#mind storm

You know whats bad? I drafted this post weeks ago. Right after the storm hit us (my first real hurricane btw) I had imagined all the things I was going to say and made and outline only for it all to disappear. How crappy is that.

Oh well.

So first things first, If you are reading this, that means I'M ALIVE. Sorry for all the haters out there that wish I were dead. Better luck next time.

So, My first time.... in a hurricane. It was really interesting. I didn't realize how much rain was coming from just the storm alone. They projected it to hit land on Wednesday, but in reality, the band or extended arm of the storm was already casting its effect the night before around 5:00PM.

It nonstop rained from light to heavy for i think close to four days. Wednesday around noon, everything shut down. I had my supplies I needed, but I needed small snacks that I couldn't get the night before due to work. So I drove around while it was still some what calm and got what I needed.

I think I ended up watching an anime till I got too tired to watch and went to bed. That was about 2:00AM Thursday. I tried to calm my mind and make a distraction of everything. Alas, dreams of flooding and my weak windows rattling from the winds made it feel like they were going to shatter at any moment and water would surround me as I lay in my recliner.

Then, the most alarming thing happened. Silence. No noice from my fan, no sounds from the kitchen where the refrigerator's compressor would kick on and off to let you know you're food was still cold. The power had shut off. And it would stay off till later that afternoon. Thankfully we had a generator for such an emergency.

Thankfully, by the time everything was over, we had very little damage. Unfortunately for those along the coast and in Ft Myers. They lost everything. In my sarcastic self-defense, (which is my coping mechanism) the only thing I could think of was "At least the beaches will finally be clean from being an ashtray for smokers."

But yes. I survived.

This has definitely given me new insight as to the damages of storms and being prepared for survival.

Through it all, I was able to realize that there are some many things that you could lose in a moment, and, in reality, it doesn't matter what happens to it. The only thing that matters is your faith in a situation.

This and my own personal issues with family, has caused me to further my writings and develop more for characters.

That's my update for now. Let me know if anyone is interested in hearing more about ideas, writings, or any "Side quests" going on.

A response to someone's question as part of the one-to-one service

Question:

Hi Adam,

I'm having a hard time distinguishing refocusing from escaping. My thoughts will whirr and whirr - like a cyclone. I understand I need to let them be, but should I refocus on the breath? 

Or would this be escaping?

How do observe the storm, yet lean away from it? 

Is the act of following my breath - say before I give a speech, to keep my mind centered and away from thoughts about me failing - an attempt to escape?

Should I allow them to go crazy? If I do I find I get caught in them. Do I bring attention back to the breath? 

I feel like my attempts to go to the breath are attempts to escape and are making it worse. Is that just another thought?

Please help," Response:

Even if it is an attempt to escape, it's ok if it helps. I know you mentioned it seems to make it worse, so it just depends how much you are resisting yourself.

"Wow, look at how nervous my mind is making my body feel. Wow. I think I'll take a few deep breaths," is different than the anxiety that says "Oh shit, I'm nervous. Shit, what if it gets worse and makes me mess up? Ill try to focus on my breath."

Let the storm come, but lose interest. You don't have to cling to it. The breath is more pleasant, there is nothing wrong with leaning to the breath, but the EXPECTATION of what the storm SHOULD be doing is what creates more trouble.

We have a natural tendency to avoid pain, so you can avoid pain by losing interest in mind storms that just create pain. If someone said to you "stay in this room and burn, or go in the other room and be comfortable," there is nothing wrong with walking in the other room. So there is nothing wrong with withdrawing attention from painful thoughts and directing it to where there is no pain. Just do that and give it some space, some time. When the mind questions it, just keep giving It a chance. The mind storm does not want to starve. Your interest and attention is food.   

If you found this article helpful, please share using the social media buttons below or to the left...it helps get the message to more people. Thank you.