Mindful Monday – Mental Illness

Wendy is very open in this Mindfulness Monday when she talks about her current mental health issues.
She takes powerful quotes, and relates them to her life experience.
I came away feeling that I am not alone in my struggles. And encouraged by her strength and resolve.
You are not alone, either, Wendy. You are gently hugged in a circle of virtual and “solid” friends.

Picnic with Ants

Today’s Mindfulness Monday is not really quotes on mindfulness, they are mindful quotes on mental health.  There are more quotes than usual, I actually found over 30 that I liked and finally cut it down to these 7.  After each quote I will explain why I chose that particular quote.  I hope you will bare with me, as most of you know I’m working through a mental health crisis of my own, and working on this post has helped me feel not so alone.  ***Please note that this post contains a frank discussion on mental health issues including suicide ideation.

“Beautiful fake smile.

All it takes is a beautiful fake smile

 to hide an injured soul and

they will never notice how broken you really are.”

~Robin Williams

I chose this quote because we I often use a fake smile to get through the day.  Whether it be because of…

View original post 906 more words

Advertisements

Mindfulness Monday: #GivingTuesday

#GivingTuesday — tomorrow give something of yourself to others. As Mother Teresa said, “If you can’t feed one hundred people, then just feed one.”

Picnic with Ants

“Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.”

J.M. Barrie

“. . . It’s a beautiful dance, this giving and receiving!”

Heather Powers “Grateful Girl”

“The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under who shade you do not expect to sit.”

Nelson Henderson

Tomorrow, Tuesday November 27, is #GivingTuesday (Giving Tuesday) — the first Tuesday after American Thanksgiving.

“#GivingTuesday is a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration.  . . . One of the best ways to get involved is in your own community. . . join the movement and give – whether it’s some of your time, a donation, gift or the power of your voice in your local community.” #GivingTuesday

I am grateful to Wendy for her friendship, compassion, caring, and the chance to participate in Mindfulness Mondays.

Tomorrow, I will give some of…

View original post 89 more words

Mindfulness Monday: calmness

Calmness — something in the rush and rumble of the upcoming holiday/shopping season that can seem hard to achieve.
Being a co-contributor to Wendy’s Mindfulness Monday helps me to work on my own mindfulness practice.
Thanks Wendy!

Picnic with Ants

“Calm the winds of your thoughts, and there will be no waves on the ocean of your mind.”

Remez Sassoon

“Meditation is not a way of making your mind quiet, it is a way of entering into the quiet that is already there – buried under the 50,000 thoughts the average person thinks every day.”

 Deepak Chopra

“Empty your mind of everything – let the mind become still.”

Lao Tzu

I create personalized “mindfulness” or “grounding” cards. On different coloured index cards, I print out a quote; a saying; a thought gleaned from elsewhere, or sometimes from somewhere inside me.

I carry two with me . . . always.

The first is a grounding exercise to use when I have a panxiety attack, feel like I’m drifting too far from shore, or to help be mindful of my surroundings by using all my senses. *

The other:

“Calm as a koi pond.”

View original post 129 more words

Mindfulness Monday: gratitude

As I did Mindfulness Monday on Canadian Thanksgiving day, I thought I’d chose quotes about gratitude.
Being a transplanted Canuck means I get to celebrate Thanksgiving twice. But, as these authors suggest, thanksgiving and gratitude is part of a daily mindfulness practice.

Picnic with Ants

“The real gift of gratitude is that the more grateful you are, the more present you become.”

Robert Holden

 “Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world.”

John Milton

 “Gratitude: a process of forgiveness, mindfulness, hope, awe, presence and expanded awareness all rolled into one amazing state of being.”

Kristen Granger

 Lorraine, hosting Mindfulness Monday for October 8, 2018.

Today is Canadian Thanksgiving Day/ Jour de l’action de grâce so I chose quotes dealing with gratitude. And, remember: 

“Gratitude can transform common days into Thanksgivings.”

William Arthur Ward

 “I am grateful for what I have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.”

Henry David Thoreau

 

Image © Lorraine

View original post