I can't believe I haven't let you know about this beforehand, because it's been really important in keeping me feeling strong mentally and emotionally during this period of lockdown - and that looks like it's going to continue for a while.
There is an organisation in the USA called the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion. They teach you mindfulness with kindness to yourself, forgiving ourselves for our imperfections and flaws. It's a reputable organisation, nothing remotely cult-y or "woo-woo" about it.
As a response to coronavirus, they've been offering free mindfulness meditation sessions daily online using Zoom technology at several different times of the day. Each session is led by a senior accredited CMSC teacher. The sessions last about 45 minutes in total, but about 20 minutes of that is mindful meditation with self-compassion. The rest is checking with each other, a few words about the theme that day, feeding back via the chat window afterwards and so on. It's a relaxed atmosphere and a very pleasant thing to do for yourself while we're all stuck indoors so very much. If you're shy, you don't have to be seen or heard by your fellow participants or the teacher.
I want to give you the link so that you can sign up there yourself, should you wish to try these sessions out. When I signed up they were running the sessions up to and including 2 May, but I think they may well go on longer than that because lockdown continues in so many countries. The session I take part in is at 1300 UK British Summer Time, but we have people from Europe, from the USA, from Australia, absolutely all over the world so it is at different times of day for them. There is room for 500 people in each session, but at the time I signed up there was plenty of room for more people to join.
If you feel this lockdown is starting to get you down a bit, maybe it would be a good thing to do for yourself to take this time and relax and unwind a little. Being mindful is a very useful technique to learn, as is meditation, and self-compassion is something we could probably all do with a bit more of. I have a lively "inner critic" and I don't know anyone else who doesn't have one too! Quieten them down by spending some time doing something really nice, just for you - and there is something really special about knowing that there are so many other people in other parts of the world doing the same thing at the same time.
Here's the link: I hope that someone else here will join. It has been such a good thing for me to do with my lunchtimes!
I understand this in my own way...It all can be too much.I will share what a doctor told me about tv, news social media....if all day they announce something tragic like a bomb, each time we hear it our brain and heart registers it individual...so if we now think of it as a brick...and multiply it by seeing or hearing it 100 times in a day...carrying that many bricks would break out back right?Enter in your senses something lovely 100 times instead...
we cant keep our heads in the sand and be ignorant but...there is wisdom...in what we chose...I am not locked down, I choose to click myself inside home for a bit of deep learning....and extra naps...stretch my brain...and yes, sometimes I let tears go...!
What a positive post! And I had never thought of it like that - that every time we hear the C-word mentioned, it makes another attack (loads another brick) on our emotional wellbeing. I do think it's been essential to my emotional wellbeing during this time indoors that I have chosen from quite early on, only to take one or maximum two sets of news on the subject for each day. I'm not hearing about it all the time.
At first, I was listening to and watching absolutely everything I could. I wanted to be 100% up on everything that was happening, everything that had been discovered. But it wasn't more than about a week into it that I had decided this was doing me no good whatsover. I even limit the time I spend on social media or the posts I read about the subject. I have been so much happier and more level-headed as a result.
I've kept up my meditation and mindfulness and I find - like you - that I'm doing some extra learning, making sure I sleep enough (always a good thing, and probably the single most important thing that I do for my good health) - and also, because I love the arts - watching some wonderful free shows online that arts organisations all over the world have made available to us.
I'm bored sometimes. But hey, if that's the worst thing I have to complain about in a world where some people don't even have clean water to drink, I really have nothing to complain about at all!
And I was brought up by a mother whose response when we complained as children that we were bored, was "Well, you'd better find yourself something to do then." So I have decided that all the books I'd bought but not made the time to read yet, all the DVDs or video recordings I haven't seen yet - what am I saving them for? A rainy day? Well, I think it's fair to say that in some respects this *is* that rainy day.
I'm not saving things "for best" or "for a special occasion" now. I'm making those special occasions happen now. I have some brilliant books to read - I could keep myself busy just enjoying a good read with fiction and non-fiction between now and whenever we get the go-ahead to go out again. I'm watching the DVDs that were still in their cellophane wrappers. I'm using this opportunity to re-evaluate how I spend my time and make sure I "feed my soul" as well as my body!
For me, I intend to make sure that when we've settled down to whatever the "new normal" turns out to be, I will have experimented with doing things differently. I will have read some great books, watched some great films and shows, and used meditation and mindfulness to keep me focused on the things I can control.
We cannot control coronavirus, although we can influence it if we are all willing to stay indoors as much as possible for the foreseeable future. What we can control is within our own homes, for most of us at least. That's the area we need to be giving our attention to over the coming weeks, in my opinion. Focusing on what I can control and influence is going to be key to getting through this crisis, and meditation, mindfulness and loving kindness to myself and the people I know and love are at the heart of that strategy for me.
I'm sorry to hear that, Teddski. I believe you could find almost any process of mental and emotional calming useful at this time. For instance, the hypnotherapist and world-respected psychologist Paul McKenna has made a great many of his meditations and relaxation soundtracks available on youtube. I would encourage you to have a look and listen to some of those. Also, he demonstrates a process called "Havening", which I personally find to be of tremendous benefit. It was devised originally by Dr. Ronald Ruden, and you can read about his work online as well if you want to - but you'd probably get some benefit from using Havening on yourself. You can follow along with the video clip on youtube. It takes about 20 minutes.
You may already have your own mental health support services in place, but if not, I would recommend checking out Paul McKenna and Havening on youtube, as well as, or instead of, the Mindful Self-Compassion meditations I've posted above. I'm so sorry that you're struggling with this unpleasant situation we're all obliged to put up with at the moment.
I find meditation and mindfulness to be more than a distraction. It's true that it can take a bit of practice to get all of the benefits, but almost from the beginning you can get the benefit of slowing down and taking some time for yourself just focusing on your breathing. Meditation has been studied now for long enough that good scientific studies exist which prove that it does you good.
Yay! I hope you do, and I hope you like it!
Yes, well, walking is a kind of meditation. I think it may be practised by Buddhists, but I am not sure... and certainly the Japanese have popularised the concept of Forest Bathing, where you spend time in nature and that restores the spirit.
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