Hello from Canada

[AnneMarie]

I've been visiting the forum for a few weeks, and registered a week or so ago, so I thought it was time to introduce myself.

I'm Anne, living in Vancouver, Canada. I found the forum through a tweet and decided that this was a friendly and welcoming place. So I got up my nerve and joined the forum.

I've been interested in mindfulness for a while but have only been practicing daily for a few weeks. Like a lot of beginners I worry that I am not "doing it right" but have decided to persevere and trust that the intention is the important part.

I do worry about doing things right a lot in my life which stops me from trying lots of things. I hope my participation here will help me continue to develop a daily practice.

[JonW]

Hello Anne.
A warm welcome to Everyday Mindfulness.
I think you'll find us to be a friendly and helpful bunch.
How is your practice going? Are you following a book or attending a course?
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask at your leisure.
All best,
Jon,
Hove, UK

[Gareth]

Hi Anne,

A very warm welcome from us; I'm sure you'll find us all to be a supportive and nonjudgemental group.

The good news is that you cannot do mindfulness meditation wrong, unfortunately this concept is a little difficult to grasp at first. When we meditate, we show up for whatever is here. Be that a whirling dervish of a mind that cannot remain or an all together more tranquil affair. I've had both kinds and everything in between, and I will continue to do so.

Keep practising, and try to go really easy on yourself.

[AnneMarie]

Thanks for the welcome Jon and Gareth.

Jon, I took a mindfulness class at my local community centre before Christmas. I still feel like I could use more grounding so I bought Mindfulness: Finding Peace in a Frantic World after reading about it here.

There aren't many 8 week classes available here and those that I found are not in my area or not at time that I can attend. So I decided to look for a book instead.

Gareth thanks for your insights. One of the reasons I chose to register here was the truthfulness that I saw in the forum. And I found your video very inspiring.

Today I had a whirling dervish mind but it seemed to settle more quickly than normal, which feels like a direct result of my commitment to mindfulness.

[FeeHutch]

Welcome to our community Anne
Lovely to meet you!

[BioSattva]

Hi Anne,

I'm glad I have an opportunity to share one of my favourite sayings here about 'doing it right':

You're doing it right as long as you can accept doing it wrong.

Or put another way:

Accepting doing it wrong is doing it right - at the core of mindfulness is acceptance.

Like the sky accepts birds, clouds, or storms, we remain all-embracing and tolerant.
Like the surface of a still lake peacefully reflects it's surroundings, we hold all of our experiences in awareness - including our anxiety about doing it wrong - without interacting with it.
Your anxiety about doing it wrong can be just another cloud drifting by and eventually leaving of it's own accord - if you allow it to .
Take refuge in your breath in the more peaceful depths below the turbulent surface of your 'thought waves' - your concerns and worries.
Keep bringing your mind back to your breathing and celebrating your return each time like a lost kitten that's found it's way back to it's mother - home and dry each time you return. It's in the nature of the mind to wander, and so it WILL wander - that's not a mistake, it's just what the mind does.

Hope some of that doesn't sound like yoda-speak too much .

Bio

[AnneMarie]

Thanks for the welcome Fee. I am very happy to be here.

Bio, thanks for those insights. I may have to make "You're doing it right as long as you can accept doing it wrong." my signature line.

Not yoda-speak at all.

[BioSattva]

I may have to make "You're doing it right as long as you can accept doing it wrong." my signature line.

You'll have to pay me copyright fees though .

[AnneMarie]

I may have to make "You're doing it right as long as you can accept doing it wrong." my signature line.

You'll have to pay me copyright fees though .

Well it is a good line for me to read regularly, so it might be worth it. What's the rate?

[BioSattva]

Well, I was 'letting go' when meditating this morning and it seems it's your lucky day because I am no longer attached to that sentence.



For the 'lost kitten' spiel, however, there will be a premium rate, so everyone else take notice .