Mindfulness - Blog Posts

"...from the scientific standpoint, we cannot say that magick is any more or less than a form of applied psychology...which helps us to attain a greater level of understanding and control over our individuality. It's good for you for many of the same reasons that meditation, yoga, mindfulness, etc. is good for you, it's just a more elaborate application of similar principles."

(i found this somewhere on the internet years ago and i can't find the original source)

“Because you are alive, everything is possible.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

- The Last Journey of Buddha -

“O Bhikkhus. And if the practitioners [1] cultivate the thought that all things are impermanent in the future world, [2] and if you cultivates the thought that all things are not the self (Atman), [3] and if you cultivate the thought that all things are impure, [4] and if you cultivate the thought that all things are troublesome, [5] and if you cultivate the thought of renouncing all things, [6] and if you cultivate thoughts that depart from all earthly desires, [7] and if the thought of cessation is practised, then prosperity is expected of the practitioners during that time, and there will be no decline.”

Buddha (Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 1, At Vulture's Peak: 10)

Five things you can do before turning up to work

As much as work can enjoyable (or painful), here are five tips to get you into the right mindset.

Starting the day with a sense of calm can change everything—from how we handle stress to how present we are with others.

Breathe Before Anything Before checking your phone or diving into your to-do list, take 2 minutes just to breathe. Inhale deeply, exhale slowly. It tells your nervous system: “We’ve got this.”

Create a Mini Morning Ritual It doesn’t have to be fancy—tea by the window, five minutes of journaling, or stretching in silence. Rituals ground us and give our mornings meaning.

Step Outside, Even Briefly Fresh air and natural light signal your body to wake gently and improve mood. A short walk or standing on your balcony can be enough to reset.

Set an Intention, Not Just a Schedule Instead of jumping straight into productivity mode, ask: How do I want to feel today? Calm, focused, kind? Carry that energy into your meetings and tasks.

Limit the Morning Scroll Resist the urge to start your day in reaction mode. Delay social media or emails until after you’ve centered yourself. You deserve to begin the day on your terms.

#Coping with coronavirus and dissociation

The following recommendations might be very basic, but I find they’ve been helping me to stay on track. I have been having difficulties with DID and complex PTSD symptoms and almost ended up kind of losing touch with reality in certain ways because of feeling so far away from the world but also not wanting to interact with ‘the outside.’ Things got pretty rough during the cold months in my country when winter storms and frigid temperatures kept everyone indoors and miserable, which made me withdraw from friends even though I was thinking of them and wanting to see them. It was like the pandemic was inspiring me to disappear, which was nice at first but soon became problematic as my issues with depression, anxiety, etc. went haywire. I had to come up with some fundamentals to figure out how to cope through it all.

I’ve recently taken up photography, using solitary adventuring to explore and contemplate or even meditate while snapping shots of the world around me. It’s also turned into an exercise for mindfulness, which has been helpful especially as summertime hit. Since photography is something that can be done pretty easily with company and while physical distancing, I’ve been visiting with friends within my ‘social bubble’ of less than 10 people, keeping it safe and relaxed as I’ve incorporated visits on a weekly basis to add some socializing to my routine.

Speaking of routines, the ones I’ve fallen back on daily have made me feel more stable and in control on multiple levels. Sometimes it’s difficult to keep from working all of the time or becoming lost in never ending creative projects and burning out, so I’ve also taken the time to do yoga, which has given me the opportunity to meditate on how I can be there for others and perform acts of kindness, support, and compassion while also figuring out how to care for myself and tweak my perception so as to avoid becoming lost in cognitive distortions that would certainly make things worse.

Though routine is a big source of comfort, I also find that it’s been equally important to have things to look forward to, certain moments with friends and loved ones that seem to be given more meaning in the disconnect. One thing that has happened recently, which has been a source of comfort and fun for both my partner and I, has been the adoption of a young kitten. I feel like spending time with pets can be as comforting as spending time with people and has helped me find a balance when it comes to lingering for too long in front of screens.

Last but not least, a huge source of stability has been to spend a decent amount of time outside, soaking in a bit of light and enjoying the fresh air, or even stepping out to enjoy the cooling freshness of a rainy day. We might not be able to spend time up close with friends, but it can be very helpful to connect with nature however and whenever possible.

It might sometimes feel easier to withdraw and disappear, but that line of thinking can be pretty misleading and counterproductive. I feel like creativity is often overlooked during such stressful times but is something that can help release stress and provide distractions from wanting to constantly check social media or wind up in a black hole of television/streaming binges. No matter what you end up doing, however, always remember to treat yourself properly, care for your body, and also remember to be gentle with yourself when necessary. Even with this insanity going on in the world, you are worth it and deserve to feel comfort even and especially during the loneliest moments.

Thank you for submitting this! This is all very good advice. I’m glad that you’ve found several ways to make the pandemic easier for you to cope with, and I hope that this helps some of our followers as well. Take care.

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We’re welcoming asks and submissions about coping during the coronavirus pandemic with the hashtag #coping with coronavirus and dissociation. If you’d like to participate, send us an ask or submit a post! More details can be found here. For those who missed it, we also have a masterpost about coping techniques during the pandemic here.

Please share your secret to being so fucking confident! Like, I’m being criticized on MY blog for the shit I not make or post, just what I reblog- slurs hurt-

Things are gonna get real deep now my love. I could say: haters are losers - and as a winner, I'm busy in a capacity they couldn't even fathom. So I simply do not have enough time in a day to give losers a thought. I could also say: haters are unhappy people with a tragic lives. It sounds like a cliché. But think about it, if you are a well-balanced individual, happy, safe, calm, collected, with a decently put together life and a clearly constructed short-term and long-term purpose/meaning... you won't be going around doing any hating. You simply won't. It's not even in the frame of your consciousness; you won't even be able to access the mere idea of hating on others as a possible task/behaviour to engage yourself with. Which means that a hater must live at the very opposite realm of that. And that must be awful. I genuinly feel sorry for people in this amount of distress - but simultaneously, I have zero empathy for their destructive ways of coping with it. I could also say: diet discipline. The same way your body will evolve and take shape based on what you feed it and what activities you choose to engage it in - your mind will do the same. Feed it with mush and you're gonna turn your mind into mush. I could also say: priorities. 1 minute spent on a hater is 1 less minute spent on a lover. Time is finite. It's your most valuable asset and you get to spend it however you want! With 2 big caveats; you can't take it back and you can't make more of it. With that knowledge at the immediate forefront of your mind, it becomes very obvious why you shouldn't engage with hate. Also, if you'd actually make a list of things that are more important to deal with than your haters, you'd end up with an infinitely long list. Really, clearing the filter of your washing machine is probably 80.000x more important than replying to a mean comment. The few times I actively do choose to engage with a hateful comment, it is to educate people in the "surroundings" by pointing out why this is either; a problematic way to conduct yourself, a failure in logics/reasoning or a generally poor behaviour you should strive to avoid for yourself. Bc I feel it is of value and importance to do our best to mitigate "up and coming" abusers and help steer potential trainwrecks back on track. I could say all of these things. Or I could simply just say idgaf. And all of them would be true.

Don’t get angry at yourself for feeling drained. Growth takes a lot of energy. It’s really not as simple as it looks.

Nicole Addison @thepowerwithin

I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.

70 F outside with a soft breeze. It's a beautiful day and all I wanted to do was sit in my front yard and exist.

So, I did. I quietly existed on the ground for about 20 minutes, just allowing myself to be. It was refreshing, comforting, and I felt that everything was going to get better.

February has been a rough month with lots of ups and downs in my mind. I know it hasn't been terrible, but my anxiety and depression have created this image of failure in my mind. I was ill over my birthday, I didn't do anything romantic for my husband over valentine's, I wasn't able to take part in the simple photography challenge I set up for myself because I just wasn't motivated.

This all gathered up inside and makes me feel as though I wasted February. Winter should be about rest - the calm, silent season before the colorful rebirth of nature. I think I'm ready for spring.

I think I have sat still long enough that I am simply wallowing in the quiet and unable to relax. I live in a state of anxiety, so it's difficult, but I am ready for life. I'm ready to live.

I need to stay positive, to stay motivated, to allow myself to take days off to simply exist, but I want so much to enjoy the world around me and feel connected to it.

I'm optimistic.

72 F today. It’s beautiful. I felt the need to be barefoot and sit in the grass. I hate being barefoot, but today I needed to ground myself. It feels right. Being outside has always been a joy to me, no matter the weather. I am so glad to live in this beautiful world.

I'm so vanilla, but making dinner for myself and my husband feels so rewarding. Him saying how delicious it tastes, just the act of cooking when I slow down and do it mindfully, the outcome of eating something you made. Even something just like mac & cheese.

Enjoy the mundane things.

Success doesn't stay in one place.

Some days it's nailing a presentation at work.

Other days it's not yelling at the barista for getting your order wrong.

Success isn't some grand finale. It's the little wins that make your day.

If you're still chasing that one moment where everything falls into place, let that go.

You're the only one who gets to define your success.

Stop living life as if you are on a timeline.

There is not set deadline for success and achievements.

It is okay to wander and take the scenic route.

Life is not a straight line.

Seek Peace, not Praise.

My focus/theme for the year of 2025:

Less is More.

My desire is to focus on being grateful for what I have and trying to break my terrible habit of wanting more. No more window shopping online, no more visiting store sites for "fun", no more tossing something because it has a scratch on it. Unless it is unusable, it will be cherished and used until it can no longer serve its purpose.

This goes for most consumables and long-term purchases. I want to be more purposeful with my purchases - I want to buy things that are good quality and meant to last. I don't want to be persuaded to buy something because it is an "upgrade" to what I already own.

I also want to fix the items I have and learn to repair them instead of simply tossing them without attempting to find out why it isn't working first.

I want to learn to be grateful for the things I have. I want to be more aware of my spending habits and what I already own. I want to be less of a consumer, honestly. In a reasonable matter.

November came in like the first freeze of winter. Beautiful, but cold and frustrating. I didn't take time to prepare for the change of autumn into winter. I didn't concern myself with the shortening of days and the long stretches of night. This led me into a whirlwind of panic and November clung to me like ice.

December won't be "my month", but it will be a collection of days I will work through bravely. I will continue to move forward and I know I will trip and stumble, but I have to keep my head up and I can't let those moments hold me back.

So I hope all of you welcome this final month of 2024 and all of its challenges. I hope you hold onto the happy memories of this year and use them as your strength while we coast into the next.

There's so many things I want to do, but some of them are for the wrong reasons. I'm gathering hobbies and things I want to start pursuing because I feel like I need to do more. But do I? I would like to have something tangible to focus on, but do I need to overwhelm myself with a ton of hobbies to keep me busy? Why can't I find something that just feels good and enjoyable to do?

I'm having a tough time.

Earlier this week I hit 150 days straight on my goal app. This little app has helped me so much when it comes to getting things done and reminding myself to take time for me. 150 days isn’t too many when it’s over the year, but I haven’t missed a day since I started using it. Finch has really given me a sense of consistency and success. (Not sponsored, I just really love this app.) So congratulations to me! I’m making so much progress and doing well.

It's been a rough two weeks. Today has been the first time I've felt any kind of peace and my mania has settled. I forget that handwriting things is such a treat for me. Though I dislike my hand writing, working slowly and jotting things down in a "pretty" way really gives me a sense of peace and accomplishment. Today I started writing recipes from websites I like down in a notebook. It'll work for now. I even got help.

I know I was going to separate all my FFXIV stuff to a side blog, but my husband and best friend are right (as usual) and know me. I go through phases of wanting to organize everything and then giving up and combining it all again because it becomes a hassle. I think I need to step back from social media for a while soon. I believe it's getting to me.

I think getting more hands on is definitely my goal for the next month. To do more instead of just peering at it from across the table.

“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” ― Socrates

Eremition : The act of gradually fading from the lives of others, not out of malice but a desire for solitude or renewal.

“Dying is an art,like everything else.

I do it exceptionally well.

I do it so it feels like hell.”

What is a candle turned wax?

It has one fixed shape,its life has been drained and it is useless.

Nevertheless I can’t help viewing it as an object which still has much to give.

Yes,it has completed it’s life’s task;

Thus,hasn’t it been freed from the burden of needing a purpose?

Shapeless,vacuous,mutilated,yet—

free

As I sit here,staring at a newly lit candle,I can’t help seeing my life being mirrored in the flame.

It is not burning,it’s living.

Somewhat pliable,though it still holds its shape.

Much like myself,really.

I can bend myself to my own will,yet I am subject to the still air that engulfs me.

Am I living my life,or is my life living me?

Devoid of purpose,I grasp at the slightest shift taking place in my life.

My life-long friend has come to check on me.

It has never once left me,only side-stepped so as to witness how I would fare with knowing him gone.

It will forever be bound to me,and I to him.

A life-long friendship bringing excruciating pain in my bones,in my flesh,a drought that cannot be recovered from.

I am yours,and you are mine.

I regret our meeting as much as I treasure it.

Am I offering you a worthy companionship?

Drifting apart and sitting on the sidelines may be a good change.

They always say we will value the most what we had but ended up losing,don’t they?

Let’s put a seal on our friendship,celebrating our reunion and promising for it to be the last in a long time.