Just Float

Soft Tranquil Blue Glass Mindfulness Reminder

It is another day of listing a new necklace to my Center Rings Etsy shop.  That is when I have to study the particular necklace I am listing and try to describe it with tags that someone might search.  Trying to read peoples minds has never been something I clam to be able to do.  So, instead I decided to describe what comes to mind when I look at the necklace.

How do I describe the color of blue in the glass?  Light blue?  Light turquoise blue?  Then, I thought of the color of a clean swimming pool.  Yes, that is what it reminds me of.

Then, that reminded me of an example I heard once in therapy of what not do do if you are having a panic attack in quicksand.  If you thrash around trying to get out, you will sink deeper.  But, if you lay on your back and float, you will not sink.  It is strange how our mind can so often fool us into thinking something is true.  I know my mind would say "get out of there" if I found myself sinking in quicksand.  The knowledge to lay back and float would not come to mind.  Yet, it is a perfect example of realizing that what we think might not be the truth.  Our instincts are not always right.

So, when I am feeling a bit anxious or panicky, I am going to think about just laying back and floating.  It is quite a remarkable feat of our natural world that water can hold us up if we let it.

Wishing you a wonderful little float today--even if it is just in your imagination.

This too shall pass...eventually

This is Spring in Minnesota today.  Hail, ice, and snow--lots of snow.  It is reminding me of one of the hardest things about panic attacks.  You know that the feelings will pass, but when you are in the midst of a full blown panic attack, seconds seem like hours.  The strange thing is that the more you try to push those feelings away, the worse they get. 

Most of us here in Minnesota are really sick of this winter weather.  Yes, we are crabby.  But, that will not make it go away.  We cannot control the weather. 

I have decided it is okay to be crabby today.  It is okay to feel whatever I feel.  With that, however, I can still go about my day.  The weather will not stop me from breathing and living.  Maybe today will be a practice in mindfulness.  I can be here right now and just feel everything I feel and not judge it.  Yes, it is "uncomfortable".  I would rather be out in the yard getting ready for warmer weather ahead.

But, I do know that this will pass...eventually.

Giving Ourselves a Soft Place to Land

Colorful Textile Mindfulness Reminder Necklace

Yesterday, I tried something new and different adding a some color.  As I created this necklace, these are a few thoughts that streamed through my mind:

• What does it mean to offer ourselves a soft place to land?
• What does it mean to accept all our thoughts and feelings--the good, the bad, the easy, the hard, the right, the wrong?
• Do we even need to label them or judge them?
• By giving our thoughts and feelings a soft place to land, will they never go away?
• Is giving our thoughts and feelings a soft place to land in a way a metaphor for acceptance?
• We don't cling to them or shoo them away.  We just let them be there.

I wrapped the metal rings with embroidery floss to make this necklace.  It is much more colorful.  I notice that when I give myself to the present moment, I notice things I would not notice otherwise.  Sometimes, what I notice more is color--the different greens in a leaf, the pink of a blooming gerber daisy, or the turquoise of an ocean bay.  Yes, all these are a soft place to land.

May you all find your own soft place to land.

Leaves on a Stream Mindfulness Reminder Necklace

Leaves on a Stream Mindfulness Reminder Necklace by CenterRings on Etsy

When I received these rings with holes in them in the mail the other day, I started playing around with different designs. After I looked at this leaf combination, I was reminded of a visualization practice my therapist taught me years ago. The idea is that visualize a stream with leaves floating by and place your thought or feeling on a leaf and watch is float away. 

There is quite a bit of information on this practice on the web.  This one from YouTube is one of my favorites.

As with so many of not all Mindfulness practices, the key is to practice.  It is always best to practice even at times when you are not necessarily stressed.  Frankly, I had sort of forgotten about the Mindfulness practice using leaves on a stream.  This necklace will be another reminder to practice observing my thoughts and feelings and just letting them go.

What You Think Might Not Be the Truth

I ran across this article from Psychology Today that reminded me of a very profound statement my therapist said to me when I was first trying to figure out to cope with my panic attacks.  I was describing some of the thoughts that spun around in my head at high speed when I was having a panic attack.  She said to me, "What you think might not necessarily be the truth."  Well, that got my attention!  When I looked at my thoughts like that, it made me sound like some kind of ego maniac with all the answers.  Whoa!

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/some-assembly-required/201309/mind-full-or-mindful

Was that what I was doing with my thoughts?  Ya, I kinda was!  Granted, in the midst of a panic attack shutting down my thoughts seemed impossible to do.  In fact, I found that trying to get rid of anything just so I would not panic actually fueled the panic even more.  Still, realizing that I was believing what I was thinking was a significant turning point in my journey.