2017-11-10 18:36
Those of us with anxiety tend to lack confidence. But anxiety is actually a great spot to build confidence from. When nothing is happening, when everything is ideal, it is easy to be confide… Read More
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The Miracle Forest: The Zen Smile Of Mindfulness Blog
themiracleforest.com
Helping ourselves to be the best people we can be, whatever life presents us. Mindfulness, inner peace, happiness, love, life, zen, meditation.
2017-10-13 17:38
Often, we might want to be different people. We look at others and wish we could be like them. We might even try our best to copy them.Being inspired by others is great. It helps us see that… Read More
2017-09-29 17:47
A lot of us have low self-confidence. We don't believe we are capable of much. We don't think highly of ourselves. And we worry, because there are so many things we think we couldn't handle… Read More
2017-08-18 16:15
I used to smoke a pack of cigarettes a day. I also used to take highly addictive sedatives on a daily basis. I haven't smoked in 10 years and haven't taken any kind of mood altering drug in… Read More
2017-08-04 19:13
Often, we might feel like we want to be more "normal." Whatever "normal" means.We are tired of carrying all the feelings, all the thoughts around. They weigh us down like bricks. They are he… Read More
2017-07-28 18:59
We all have habits that are ingrained in our minds. These habits can be accompanied by emotional responses as well. We make habits out of anger, sadness and anxiety.Habits are like folding a… Read More
2017-07-21 18:55
We all have trouble being ourselves sometimes. A big part of our lives consists of searching for who we are.Who we are is always there, our relaxed and calm self, under all that we carry. Un… Read More
2017-07-07 17:44
We tend to follow our thoughts. We believe everything we think and act accordingly. And the body follows the thought, no matter if it's true or not.Our bodies believe what we believe.If we b… Read More
2017-06-23 18:22
We tend to turn away from the uncomfortable, from pain, from darkness. Even the heroes in fairy tales are the ones who fight darkness and win, defeating it forever, saving the people from it… Read More
2017-06-16 18:50
There are many reasons we concentrate our attention on our breathing during meditation.we train our focus not to wanderwe come back to the present momentwe step away from our thoughts and se… Read More
2017-06-08 19:44
Often, we think we need to change who we are. In order to be better or even acceptable. That we have to leave our old selves behind, shed it off like an old skin, because we cannot live with… Read More
2017-05-26 19:32
There are many different descriptions of mindfulness. Psychology Today writes:"Mindfulness is a state of active, open attention on the present. When you're mindful, you observe your thoughts… Read More
2017-05-22 12:59
Do you know the feeling when somebody wants to start unnecessary drama and you simply don't want to take part in it? I'm sure everyone knows that feeling.But what if the drama is not coming… Read More
2017-05-05 18:02
"My biggest dream is to calm down."This post I saw on Tumblr is funny, because it seems exaggerated, but it's actually spot on. It might not be true for all of us, but I think a lot of peopl… Read More
2017-04-21 18:43
Relaxation is not as easy as we might think. The intention alone is not enough. We are not as in control of ourselves as we like to think.It gives us comfort to feel like we are in control o… Read More
2017-04-07 19:26
I have someone in my life who tells me horrible things. They show me unsettling pictures sometimes and pester me with them, they tell me how bad I am and how scared I should be because of th… Read More
2017-03-31 20:02
We all live in our own little worlds to some extent. Believing what we choose to believe, doing what we choose to do. That's how it's supposed to be.The twist is that the ones who can make l… Read More
2017-03-24 19:19
The average human think tens of thousands of thoughts a day. That's a thought every couple of seconds.I imagine our thoughts like an endless line of faceless men standing next to each other… Read More
2017-03-17 21:29
When dealing with ourselves, our thoughts, feelings and emotions, confidence is of vital importance.Believing in oneself might not immediately come to mind when talking about issues with anx… Read More
2017-03-10 22:22
Painting by Adam ScytheThe older I become, the more I learn to accept the darker parts of life. When I was younger, I thought the goal was to eliminate everything negative. To get rid of lif… Read More
2017-03-03 18:23
There is a fine line between wanting to better ourselves and wanting to become different people.There was a time in my life--probably multiple times, actually--when I wished I could leave a… Read More
2017-02-17 15:24
The more I learn about how the human mind works, the more baffled I am that we are never taught anything about it.Bullying, friendship and relationship drama, low self-worth, anxiety--issues… Read More
2017-02-10 18:09
It is wired into us to turn away from the negative. To try to avoid anything painful, uncomfortable or anything we label as "bad."But is working to make our lives as pain-free as possible a… Read More
2017-02-03 17:24
When we are children, we don't have a need to be in control. We have no idea how things should be, and we are not even concerned, because we are taken care of. But as we grow up, we start de… Read More
2017-01-27 17:49
One might think that relaxation is an easy task. You just sit down and do nothing, it doesn't sound difficult at all. Yet, to relax is one of the hardest skills to master.To be able to relax… Read More
2017-01-13 18:12
We have all heard the advice "Just be positive!" at least once, but probably many more times. Even if we didn't, we have most likely wished we could be more positive. Based on that, it might… Read More
2017-01-06 17:14
Thoughts come and go in the mind. It's normal to have all kinds of thoughts. There's nothing wrong with them.That's how we work, we see things, and we think something about them, we ju… Read More
2016-12-30 17:40
Many people search for a constant state of happiness. A bulletproof recipe that can always lift them up. But chasing happiness brings with it a completely different kind of beast--the a… Read More
2016-12-23 15:07
We spend so much of our lives searching for comfort. Trying to secure our lives, our moods, our situations.It's common to want stability. But is there such a thing, really?If I look back on… Read More
2016-12-16 17:57
The ever-present paradox of man is that we want to be happy, but the more we chase that happiness, the more it eludes us.There is always a reason for starting to look into spirituality, psyc… Read More
2016-12-09 17:16
Here we go again with anxiety. Those of you who read this blog often know that anxiety is my personal little demon friend who teaches me to be wise. (That's one way to put it, right?)I've al… Read More
2016-12-02 18:04
We all act out of habit. The same thought patterns circulate in us, making us feel the same feelings, have the same impulses, do the same actions over and over again.Even if those thoughts s… Read More
2016-11-25 17:03
One of my biggest and most useful realizations has been understanding that my thoughts are just thoughts.When I was struggling with anxiety, I never even noticed my thoughts. When someone su… Read More
2016-11-18 14:30
Learning about mindfulness and how we can overcome our habitual patterns can be extremely useful. There are many amazing books we can read and great blogs we can follow that can be constant… Read More
2016-11-11 18:12
This world needs strong people. It always has, and it always will. No one wants to be a coward, but we usually don't know how to be courageous. Everyone wants to be a hero, even those who en… Read More
2016-11-04 18:26
We're used to hearing that we should trust our instincts, our gut feelings. For a very long time, I did just that. I believed in my feelings unconditionally. I followed them wherever they le… Read More
2016-10-28 18:07
It never ceases to amaze me how peaceful some people can be. Meditation teachers, mindfulness masters--they take each step in peace. Even if they are up on stage talking or giving an intervi… Read More
2016-10-21 17:20
Let's admit it together: We care too much. We care about what happened to us in the past, and we care what will come in the future. We care about so many things and want to have control over… Read More
2016-10-14 17:29
I came across something not too long ago that really struck a chord with me. I was reading about how most people have lost confidence in their bodies. Reading that was like someone had flipp… Read More
2016-10-07 14:26
Why do we start working on ourselves? Why do we look up posts on the internet that help us deal with life and ourselves? Why do we go to therapy? Why do we do all these things?Have you ever… Read More
2016-09-30 15:02
We often hear that we should be living in the present moment. That the now is the answer to all our problems. It might seem like an exaggeration, and maybe it is, but practicing being mindfu… Read More
2016-09-22 16:56
I used to decide everything I did based on how I was feeling. I feel a little off? Then it's only natural I cancel every plan I had for today. It migh… Read More
2016-09-16 18:46
I have bad days. I'm not going to say that I don't.Almost four years ago, right before I started this site, I went through the hardest period of my life. I was crippled by anxiety every sing… Read More
2016-09-09 16:19
When I was younger, I had no idea how my own mind worked. I wasn't even aware of all the thoughts I was thinking and how said thoughts affected everything in my life. My life would have been… Read More
2016-09-02 19:27
Anxiety is a complex feeling, and when it hits, it's not easy to have a clear mind. It's useful to have a couple of short reminders that you can bring to mind whenever you find yourself in t… Read More
2016-08-26 19:30
I remember reading an interview with the then oldest person in the world. She was asked what her secret was, and I still remember her answer today. I often think about it, actually. Her answ… Read More
2016-08-19 18:38
Bettering myself and being the best person I can be is extremely important to me. These past couple of years I've been a self-development-aholic. I've come a long way and learned many things… Read More
2016-08-12 16:06
Being peaceful is not that easy for some people. Nobody wants to worry. Telling an anxious person to calm down is not much help. If they knew how to calm down, they would have already done s… Read More
2016-08-05 16:08
Being an anxious person can be hard. What is simple and easy for other people could require a lot of effort from an anxious person. So anxious people can easily feel alone, and think of them… Read More
2016-07-29 14:55
Oh, the mind . . . With all of its fears and worries, it sure can make our lives difficult.Every day, I'm trying to be aware of the thoughts in my mind, filtering out all that is untrue, har… Read More
2016-07-22 17:57
I'm sure everyone reading this is familiar with the feeling of not liking who you are. Sometimes the hardest people to be around is ourselves.It is great to recognize our faults and work on… Read More
2016-07-15 17:16
Health anxiety is an extremely common problem, and even if we're not typically anxious people, we all worry about our health sometimes.Many of our anxious thoughts center around our health o… Read More
2016-07-08 16:51
There are days when we are feeling good, and there are days when we are not feeling so good. I've noticed one key difference between the two.What we think.Even if we try to live a mindful an… Read More
2016-07-01 14:53
The mind with its thoughts can make us feel all kinds of uncomfortable things. What we try to learn when practicing mindfulness is that those thoughts do not represent reality. They are not… Read More
2016-06-24 16:55
Have you ever screamed at yourself in your head? Have you ever yelled at your mind to just shut up? I know I have.Sometimes it feels like there is a really annoying person living in our head… Read More
2016-06-17 14:47
We don't always feel happy and joyful. We don't even feel comfortable all of the time. Sometimes we feel uncomfortable. And that uncomfortable feeling, whatever it may be, can stay with us f… Read More
2016-06-10 15:43
I often hear people say that they "have lost their light," or something that means that they used to be peaceful or happy or whatever they aspire to be, and now they aren't. So now they are… Read More
2016-06-03 18:02
If you suffer from anxiety, you are familiar with the black cloud of doom that can so easily descend onto the mind. It's like having a personal assailant that throws death threats at you eve… Read More
2016-05-27 17:37
During meditation, we can experience and practice peace and serenity. When we sit down to do so, it's not that hard, especially if we're not new to meditation. The tricky part is remaining i… Read More
2016-05-20 16:08
Mindfulness is a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations.Clinic… Read More
2016-05-13 15:05
There's one particular feeling when we get anxious: the one that makes us want to run away and hide somewhere where nobody can see us. It might be because we fear that something might happen… Read More
2016-05-06 19:52
Today, I've been thinking about what makes a person inspiring. Who are the people who we look up to? Who we admire? And how can we be like them?The first thing I realized was that the people… Read More
2016-04-29 18:45
I have learned in the past couple of years that nothing ever stays the same. Even after we start practicing mindfulness, we have our good and bad days.People often tell me that sometimes the… Read More
2016-04-22 17:34
We were all given a life. If you are reading this, you are alive. We are all alive, but many of us are not Living. Not with a capital L, at least.Like me, like everyone else on this planet… Read More
2016-04-15 19:57
Our minds can often be our enemies. As we grow older, that becomes more and more possible.As children, we don't take our thoughts seriously at all. But being a grown-up is another story--we… Read More
2016-04-08 15:18
I meet many people who are constantly waiting. Waiting for something to come, like in Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, which is still one of my favorite plays.Until we reach the end of ou… Read More
2016-04-01 18:34
Sometimes we have bad days, and sometimes we have good ones. But what makes a good day, really?It's probably different for all of us, but I'm going to share with you what I've noticed on mys… Read More
2016-03-25 17:17
During my morning meditation, I like to get myself ready for the day--I like to get my mind ready for the day, to be more precise.Today, I specifically wrote down what I challenged myself to… Read More
2016-03-18 14:16
I'm constantly trying to practice being at peace and learning new methods to do so. That's what this blog is about, more or less.This week, I rediscovered an old friend. I reflected on a tea… Read More
2016-03-04 16:19
Inner peace is a continuous exercise. We always have to work on it. Falling into old habits is something that can happen anytime--and that's not a bad thing at all. It's natural.That's why z… Read More
2016-02-26 17:19
It's easy to get carried away with everyday worries. Even when we're working towards living a mindful life, we can sometimes fall back into old habits. That's completely normal, no need to w… Read More
2016-02-19 15:42
We all enjoy being happy. Happiness is a pleasant feeling. But being at peace does not mean we are happy all the time.This is a common misconception among all of us--that being happy all the… Read More
2016-02-12 18:20
Scenarios in our heads that play like movies, scaring us, making us anxious, making us worry--we all know them. We all know what worry means, we are all humans after all, capable of feeling… Read More
2016-02-05 16:57
We all have issues. All of us. Whether we'd like to admit it or not. Even the most peaceful and mindful among us. Our issues are probably the reason we became so peaceful in the first place… Read More
2016-01-29 18:13
Oftentimes, we are so submerged in our own view of the world that it becomes hard to see the bigger picture. I often find myself questioning if I'm overreacting a situation or maybe under-re… Read More
2016-01-22 20:28
I have always been interested in people. What causes them to do certain things, where their feelings originate from, and how all that is present in me. I was an . . . interesting kid.The hum… Read More
2016-01-15 16:30
When I was younger, it was easy for me to be disappointed in people. Nowadays, it's nearly impossible for me to be disappointed in someone. I'll tell you why.I think we expect a lot from the… Read More
2016-01-08 15:55
Not too long ago, I thought about what I would regret most about life if I suddenly grew old. I took my negative tendencies into account, and imagined what my life would be like if I let the… Read More
2015-12-04 17:32
I remember the very first reminder I put up on my wall when I started to work on creating a more peaceful life. I have moved since then, and I still have it on my wall today. I actually made… Read More
2015-11-20 11:05
I see so many people nowadays who constantly complain about being bored. We need a smartphone in one hand, a tablet in the other, and the TV on in the background not to feel bored.We're afra… Read More
2015-11-06 16:07
Rewiring your brain is possible. Spiritual masters have talked about it for a long time, but now science can back up these claims as well.Different fields have different names for this proce… Read More
2015-10-28 15:45
A couple of years ago, when I was struggling with anxiety, I came across a couple of articles on the internet that really helped me. Those articles, that actually helped me take my first ste… Read More
2015-10-18 16:34
I was trying to put together a list of helpful questions we can ask ourselves about life when I realized that there is one question that touches on every important aspect of life. That quest… Read More
2015-10-03 17:29
There's a reason Buddhist monks spend all day meditating and practicing mindfulness. We, humans, are very easily distracted. If we want to work on ourselves and become better people, we have… Read More
2015-09-26 15:30
I have gotten a lot of messages asking for advice in the past year. They were all different, portraying unique circumstances, but I have noticed something that was the same in all of them.A… Read More
2015-09-11 20:10
I've shared before that I have a notebook in which I write my realizations, mostly ones that come to me during meditation. I often scan through these notebooks when I'm going through a hard… Read More
2015-08-26 12:56
We've finally been able to carry out our plan, my husband and I, to move into a more natural area. We've been living in the city center all our lives, and we couldn't be more excited to live… Read More
2015-07-31 12:16
Many years ago -- sometimes it feels like lifetimes -- I was carrying prescription pills in my bag everywhere I went. I was struggling with anxiety back then. I thought the pills could help… Read More
2015-07-23 14:53
Buddhism has many teachings and "rules," like the Four Noble Truths or the Noble Eightfold Path, but its primary message is actually quite simple: we can't avoid the hardships of life, but w… Read More
2015-07-15 16:01
When I started meditating a couple of years ago, I sat in meditation for a half hour every morning and night, so about an hour every day. It felt right at that time. I had a lot to observe i… Read More
2015-06-27 19:12
There are a lot of people who constantly want to be happy. That's kind of a way of life nowadays. Many people try to avoid discomfort like it's the plague. There are many famous spiritual te… Read More
2015-06-10 10:39
I see many beautiful pictures with quotes written on them that were meant to be inspirational. I love most of these pictures, we share them all the time on our Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr… Read More
2015-06-03 15:25
No matter how mindful we are, I think it's safe to say that most of us still experience overwhelming feelings of anger or anxiety sometimes. All that these feelings need is one inattentive m… Read More
2015-05-30 10:19
When I first started practicing mindfulness, I didn't even know what it was called. I was just desperately searching for a method that would help me handle my anxiety and intrusive thoughts… Read More
2015-05-14 14:36
Many wise men and women throughout history have pointed out that we should not let our happiness depend on something we might lose. This is easier said than done, of course. Because isn't ev… Read More
2015-04-24 15:18
How are you doing, dear reader? Good? Not so good? Either way, it's all right.We can get so carried away with chasing happiness, joy and other highs of life, that we tend to forget that the… Read More
2015-04-16 16:21
No one wants to be controlled by fear, we all want to be fearless, but fear is a tricky emotion to control. It's the most abusive companion, making us believe that without it, we would be lo… Read More
2015-03-30 11:11
I continuously keep encountering people in the world who have different perceptions of life and human existence than me. Shocking, I know. There's nothing surprising in that, and I have no w… Read More
2015-03-30 09:07
Watercolor painting by Adam Scythe.I recently finished watching a beautiful anime (Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso if you're wondering) which really spoke to me. The main female character had so muc… Read More
2015-03-16 23:01
Recently, a picture of a dress garnered the interest of the whole world. You must be frustrated with the topic by now, and probably want to click out of this article as well, but this short… Read More
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