how much of a difference mindfulness can make - even though you may be feeling down in life, being aware of the present moment can help us learn and grow and it has great positive impacts for the future. Also, a little mindfulness a day can go a really long way! Completing a small meditation exercise or going out of your way to actively practice mindfulness can be a great distraction to what is going on in our lives: it can also help us resonate with our true feelings so we can reflect on the situation and progress further.

Thank you so much for posting and please feel free to ask us any other questions!

Tagging @RumpleSteeleSkin and @soulsings to share their thoughts ❤️

@practicingjoy

Hi Joy good to see you here reaching out to us. I really do understand you when you share on "finding the motivation". Yes it can be very hard to tell your brain "let's do it!" So how about NOT tell it to? For real. Example:

Say your just sitting in the living room. Yep just sitting not doing nothing. Can you do these things?

- Name 5 things you see

- Name 4 things you can hear

- Name 3 things you can touch

- Name 2 things you can smell

- Name 1 thing on how you are feeling but do not judge it just say"I am ..... and that is ok"

Many believe that mindfulness is souly on closing your eyes and breathing. Now-this is the foundation of mindfulness but many start backwards as doing this is very uncomfortable to them. Good luck on this and please let us know how this worked

Hi @practicingjoy,

I understand how you're feeling. Sometimes the thoughts in my head and the things going on around me feel so noisy and busy that I can't imagine how to find the time or sanity to practice mindfulness. I've recently been struggling as well, but I've found some light in this crazy tunnel over the past couple of days and thought that I might take a moment to share what I've found.

When things started getting difficult recently, I felt overwhelmed, thinking that I needed some "personal time" to practice mindfulness, but that just wasn't going to happen because things were really busy and hectic and my brain was too busy anyway. I also felt frustrated that so many things seemed to be going wrong at once and wondered how on earth I could be mindful when things felt so heavy. It was and still is hard for me to sit quietly in a room with myself so I felt like I needed something that I could do while I was working through everyday tasks. Recently, I've found my way back to practicing positive thoughts and doing very simple tasks that bring me joy.

TV is a bit of a rabbit hole for me, especially when I'm sad, so I started reading a book. I love to read and haven't done so in a long time.

I was missing a friend today. She used to make preserves and jams- she was an amazing chef- so today while I was driving, I stopped by a local produce stand and bought some fresh jam. I didn't go out of my way, just stopped on the way home.

I said thank you to the weather today for being amazing.

I have a habit of being a bit of a pessimist and saying sarcastic things out loud. So this past week, I've practiced deliberately starting conversations on a positive note.

I snuggled my cats because they are great at sharing love

I've been trying to say thank you A LOT, with genuine gratefulness- because no matter how little a task may seem, people feel good when they're appreciated.

I don't know what your specific struggles are but I hope that you can find little things that bring you calm and happiness. If you can find lots of little things to be thankful for, it could add up to a big difference. Being mindful doesn't mean that you need to practice a certain way for a certain time every single day, and you don't need to be perfect because mindfulness is a journey, not a destination. Being mindful means that we are working to be present and aware in this moment in time. When things are stressful, we can recognize that the moment will be what it will be and it is okay to feel what we feel. But we can also choose to be aware of the other things around us that may have gotten lost in the stress. Is there something good to see or notice and can we find a way to say thanks? I hope that things look up for you- I wish you well.

@K87

HI K87 and welcome to the Mindfulness Forum area I am so glad to see you here now. If there is anything you like to know or ask please do ask

@peaksofblue68

Hello there, welcome to the mindfulness community! I'm so glad to hear that you've had some wonderful successes - huge congratulations :D

I totally agree, mindfulness is an excellent way of staying focused on the more important things and it can definitely help us relieve stress and work towards peace. I hope that your mindfulness journey continues to be a great one ❤️

Take care, thank you so much for posting! Hope to see you around more in our forums :)

@peaksofblue68 HI nice to meet you PeakWOW I got goose bumps reading your reply-in a good way! It is nice when we "boost" out mindfulness practices when needed. I agree with you on being able to just sit down and meditate. I do it through out the day when things just get to be to much. Sometimes it owrks tho. Wonderful attitude on not allowing yourself no new pain. You deserve to finally be free of that and bring in peace and joy. Good job!

@peaksofblue68

Hi Peaks! I'm happy for you that you're finding peace of mind- it's wonderful, isn't it! Welcome

@pandora10

Hi Pandora, I'm fairly new to this community too. I myself have been in need of lots of practice with mindfulness lately and have found it useful to participate in the daily check-ins and conversation threads in the Mindfulness Community. Sharing with others and working out my thoughts by typing them and receiving feedback, both ideas and encouragement, has been particularly helpful to me. Also, I discovered some helpful courses that 7 Cups has available. Good luck on your journey- welcome!

@pandora10 W-E-L-C-O-M-EPractising mindfulness "does" have its benefits so true. Can I share on a few things to get you started?

- If you can come around daily and check out the Daily Check Ins and they offer good things on mindfulness

https://www.7cups.com/forum/MindfulnessCenter_106/MindfulnessDailyCheckins_1263/

- Here are some mindfulness discussions the community and team share

https://www.7cups.com/forum/MindfulnessCenter_106/MindfulnessDiscussions_508/

- Here is the Recourse library where many things you might find great to use

https://www.7cups.com/forum/MindfulnessSupportCommunity_106/ResourceLibrary_1062/

Also the mindfulness room is opened on schedule discussions.

https://www.7cups.com/home/communityCalendar.php

Also I and the team are always here to answer and guide you with anything you need.

@koan

Welcome to the mindfulness community Koan, it's lovely to meet you! Feel free to ask us any questions if you have any, and join in with our daily check-ins too :) ❤

@koan

Welcome to the Mindfulness Community. I am sure you will really enjoy it here! :)

@koan hi nice to meet you and welcome. If you have any questions please do ask them

Hi, @AveryLove! Welcome 😁 I love your photo- Ariel is my favorite princess ❤️

@AveryLove

Welcome to the mindfulness community Avery, it's so lovely to have you here!

Feel free to ask us any questions you have ;) ❤️

@koan

HI Koan glad you asked that question Here are a dew things to get you started. But also Google Mindfulness and Emotion Regulation

Web page: https://www.sunrisertc.com/dbt-emotion-regulation-skills/

The Skill: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXFYV8L3sHQ

@koan

We also have an awesome Mindfulness Resource library where you can find some great videos - check it out by clicking here :)