Yesterday, in my Coping and Healing Group, we tried to go beyond time in a mindfulness exercise. I suggested that people go beyond their usual focus on time (what time is it? how much time has passed? how much time do I have?) and stay in the moment.
One of the group members had their volume turned down and did not hear the chime to end the mindfulness, so they thought the exercise had gone way beyond time. Other people spoke about how difficult it was to go beyond time in one’s mind.
I may have gone beyond time in this introduction, so here are my images for today.
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The Daily Bitch is beyond time.
Here’s what I find when I look for “beyond time” on YouTube;
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And here’s my song about going beyond time — “Stay in the Moment.”
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Thanks to everyone who has taken the time for this beyond-time post, including YOU!
Yesterday, on Let It Go Day, my Coping and Healing group focused on letting go of negative self talk. We started out with a new mindfulness exercise: letting go of any negative self talk for five minutes. This was challenging, because letting go of old, familiar habits takes a lot of practice.
I will be letting go of any negative self talk as I create this “letting go” blog post today.
I’m letting go of any judgment I have about going to bed at 8 P.M. last night.
Here’s the song that comes up for people about “letting go.”
Consider letting go of your reactions to this blog post by putting them in a comment, below.
Thanks to all who are doing their best letting go of unhelpful old habits, including YOU.
Today’s blog post is inspired by the Daily Bitch, who helps me get through this difficult time.
During this difficult time, I will post my latest images.
During this difficult time, I’ve been facilitating five remote Coping and Healing groups each week and I’ll be adding a sixth one next Friday. In yesterday’s Coping and Healing group, I asked people who were experiencing this difficult time to use their sense of touch for a mindfulness exercise, focusing on something soft and comforting. I chose Harley’s favorite cat toy, pictured above.
I also suggested that people get through this difficult time by being especially kind to themselves.
Music helps me get through this difficult time. When I search YouTube for “Pat Metheny this difficult time,” I find this:
During this difficult time, it helps to believe that there are “Better Days Ahead.”
What are your thoughts and feelings about this difficult time?
During this difficult time, I am especially grateful for people like YOU.
For some unknown reason, I’m having this difficult time uploading and publishing this difficult time post. During this difficult time, I’ll just keep trying, while being especially kind to myself.
Yesterday, in a therapy group where I notice connections among people, I did a mindfulness exercise using these mindfulness cards:
Most of the people in the room took their time noticing the different cards and choosing one they felt a connection with. The two people who were left-handed (including me) randomly chose a mindfulness card without looking. I noticed that connection and then noticed the card I had randomly pulled:
Then, I noticed color connections between that card and my water bottle:
I notice, here and now, that I’ve used the word “connections” only twice before in a blog title. If you want to make connections with those older blog posts (both written in my first year of making connections on WordPress), you can connect to them here and here. I also notice that the first blog post that popped up in my “connections” search was Day 1002: What makes anxiety worse?Because I notice that connections often reduce anxiety, I wonder what connections WordPress noticed there.
I notice connections between the word “older” (which you may notice I used in my previous paragraph) and negative judgments. I’m especially noticing that connection two days before I turn 66.
I also notice connections between my reading the news and my anxiety getting worse, so I am careful to notice news items that help restore and reconnect my faith in humankind, including this one:
Quincy Police rescue tiny owl from roadside
QUINCY — It appears as if Quincy Police has its very own Dr. Dolittle.
Officer Tim Kaes helped a rescue a small saw-whet owl Tuesday night on Victory Road just before 7 p.m. This is the third owl that Kaes has helped rescue.
A person found the injured owl and flagged down a police cruiser, according to Quincy Police Sgt. Karyn Barkas. With animal control off for the night, the officer called in Kaes who Barkas said loves animals.
The owl was brought to the New England Wildlife Center in Weymouth for treatment.
New England Wildlife Center Executive Director Katrina Bergman said that Kaes had just brought in an injured hawk last week that was trapped in the Quincy Center MBTA station. She called Kaes the “slighted animal hero of the South Shore.”
Bergman said the saw-whet appeared to have been hit by a car and has a severe concussion. The small owl, common to the area, was in a bird head trauma protocol, similar to one for humans. If the animal survives its injuries it will be released back into the wild.
The Audobon Society says the bird gets its name from the call it makes, which is supposed to sound like a saw being sharpened against a whetstone. The bird is one of the smallest owl species.
I notice connections with people like Quincy officer Tim Kaes and phrases like “the slighted animal hero of the South Shore.” I notice connections between expressed appreciation and being less slighted, so I hope Tim Kaes notices and connects to that news article.
Do you notice connections in any of my other recent photos?
I notice connections between being near the water and feeling better.
I notice connections between gratitude and positive growth, so thanks to those who helped me notice the connections in this post and — of course! — to YOU, for all the connections you notice.
What the hell! Did anybody else have a week where you asked yourself,
“What the hell happened?”
When you’re talking to somebody on the phone and they’re suddenly not there, do you ask yourself, “What the hell happened? Did they hang up on me? Was it something I said? Are they angry? Did their phone lose power? Is the signal week? Should I call back? Are they calling me back?”
What the hell happened in these photos?
What the hell happened in the first photo above and the last one? First photo: We did a mindfulness exercise in a therapy group last week where we focused on a piece of paper we crumpled and then unfolded. Last photo: a group calling themselves “Gym Class” performed Lou Reed’s “Take a Walk on the Wild Side” at an open mic last night.
Is making noise making things better or worse? Today, I’m making noise about the fact that some news columnists are speculating that how the USA opposition party is making noise might be hurting their chances in the upcoming midterm election.
Lately, I’ve been making noise in my therapy groups, inviting people to be making noise when we do a mindfulness exercise that focuses on listening. This is the noise I’m making when I introduce that exercise:
In this mindfulness exercise, we’re going to focus on the sense of hearing. After you hear the sound of the chime, do your best to listen to all the noises in the room. Feel free to make noise to make the exercise more interesting for other people.
That’s my attempt at making it safer for people to be making noise, since many of us can be self-conscious about the noises we’re making, especially when other people are listening.
I’ll be making noise soon with these Right & Wrong Buzzers:
Even though I’m often making noise about letting go of unhelpful concepts of wrong and right, I’ll be making noise to encourage people to change old habits of thinking (including the cognitive distortions described here).
It’s okay to be making noise or to be silent about the other images I captured yesterday.
Because the wind was making so much noise yesterday, I didn’t go for my usual walk. Instead, I was making noise by making ukulele chords for my latest original song “I’m Mad About You.”
With that song, I’m making noise about anger (especially towards politicians).
It’s time for me to be making noise about gratitude, so thanks to all who helped me create this “Making noise” post and — of course! — to YOU, for all the noises you’re making.
Last night in a therapy group, we did a mindfulness exercise in which we focused on the temperature in the room. After the exercise, people shared that they were
cold,
hot, and
hot and cold at the same time.
This goes to show that different people in the same room at the same time can have very different experiences, even regarding something as measurable as the temperature.
Earlier in the day, I noticed that the temperature outside was the coldest I could ever recall for the Boston Red Sox home opener.
Later in the day, the temperature in the group room went up when people discussed what made them mad.
What makes you mad? How does that affect your temperature?
Here’s the last photo I snapped yesterday in the cold Boston temperature.
Here‘s a film by David Leaf about the night James Brown saved Boston.
Thanks to all who helped me write this post about the temperature and — of course! — to you, no matter what the temperature is where you are.
Three hundred and sixty-nine days ago (but who’s counting?), I wrote Day 1505: The Year of the ______. In that post, I hoped that 2017 would be, among other things, The Year of the Water View.
Yesterday, in honor of the first day of The Year of the Dog, I did a special mindfulness exercise in my therapy group. I asked people to focus on images and memories of dogs. Even though I’m a cat person, I found that mindfulness exercise very helpful, relaxing, and soothing.
Vivian, the Social Work intern who helps me facilitate that group, texted me this photo afterwards:
I texted back “Oooh! It’s the year of that!”
I plan to practice mindfulness and look at more great photos this year, because 2018 is going to be
calling administration at a third Boston-area hospital — where I spent much of my childhood and am returning to on Wednesday for a consult with a highly recommended cardiologist — since they sent me a letter over the weekend stating their erroneous assumption that I have no health insurance, and
when we breathe in, we think of something we want to take in from the universe and
when we breathe out, we think of something we want to let go of.
Today, I choose to breathe in hope and breathe out fear (which matters and helps).
Yesterday, it mattered to bring along Penny the Pen with me and boyfriend Michael (who matters a lot), as we went walking and then food-shopping at our local supermarket. Would it matter to you if I showed you some photos?
This song mattered to me, when I was growing up in the Northeastern USA:
Many thanks to Michael, to Vahan (previously appearing in this post, which mattered to me when I wrote it), to Mamas & Papas, to children & adults everywhere, to colorful flowers and other blossoming things, and to you, who matters on Monday and every other day of the week.
