Three weeks in...

[Shaun M]

...and the changes have been wonderful already. I'm thinking and responding to situations that I used to simply react angrily to and I'm already a much more relaxed, pleasant person. If I hadn't been the beneficiary of this practice myself I simply wouldn't believe the changes that have occured, especially in so short a time. I've even decided that my habitual couple of glasses of rioja are no longer necessary, at least on a nightly basis

I look forward to sharing some of my experiences as they develop in this wonderful world of mindfulness. Great to be here!

[JonW]

Hi Shaun.
That's great to hear.
I look forward to hearing more about your adventure into mindfulness.
All best, Jon

[Gareth]

Keep practising and never ever stop........,

[FeeHutch]

Welcome to the community, I look forward to hearing how you are finding the mindful way of life

[BioSattva]

Hi Shaun

Great to hear you're enjoying it. Please do share any insights and revelations. They are always nourishing to everyone here it seems - not matter the length of time we have been practising and no matter how obvious or simple the reflection.

Bio.

[Shaun M]

Hi everybody, and thanks for the welcome

I found myself in a pretty awful state of mind recently, in fact for the last few years. Basically I realised I was becoming a pretty horrible, bitter person. Now I blamed it on external things, living in a place where I never encountered (and still don't to be honest, but I can deal with this effortlessly now I'm concentrating on my breath a few times a day ) any of the higher human qualities like empathy, consideration for others, self-awareness etc but I was falling deeper and deeper into disdain for others and sheer anger and relentless frustration was my default mode of being

Reading a weightlifting fórum I came across some writings by a former angry-head who wrote about breathing techniques that helped him massively and then a lot of others jumped in, contributing some wonderful anecdotes about how they changed their lives round, all thanks to breathing techniques, mindfulness etc. Off I ran to YouTube, and here I am, dealing with the fact that I never get my soul nourished with human interactions in real life, but I know that getting myself sorted internally can help enormously. Already I have been confronted with a few situations that would have set me off in the past...and in the moment I realised that I wasn't reacting like a mad-man Instead, I was seeing that, yes, the individuals involved were thoughtless and inconsiderate and blahblahblah, but I was able to accept it and not suffer. I controlled my side of the situation and chose to simply get on with my life, not even thinking of it again. Very nice feeling, it must be said.

Now all I have to do is get the OH practising some mindfulness as well, as she's still suffering with some violent reactions to what we encounter here. The important thing is she's seen the change in me so it should only be a matter of time before her mindfulness career kicks off in earnest