The Way Out Is In

Hello Formites,

Welcome to my home thread. In my short time here on the forums I have been amazed by the compassion, kindness, decency, love and support members on these forums show. I have also realised just how profoundly blessed I have been in my life, and how deeply ignorant I am in the ways of MH care, comfort and support.

So, in an effort not to be a bull in a china-shop, I am starting my own thread where I will mostly hang. I think I will use it for accountability as I return to self-care. I think I will post about the things I like and that I think help. And I think I am also going to post a lot about Buddhism. Not the religion, but the philosophy of mind. How Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche expresses it at the start of The Joy Of Living:

"WHEN YOU’RE TRAINED as a Buddhist, you don’t think of Buddhism as a religion. You think of it as a type of science, a method of exploring your own experience through techniques that enable you to examine your actions and reactions in a nonjudgmental way, with the view toward recognizing, “Oh, this is how my mind works. This is what I need to do to experience happiness. This is what I should avoid to avoid unhappiness.”

If I post on this subject, it will be the concepts as I understand them and how they relate to my mental health. I think expressing them will help to clarify for me. But I am no expert, and I am not here to preach or convert. I respect all faiths, races, cultures and creeds.

I am also by nature very (very) structured in thought and deed. A lot of my posts are likely to be long. I don’t presume to think that anything I post will be helpful. Indeed for some it may be overwhelming or unhelpful. Others may vehemently disagree.

In all cases, if anything I am posting is making you feel worse, please do what is right for yourself, don't reply and click off this thread. But for anybody else - whether you have thoughts, questions, insights or experiences – or you just want to pop in and say hi - you are very welcome!

M