mindfulness no reason "bringing one’s complete attention to the present experience on a moment-to-moment basis or involves paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally, or involvesa kind of nonelaborative, nonjudgmental, present-centered awareness in which each thought, feeling, or sensation that arises in the attentional field is acknowledged and accepted as it is." 131127 ... nr *involves a i blame the quoted source for that one. not my lack of proofreading skills. 131127 ... nr the therapist suggested doing one mundane thing mindfully for a few minutes per day, like brushing your teeth. "focus only on what's happening in that moment, like how the bristles feel on your teeth, how the toothpaste bottle feels in your hand, the motion of brushing." picturing doing that made me uncomfortable, and i said it sounded intimidating. she usually has theories as to why things happen but had none in this case, so she asked me. i knew it sounded silly, and even i wasn't sure why. but i guessed it had something to do with forcing myself to be in the moment, not being allowed to depend on distractions. focusing on something that is unpleasant or mundane, as opposite to something that offers gratification or pleasant distraction... it's just another scary thing. 210929 ... epitome of incomprehensibility Subject of the university study I participated in. Specifically, it's about doing mindfulness exercises to reduce stress and how this might work for people with issues such as ADHD, autism, and compulsive behaviour. At first, it interested me purely for the promised $85 at the end, but I started getting interested in the methods and philosophy behind it. I keep coming back to a range of similar questions: 1) Are the focusing techniques prioritizing one kind of thinking, and by implication some sort of standardized mind-type, over others? 2) Can I find things that work to my strengths, specifically that don't seem like implicit criticisms of how my mind wanders? 3) Frequently there's an instruction to be non-judgmental about thoughts, but isn't judgment more than labeling things good or bad? And thinking about answers: 1) Possibly, but that doesn't mean it can't be adapted. Besides, there seems to be diversity in the approaches: a couple of the 15-minute mindfulness recordings use Buddhist terms, while others are more Cognitive Therapy. And as for the physical side, the "deep breaths" thing helps put the body in relax mode. Still, I guess the assumption of a neurotypical norm can affect how some of the messages are delivered... 2) Yes. The one that asks the listener to visualize sitting by a river and putting thoughts on leaves. It's immersive and lets me exercise imagination. This feels like something I'm good at and from there I can approach the idea of observing thoughts. 3) Ah, judgments! Reminds me of the "don't_should_on_yourself" from a previous study. Plus there's a possible paradox: by saying "be non-judgmental" you're judging judgment. But I can take the spirit of it at the same time as I rebel. Put on your paradox pants, people. This is how I'll be non-judgmental: I will let myself be stubborn and have fun with things. 240317 what's it to you? who go blather from