#1 Mindfulness Discussion

On the blog, I'm going to be doing some mindfulness discussions. I'm going to keep them short and sweet. I'm also going to number them. This will be the first (as the title indicates). 

For me, mindfulness is a way of life--in fact, the practice of mindfulness has made me afraid of not being alive. Before I go any further, what do I mean by being alive? Being alive is to be aware of your life. Death, I believe, is a total lack of awareness. To put it in a different way, the soul cannot be aware of itself; so without anything to be aware of, nothingness pervades experience. But at the same time, we can't know how unaware we are in the present moment. Only by becoming aware in the present moment can we understand our past lack of awareness. 

Daydream Addiction and Derealization/Depersonalization

While daydreaming isn't generally recognized as being something that can be addictive. It certainly can be, and many people are addicted to daydreaming. People daydream for a few reasons...

-To plan (typically a useful application)

-To feel good (a possibly negative application)

-To escape reality (a possibly negative application)

When we daydream, the awareness of our senses becomes greatly diminished. The weird thing about awareness is that we aren't aware of what we aren't aware of. When we lose the awareness of our sight--for example--we aren't aware of it. Fortunately, the brain still stores the information coming into the eyes (in a limited, unfocused way...because the eyes are either focused on physical objects or not, here the brain "fills in" the perceptual gaps). 

The reason reality (the self is part of our reality) doesn't seem real is because it isn't. The senses have gotten into the habit of ignoring (i.e. to escape reality) so much that the brain is in overdrive to "fill in the gaps". On a certain level, the brain is aware of the fact that much of the reality it is attempting to form is imaginary, thus causing the feelings of derealization. Derealization can be a very scary thing, and in order to cope, daydreaming can be used (again, as an escape).

Daydreaming can feel very good, a person can put together a story line that makes them feel a wide variety of emotions and psuedo-perceptions. It is the fact that it can feel very good and be used as an escape that creates the possibility of it being an addictive behavior. 

Daydreaming itself is a cause of derealization. In fact, it is the ultimate state of derealization. The best thing to do if you find yourself here is to stop daydreaming. The next best thing is to reduce it dramatically. Either way, the opposite of daydreaming is mindfulness. Use the search bar on this blog to look up some of my writings about mindfulness or even Google it. 

I like to keep my blogs posts short and sweet, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. 

Using Mindfulness to Reduce Anxiety and Stress

A big source of anxiety and stress (both are very connected) are thoughts. While this may seem obvious, is it in day-to-day living? For example, when you think about what you will be doing later in the day, do you maintain the awareness that what you are experiencing is just a thought? When you notice yourself worrying, always keep the context of the experience of worrying accurate. You can even put your hands on the sides of your head and say to yourself "this thought I am experiencing is occurring between my hands". Similar to how we are able to watch horrible things on television, but maintain the context that we are just watching television, and this causes us to not be affected nearly as much as we would if we lost this awareness. A lot of people that become very emotionally upset by movies become zoned in so they lose touch with the reality that it's just a television that is being viewed. In other words, it is not the behavior or external environment that is the main problem with suffers of anxiety, but the lack of awareness.

Mindfulness is one of the greatest tools for overcoming anxiety and reducing stress. What causes worrying is the lack of awareness that a thought is just a thought. Mindfulness isn't for running away from problems, but for seeing them as they actually are.

If you have any questions, or want me to further elaborate on mindfulness techniques, leave a comment below. I check comments on a fairly regular basis :)

Affirmation Mindfulness

Affirmation mindfulness is truly an amazing technique. If you suffer from disorders like anxiety, depression, poor attention span, anger, etc., you may want to pay attention (in fact everyone should, that's the purpose of mindfulness).

The Buddhists often use labeling during their meditations (such as labeling their breaths..."rising....falling"). This is kind of similar, but instead of using labeling to create a concept to view a sensory experience (which causes a person to swap back and forth from actual experience to a concept and vice versa), the purpose here is to make an affirmational word become a trigger to lock a person into a deep state of awareness. I believe the best thing is to focus, not on an interpretation of what we experience, but the sense itself. The following is the list of the affirmational words to be used...

• "Seeing..."
• "Smelling..."
• "Tasting..."
• "Hearing..."
• "Feeling..." 
• "Thinking..."

Basically, the point here is to be aware of the senses. We often get so wrapped up in focusing on our perceptions (a product of the imagination) that we lose touch with reality. This technique is incredibily useful for emotional disorders like anxiety, a problem caused by an overactive imagination (people with anxiety disorders are habitual when it comes to perceiving the world with concepts instead of the senses...)

Make labels work for you(freedom from insanity)

You may or may not notice that your imagination labels EVERYTHING automatically. It does this to have a non-reliance on the soul. In other words, the brain prefers interdependence, not dependence. A mix of self-sufficiency and cooperation is the strongest recipe in the eyes of evolution. The brain cares only for the soul as far as the soul benefits the brain. Once the brain feels it understands something, it would much rather be used in a way that "cuts to the chase" and not waste any more resources than it feels necessary (time or energy). For example, ever notice that when you daydream, at the foundation of it all is labels that are associated with one of three things (objects, contexts, and actions). Just think of a label, and the object will automatically pop up (think of the label "pink zebra" and the image just appears with no effort). The brain can (or at least will make an effort) do this with virtually anything. Think of the label "a confident me"...and the image (object + action) will appear. This sort of thinking can both get a person into trouble, and it is the reason why people worry about the future and the past (when you notice yourself doing this, become aware of the role labeling plays in the formation of these daydreams). 

In short, become aware of labeling, it's an extremely powerful function of the brain that typically goes unnoticed and unchecked. Awareness is everything in becoming the master of the brain. A soul that is unaware of the brain becomes a slave to it. Emotional issues like anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder (more or less), anger, jealousy, etc. are much easier to remedy when the forces underlying them are brought into awareness. Change without awareness is accidental, don't be an accident!

The imagination can cause stress

The imagination can be a powerful tool for us humans in the realm of abstract thinking. Unfortunately, it can also be a great source of paranoia, delusion, worrying, jealousy, anger. The key is to both recognize what the imagination is and how to use it properly as tool. In other words, it's important to make the imagination work for you, not the other way around. I've noticed both in myself and others that the imagination is such a dominate thing (especially for those with a powerful imagination) that it can overwhelm a person's world. The scary thing is that the imagination can dominate our reality formation to such a point where we see the world through our imagination, instead of senses. This is done by relying on labeling and overwhelming abstract thinking, both functioning in the realm of autopilot (which requires much less energy and frees the soul to focus on forming new habits). Essentially the soul lays down an understanding via the circuitry of the brain, and the only way to undo this circuitry is with awareness of its firing (which essentially rewires this). Mindfulness of our thought process and of the sensory input that triggers them is key to changing the mind so that it works better. Here's a poem I quickly wrote that sums up what I mean. Essentially it is awareness that lays down neural circuits, and in order to change these we need to utilize awareness. In order to change anything, we must first become aware of it.

as the soul pays attention

the understanding is created

that the foundation of habit

is the fazing out of the soul

Better to think of anxiety as a habit, not a mental disorder (which can make the problem worse)

We have been told over and over again that chronic anxiety is a mental disorder, and while there is a certain about of "disorder" in the mind that causes anxiety, this sort of label misses the underlying cause of anxiety and does nothing but put a sufferer down.

In reality, anxiety is caused by certain thinking habits. And when people get so entrenched in emotionally-charged thinking that the symptoms cause an "unbearable" amount of suffering, we (medically) put them on medication and put them through talk-therapy (which isn't totally a bad thing, but I find talk-therapy to not properly get at the heart of anxiety). Anxiety is caused by thinking patterns that occur because of a perceived environmental threat, and if the symptoms get bad enough, the anxiety attaches itself to these sensations, causing the person to worry about their own heath (causing a further perpetuation of anxiety). Anxiety is a bad perceptual habit. What do I mean by this? Well, we can view the symptoms of anxiety (such as sweating, heart racing, tense feeling in chest and throat, sweaty hands, etc) differently, and while doing so, disarming the viewing of these things as being a threat. One of the best ways of doing this is to stop viewing anxiety as a problem. In fact, stop viewing everything as a problem, nothing is a problem, and just become aware of the cause of the symptoms.

Becoming aware of the thought process allows us to view it objectively, and while viewing a thought objectively, it is viewed with a more rational lens. In the same way that if we know we are dreaming during a nightmare, it becomes much less scary, if we become aware that a thought is just a thought, it loses its emotional punch. I've brought this basic idea up in a few other blog posts, but it is very important to overcoming anxiety. Mindfulness in general is what is important in overcoming behavioral problems (which is what anxiety is). To put it simply, our brains functions in two modes: "objective/logical and emotional/reflex". Anxiety exists in the reflexive emotional part of the brain. You see, the point of emotion is largely to allow people to make quick decisions without having to think everything out (such as when people get a "gut feeling"). If you are in your head a lot, and everything seems fuzzy and worry thoughts constantly stream through your head, your brain is engaged in a way that will cause perpetual anxiety and stress in general.

My anxiety used to be horrible (I had bad generalized anxiety and social anxiety, which led to some nasty depression), but I started to realize these two-modes of operation in the brain. To show you what I mean, try this little experiment.

1) Find a particular point around you to stare at (like a dot, or a fixed point that is easy to concentrate
on).

2) Keep concentrating on the dot, whenever your attention drifts (as it will) just bring it back to concentrating

3) Do this for at least 10 minutes (it's best to use an alarm, try not to worry about the amount of time that has passed, because this is distracting)

4) After 10 minutes or so, begin to scan all the objects around you. Look at them with purpose, don't just label them an look through them.

If you do this, you should notice some interesting effects. This is how the brain is suppose to function, this mode is the mode the brain is engaged in when it is relaxed. Chronic worrying causes the brain to have a shift to utilize parts of the brain associated with worrying. This leads to a reduced awareness of the senses, leading to depersonalization and derealization (which is why mindfulness is so damn important for overcoming anxiety).

Be objective about anxiety

One of the most important things that I've learned about dealing with anxiety problems it to be objective. When we view anxiety in a non-objective way, the sting of it is much worse, and it just feeds into the anxiety (anxiety being caused by worrying thoughts). If we view anxiety as it is (i.e. the symptoms of the anxiety, which are the symptoms), it's not nearly as bad as it is often initially perceived. Being mindful of the actual sensations and thoughts which both perpetuate and/or cause anxiety is very helpful. What this also does is helps in the creation of an awareness that anxiety is not the problem, but is a symptom of another problem (thinking habits).

Mindfulness is general is just a good tool for life in general, I know I feel much more sane when I practice it. Mindfulness brings me (and all those that practice it) out of my autopilot and into reality. Anxiety is a delusional disorder caused by day-terrors. 

Is everyone crazy? (mental illness and lack of mindfulness)

I've been doing some studying on mental illness (have taken classes on it and am taking one now, plus I have looked up a lot of stuff using Google :P ). And it seems to me that a lot of mental illness is caused by thoughts. It appears that stress-inducing thoughts are bar far the biggest cause of mental illness (aside from being human). And what is the cause of stressful thinking? Lack of awareness (at least in my opinion). When I am aware of my thoughts, and more importantly, aware of the fact that my thoughts are thoughts, they don't cause me stress (like realizing a nightmare was just a dream).

I believe that being in a state of awareness of the present moment (of our senses more specifically) is the intended default mode; but we have been bombarded with nonsense from TV and the internet, plus have been taught to see the world through the imagination in school (they teach you to see history through such a lens, for example). Most people today see the world through their imagination, they are constantly thinking about things that have happened or "will happen" (most people can't predict the future that accurately). I'm not much better (it's hard to stay in a state of mindfulness for an entire day), but I realize that mindfulness causes a shift away from being consumed with the imagination to a more accurate one (the imagination can distort our perception of reality).

I believe people that have thoughts constantly streaming through their heads, not being focused on the present moment, have a form of mental illness that is more common than not in today's world (given how hectic it is, people have adopted this sort of thinking, I believe, as a coping strategy). I'm obviously included in this bunch, but I'm also trying to shift myself out of it. I'm hoping that in time I can make mindfulness the default mode, instead of worrying (I notice that when I'm doing nothing my mind automatically starts worrying).

On a heavy end of the spectrum of this are anxiety disorders and depression (caused by a high volume of stress-inducing thoughts). I hope in time, people wake up from the daymares (like daydreaming) caused our imagination by realizing that it's not real (our brains are not really time machines going into the past or crystal balls looking into the future).

I still struggle with the process of trying to wake up, but I'm getting better in time.

Mindfulness and lucid dreaming

One thing I notice quite often after practicing mindfulness over a long period of time (like when I go into the woods for the better part of a day) is the frequency of lucid dreaming increases astronomically. Such as last night, I was dreaming that I was standing in a street in a cartoonish-like city, and I instantly knew it was a dream. In fact, I remember having an awareness that it was a dream before the scene was created. One trouble I'm having with lucid dreaming however is that I struggle to control the content. I wonder if other people that practice mindfulness experience a similar thing, I also wonder if this is a good or bad thing. Another strange thing about this dream (and others) is that I still have my sense of self (I understand the dream is a process in my head, and I can create an awareness of my actual body) and memories of reality.

Falling asleep at the wheel (the habit of mindlessness)

When we fall asleep at the wheel of a car, typically the result isn't very good (unless the car isn't moving). I believe the same is true for life in general. We are asleep (unconscious) when we aren't aware of the present moment. And when this happens, our brain relies more and more on autopilot, and is forced to phase out its reliance on us (the soul). Most people live in that semi-conscious state where they mindlessly (or more specifically, soullessly) live their lives. Mindfulness is the awake state of being; but when not being mindful of the present moment, our brains get into a foggy, autopilot mode often accompanied with daydreams (some based on the past, future, worries, etc).

At least this is what I notice from my own experience. It's as if the soul doesn't like to deal with experience that it doesn't want to deal with, so it retreats into its shell of unconsciousness as a defense mechanism. The point here is to carry mindfulness wherever you go, don't let your brain adapt to unconsciousness. In other words, don't let mindlessness become a habit. This has happened with me, but in time I notice (with great effort) myself awakening. I've been practicing mindfulness (and meditation when I can) for a few years now, and I still feel as if I'm never fully awake (but I do notice improvement).

How mindfulness leads to happiness.

While I'm sure everyone has their own opinion on what happiness is, I believe the word "happiness" is interchangeable with the word "contentment". It is a when there are no worries (acceptance of everything, typically being temporary). Many people think happiness is laughing or hugging a loved one, but the truth is that those are not what happiness is, but are activities that can momentarily remove nonacceptance of reality. I believe that an awareness of how things are automatically create a state of acceptance. We don't accept things when we believe they could be different, it is our imaginations that create the nonacceptance of reality. This is delusional of course. Things can't be different than they are in reality (i.e. in the present moment, the only moment that truly exists, outside of thought).

Mindfulness (awareness of the present moment) is the cure to the pervasive delusion in the world that things could be different than they are (which is at the root of unhappiness).

This isn't to say that people should never feel unhappy, but I believe it is important for people to be aware of the source of unhappiness in order to bring themselves out of it (when they desire to).

Believable Day-Terrors

Day terrors occur when we are partially asleep (i.e. not mindful or awake). While it's hard to be fully awake, even when practicing meditation and mindfulness techniques. This is because most of us have become so used to not being totally awake (being lost in thoughts, which are really just dreams that occur while being partially awake). And sadly, this sort of habit leaves us vulnerable to stress and causes a weakening of our ability to be aware (i.e. mindful, awake, and so on).

The scariest of day-terrors are those that we find to be the most believable. Just about any day-terror has an emotional effect, but for the moments that we truly believe the day-terror is really happening, it has an effect nearly as powerful as if it were. Such as if we are worrying about something we plan on doing in the future, and some scenario pops up with some problem(s). The fact that we find it incredibly believable that this event will happen (it being based on a real-life plan), this is why it can cause an incredible amount of stress. I believe this habit is learned by-the-way, but that is a different subject all-together. In short, a day-terror (or "worrying thought") is much more emotionally disturbing if we believe it is real, and the closer of an association with reality the day-terror has, the more "real" it will seem. Whenever you worry about the future, this is a day-terror (it's not real, reality is what's occurring in the present moment as you experience via the senses, anything else is just a thought).

Be mindful.

Mindfulness should not be viewed as a skill to master

I claim that mindfulness should not be viewed as a skill to master. The reasoning behind this is simple: if we view it as a skill, autopilot tries to take over for the sake of efficiency. Also this sort of thinking is distracting, because it creates worrying ("am I getting better at being mindful?"). The point here is that it does not matter where mindfulness can take you in the "future", but where mindfulness can take you right now.

Randomness: It's good to view thoughts as they are, the alternative is to allow them to control you. If we view thoughts as they are, we naturally become aware of the distortion of reality that is occurring in our own brains. All thoughts are false in some way (none of us can time travel and/or view events outside of the senses, a thought is cognition based on understood patterns made available by the senses...not superpowers!).

Mindfulness is essential for good mental health.

Mindfulness is an incredible tool that the vast majority don't utilize. I believe we, as a society, are addicted to a reliance on autopilot—mindfulness is the enemy of autopilot (and vice versa). Mindfulness cannot be done automatically. In other words, our autopilot cannot learn mindfulness, but it can learn to remind us to engage in mindful behavior. Before I go any further, let me explain what mindfulness is. 

Mindfulness is an intentional focus on being aware of the present moment. A good way of doing this is to just step back, appreciate the moment with the senses (listen, see, taste, touch, smell), and also be aware of the thoughts that pass through awareness without pushing them away or encouraging them (just let them flow by). Play around with mindfulness, perhaps do some research on it if you don't feel that you have a good bead on it. 

When a person is mindful the brain correctly labels thoughts as being thoughts, and doesn't get all tangled up in them (a person that is aware of the present moment is able to easily see that a thought is just a thought, and not a threat). 

The ability to be aware is like a muscle, use it or lose it. And if you want to overcome things like depression and anxiety, awareness is literally the key (autopilot programming is by far the biggest cause of stress, anxiety, and depression).

If you have any questions about mindfulness, feel free to ask. Poor cognitive behavior is at the root of so many psychological problems, and mindfulness is amazing at getting people back on track (even though it takes a ton of discipline, it is very effective). I believe mindfulness is the kind of behavior that we are suppose to be engaged in—but in the age of information, we are overwhelmed with worry-provoking stimuli. The body in its natural state wants to relax, it takes worrying with a lack of awareness of the present moment (both go hand-in-hand) to stoke the proverbial fire.