PsychedelicWizard
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2014
- Messages
- 243
Cognitive Mindful Meditation
This is system I'm working on that I would like all of you that are currently suffering from mental illness to try. Cognitive mindful meditation is the combination of mindful meditation and cognitive behavorial therapy, with the Ego Death and Third Party Analysis dissassociation thrown in for good measure.
Basically what you do is instead of ignoring or trying to cancel negative thoughts or emotions, you instead use mindful meditation and listen to them. Truly listen. What are your thoughts telling you? What are you telling yourself? Don't try to ignore or block them, but rather, instead of spiraling downwards in a cycle of increasing negativity loop that many of you I'm sure know all too well, listen to the thoughts and what they mean.
Example: "I look so stupid in this hat, my ex is such scum, I hope I get that promotion or I will be homeless", take them apart.
"I look so stupid in this hat." To my mind or to another's mind? How can I truly know what another thinks of me? What defines what looks stupid and what doesn't? Why am I wearing it if I think I look stupid but liked it before? What changed?
"My ex is such scum" Compared to whom? Am I still letting this person effect my life? Why am I thinking about them still? What of the good qualities of that person?
"I hope I get that promotion or I will be homeless" How can I guarantee where I'll be in my life regardless? Should I really worry about this or do something to make it happen? Why am I so concerned with this thought?
Now where mindful meditation fails is that it can easily lead to an infinite loop of negative-positive thought cycling... so I add cognitive behavioral therapy into the mix.
Here is where once you counter the initial negative thought with a positive one, you stop, you force yourself to drop the thought by thinking of something else. Mentally visualize a Q & A session with yourself, the question being the negative thought, and the positive counter, the answer, then think it being in a file that is closed and a stamp that says "CASE CLOSED". If you drift towards that thought again, imagine you opening the file cabinet and opening the file that says "CASE CLOSED" on it, and finally, re-assessing it only to realize that you cannot add anything further because it has already been resolved.
Pinch yourself, think of something else, at this point you have to ignore it.
Basically what you've just done is corrected a problem thought pattern. You don't just ignore these thoughts like CBT trains you to do, which leaves you feeling anxious and negative, you instead address them with mindful meditation, turn them positive, and leave them alone forever.
This method, unlike CBT or mindful meditation alone, allow you to re-program the way you think while being happy and positive the entire process! Trust me it works.
Finally, the ego death and third party analysis are a technique you need to learn to embrace. When you have the thoughts, think that they are a question being asked of a person who isn't you to a person who isn't you, that you just happen to be reading, like a thread on a forum.
When you set-back and look at it objectively, even your deepest most troubling thoughts will seem laughable. Case in point? Imagine your life as a sitcom. The same thing that would cause you hours of mental turmoil would have a laugh track played on it if your life were a TV show.
When you start doing this method, you can overcome virtually anything from depression to anxiety to schizophrenia, although of course, it might help to have certain drugs to go along with it, your call.
PS:
Laughter is the best medicine in this regard. Start being sarcastic when you feel negative, it will turn negativity into something fun making the negative into a positive.
When you are positive, and having just positive thoughts, keep the momentum going, no matter how much the negative thoughts try to lead you away, just swat them away with the same technique.
This is system I'm working on that I would like all of you that are currently suffering from mental illness to try. Cognitive mindful meditation is the combination of mindful meditation and cognitive behavorial therapy, with the Ego Death and Third Party Analysis dissassociation thrown in for good measure.
Basically what you do is instead of ignoring or trying to cancel negative thoughts or emotions, you instead use mindful meditation and listen to them. Truly listen. What are your thoughts telling you? What are you telling yourself? Don't try to ignore or block them, but rather, instead of spiraling downwards in a cycle of increasing negativity loop that many of you I'm sure know all too well, listen to the thoughts and what they mean.
Example: "I look so stupid in this hat, my ex is such scum, I hope I get that promotion or I will be homeless", take them apart.
"I look so stupid in this hat." To my mind or to another's mind? How can I truly know what another thinks of me? What defines what looks stupid and what doesn't? Why am I wearing it if I think I look stupid but liked it before? What changed?
"My ex is such scum" Compared to whom? Am I still letting this person effect my life? Why am I thinking about them still? What of the good qualities of that person?
"I hope I get that promotion or I will be homeless" How can I guarantee where I'll be in my life regardless? Should I really worry about this or do something to make it happen? Why am I so concerned with this thought?
Now where mindful meditation fails is that it can easily lead to an infinite loop of negative-positive thought cycling... so I add cognitive behavioral therapy into the mix.
Here is where once you counter the initial negative thought with a positive one, you stop, you force yourself to drop the thought by thinking of something else. Mentally visualize a Q & A session with yourself, the question being the negative thought, and the positive counter, the answer, then think it being in a file that is closed and a stamp that says "CASE CLOSED". If you drift towards that thought again, imagine you opening the file cabinet and opening the file that says "CASE CLOSED" on it, and finally, re-assessing it only to realize that you cannot add anything further because it has already been resolved.
Pinch yourself, think of something else, at this point you have to ignore it.
Basically what you've just done is corrected a problem thought pattern. You don't just ignore these thoughts like CBT trains you to do, which leaves you feeling anxious and negative, you instead address them with mindful meditation, turn them positive, and leave them alone forever.
This method, unlike CBT or mindful meditation alone, allow you to re-program the way you think while being happy and positive the entire process! Trust me it works.
Finally, the ego death and third party analysis are a technique you need to learn to embrace. When you have the thoughts, think that they are a question being asked of a person who isn't you to a person who isn't you, that you just happen to be reading, like a thread on a forum.
When you set-back and look at it objectively, even your deepest most troubling thoughts will seem laughable. Case in point? Imagine your life as a sitcom. The same thing that would cause you hours of mental turmoil would have a laugh track played on it if your life were a TV show.
When you start doing this method, you can overcome virtually anything from depression to anxiety to schizophrenia, although of course, it might help to have certain drugs to go along with it, your call.
PS:
Laughter is the best medicine in this regard. Start being sarcastic when you feel negative, it will turn negativity into something fun making the negative into a positive.
When you are positive, and having just positive thoughts, keep the momentum going, no matter how much the negative thoughts try to lead you away, just swat them away with the same technique.
