Good looks

1 step forward everyday!

Just love to see this thread doing numbers

spring allergies are f***ing me up every other day I cant breath out of my nose

my sleep schedule is the best its been in a while i wake up between 6 and 7 everyday and im only tired for like a half hour after i eat lunch

do ya'll ever slip? like you're going weeks meditating and practicing these good habits (reinforcing mind/body connection ect.) but then outta nowhere stop doing these things cuz you get caught up and then the anxiety creep back like a hoe? is it just me or?

All the time, going thru that rn. Just take it easy and ease yourself back in as you see fit.

happens to everyone, a lot of the posts in this thread are about getting back on the wagon lol

it's crazy because i've beaten the anxiety before...like i've pulled it off. but whenever i slip up like this I feel defeated like the anxiety is coming back and I won't be able to overcome it. even though I've proven time and time again that I am able to.

Fr, it can be frustrating. I usually gotta find some way to trick my mind into using that as motivation lol.

I used to be super militant with my routine and look at it like "beating" something, and the low points we're talking about would feel much worse.

I now look at it only as you said reinforcing the body/mind connection. The anxiety is a part of you and shouldn't be beaten, but worked with and understood. Maybe try reworking your idea of what meditation means to you?

But all this is hard to remember in the heat of the moment which is why these communities exist 👍🏾

Also the very fact that you're looking at this from the birds eye view you are, shows that the past progress is still with you. It just takes time and a little wake up call.

damn bruh that s*** hit. wish i had an accountability partner like this

i never thought of looking at anxiety as something to work with and understood.

We got you in this thread. Also feel free to PM if you need

Yup. The conflict with anxiety just further activates the fight or flight response and can make it a dangerous never ending loop. Theres also the whole self love side of things that is affected too.

Theres enough conflict outside, why make things even harder for yourself inside.

ppreciate it man. that def makes a lot of sense. i hate going into the mode of fight or flight. i defiently need to work more on self-love and being patient with myself. I find that if I let the anxiety be and just do what it needs to do and relax that I get better results. almost like how they say to stay absolutely calm or still in order to float or somethin

this week showed me i need to meditate even more.

Whenever i feel like i lost progress, i remember the only thing that matters is the present moment

Been struggling recently.

It's a balance between finding the time for this and feeling internal pressure to be productive.

Its difficult for me to find the right mix

Feel like I sometimes go one way or the other, either im doing well mentally and meditating routinely, or im working towards my "goals," leading to burnout because im not taking the time for mental health.

I think rn im trying to slowly ease in workload, but I still find myself neglecting self care and medication

Finding balance is hard so don't beat yourself up about it

This s*** converted me into zen buddhism

Been reading hella zen literature, zen art. starting to go to a temple to seek in person guidance by a zen master

I'm trying to fit in time for meditation before work and during my lunch break. I've been having a lot of difficult, stressful days and taking 5-10 minutes to meditate or go for a mindful walk can make a difference.

I've been trying to focus on my breathing throughout the day I find it helps

Yooo if any of yall are looking to get into zen buddhism/zazen i highly recommend this podcast

zenstudiespodcast.com

Highly recommending listening to it in order. zazen is different in very fundamental ways from mindfulness meditation.

Im also getting into books about zen and buddhism as a whole. So if any of yall got cool literature vids or any thing zen. Hit this mf thread up. Imma do the same wit what i find since ive just gotten into it like last week.

for those who are deep into meditation and experienced

what are your views on negative people in your life ? whether close or mutual, etc.

family members for example

i ask because most of my stress comes from the negativity that other people bring into my life

i dont expect to start meditating and suddenly all my stress is gone but if i had to find a start, it would definitely be those around me

I was gonna txt u this but i figured id just share it itt.

Im obv not a master but yooo im just understanding to deal with negative people that u still love. Meditation is THE key to understanding that.

In the heart of it all, understanding, discernment, and right action are the steps im taking to deal with negative people. my mom for example, is prob one of the most negative ppl i know. during a particularly draining phone call, i became present and realized her words dont really affect me or even my ego like how i thought. it just hurts my heart hearing my mom be unstable, and my irritation is merely the product of my cynicism.

So after that realization, i started really listening to her words without judgement or trying to change her opinion (a skill only my daily meditation has given me) then i realized that she is trapped by time, not just her recent past, not just her childhood and future. I mean she is carried along by karma like a puppet. which is not a bad thing, everyone is, but instability is a trademark of being a victim of karma. meditation helps u rise above karma and realize it is just a word, karma is barely even a concept. But thats another topic.

after realizing that my mother is simply just suffering in a cyclical manner. i said to myself, is she worth keeping in my life at this moment? She is my mother and i love her. She tried her best to raise me despite her own demons getting in the way and she is plagued by guilt in the present due to her past actions with me and my sis. And we have tried to get her mental help for our whole lives. but time is now, and i have to figure out my own s***. Im 22 building a life, and impermanence is within all things. So do i have time for that negativity right now? Even if its means cutting off my mother?

So after thinking that, i discerned with compassion, i will just keep my mother at an emotional distance at the moment as i proceed on my journey. Simple as that. she knows i love her and she will live without my communication for a few years. She needs help but i do not have the answers nor do i have time to find them for her anymore or be her answer anymore.

And boom. After that phone call i have been at peace. my mom has been hurt by my new distance, not understanding why (i explained why). But it is not my problem. now when she calls, i will just listen with compassion, and i will not call her to have a casual conversation, due to her thought process. But ill be here when she calls always, Sounds selfish but it is what it is until i am a few years older and a few years more resilient towards negative emotions of others, but for now i am a young adult trying to figure s*** out. I havent cultivated the heart or wisdom to just listen to BS on a daily basis and smile at it. That takes experience and time.

Idk if u gonna read all this, but yea thats how im dealing with everyone negative from that point forward: Understanding, discernment, and right action! And meditation was the key for all those realizations. If i was just trippin on the phone with her and feeling bad i wouldnt have been able to think.

I also realized our worldviews clash, they aren’t just opposite. That too helped understand the whole relationship and situation.