‘Mindful Awareness’ at Psychology, Philosophy and Real Life, Page 17

Compassion is not something artificial, like telling yourself you are good at something when you’re not, or that you are a ‘good person’ when you don’t feel as if this is true. Compassion naturally flows once the blocks of shame and self criticism are removed.

The “Beguns/Wanderers” are a minor group of the “Old Believers” — Russian Christians who broke off from the Russian Orthodox church in the fifteenth century, believing that the devil had captured the world and that the only way to escape from his power was to keep moving…

It feels different from the September Blues. They were mainly in my head. I knew that a change was coming, and I was trying to keep up with the preparations, get ahead of it, take control of it. This feels more difficult, my body has to actually move through the changes, the cold, the viruses, the fires, the new rhythms and the ever increasing darkness. At the same time it feels less speedy and mind-driven, and more authentic. In fact it is only the other side of the coin…

I had a quick surf around the internet and realised just what a lot of time you could spend, if you were so inclined, reading tips on how to prioritise, streamline, simplify, and link up the things you do every day with your goals in life. In fact someone like me could use these tips as a handy feel-good tick list (”Know that! Yes, of course!”), and simultaneously it would work beautifully as a procrastination device.

I’m filing this under mindful awareness, which seems like an exalted term for going to bed when you’re tired. But it sometimes seems like such hard work to keep aware on a simple and basic level. The thoughts suck me in and go at a million miles an hour. It’s thrilling, terrifying, creates adrenaline — which is what I think I need in order to get things done.