𓆩♡𓆪

I’m on this section about meditation and medication. I don’t think I’ve ever properly “meditated”. Quieting my mind is fucking hard, and I guess I just haven’t put enough effort to unlocking that practice for me. Through reading this book, I’m not trying to become “spiritually awakened”, I’m just learning of different ways to help my mind. Meditation would be a great tool, but for the time being, medication is the step I’m on.

This quote made me laugh but also sad because it’s something I’ve thought about intensely. I had to stop reading because I noticed I started tearing up. So I’m just sitting with it for now.

“Don’t medications numb the very experiences we are trying to unconditionally accept? Wouldn’t liberation be impossible if we were on medication? It’s hard to imagine the Buddha reaching for Prozac while under the bodhi tree.” lol

My answer is it can create a degree of emotional numbing (dependence is a huge factor as well), but “when fear is too overwhelming, medical intervention may be the most compassionate response…medications make it possible for some people to ‘stop anxiously doing and just sit there.’”

Ya Allah has blessed my dashboard with these posts lining up 😅🙏🏾

I’m about a third way through Radical Acceptance. Since last year, I’ve been balancing a fiction book with a non-fiction one (my current fiction read is The Fellowship of the Ring 🤪). Zooming out, I think this has been a good balance for me because LOTR allows my brain to imagine, think, and explore, while non-fiction allows me to do the same—just within the confines of my reality.

I’ve been digging both reads. Something I’m actively digesting with Radical Acceptance is that…

It’s true. No one is going to come save me (J Cole voice: don’t save her, she don’t wanna be saved lmao). Positive, negative, or neutral, the shit that is currently happening? …well, it’s happening. Acknowledging this fact does not sway the situation in a good or bad direction. Additionally, pausing to accept this fact halts my mind from spiraling and creating random ass scenarios in my head. Instead of feeling trapped in that moment, inadequate, or whatever emotion, I can notice that this shit sucks while still being able to move on from that trance. Depression/anxiety has consumed and debilitated me for far too long, and I hope I’m able to practice this acceptance moving forward. I know I can’t rid myself of these illnesses at the drop of a dime, but I want to equip myself with a mind that is kind and understanding—especially to myself because fuck, I deserve it.