Emotions developed to aid our survival. They are signals to get our needs met and they are part of complex, embedded circuits that have ensured that. Fear is triggered by danger; sadness is evoked when something of value is lost; disgust is felt when something is rotten or wrong; anger arises when a goal is blocked - they tell us that something needs remedying and we need to take action, which once done, allows the feelings to dissipate. However, in a more complex environment (as we live in today), this gift becomes a glitch as we are not always able to take remedying action and therefore the feelings do not dissipate and our desire to change them creates further tension. The effort of trying to change things is what exhausts us.
Similarly, our rational mind, which enables us to identify desirable outcomes and review past events in order to get to new destinations, has enabled our progress as a species, through our ability to review past events in order to ensure successful outcomes, to bridge the gap between where we are and where we want to be. However, the more we get, the more we want, and sometimes those things are actually unattainable - the glitch is in rationalising and analysing in order to find an answer or solution that is not attainable.
Furthermore, these two circuits, feeling and thinking, often clash or reinforce each other's shortcomings. An inability to think our way out of a problem is compounded by feelings of failure, fear and loss. Feelings of fear, failure or loss, trigger our rational mind to try and think its way out of something that cannot be thought out of. And so on. This is compounded by the need to respond to ever-changing external conditions.
Another glitch in the system emerges in our drive to do and accomplish, which has necessitated us committing some things to autopilot in order to conserve energy for overcoming new barriers and obstacles. But too much autopilot and we lose the ability to respond to our environment, which is ever-changing, or regulate thoughts and feelings, which leads to burn or fizzle out. Not to mention how much of your life goes by unnoticed, eliminating a myriad of opportunities for the satisfaction we all so crave.
Mindfulness is about training the mind to counteract these evolutionary glitches; to regulate our responses to thoughts and feelings by cultivating awareness and the ability to distinguish between the need to do or just to be and choose to engage or disengage. Thoughts are not facts. And they come and go and change and evolve and disappear and many of them are habitual patterns that have been formed by your external environment. You do not have to follow them every which way.
Neuroplasticity is the idea that what you practice is what you'll cultivate and get better at. It can be challenging to think and feel in new ways, but it will grow new muscles and neural pathways in your mind.
What to practice?
SELF-REGULATION: We cannot control the things around us.. Life is full of contradictions and compromises and imperfections and change. We cannot stop that. And because we have consciousness, we are aware of suffering and we suffer about the fact we suffer - this is created in our brains. Learning to steer your attention where you want it helps your brain create satisfaction and ease rather than dissatisfaction and tension.
ANCHORING: uses the senses or the breath to take the focus from the busy mind to the experience of a sense. Staying focused without force strengthens the part of the brain that allows you to switch focus, particularly when you want to move from the doing mind to the being mind.
ATTENTION. You are where your attention is at any moment and you need focused attention to grow neural pathways and learn new things. We have to learn to pay attention, especially in a world that demands (and praises) multi-tasking and constant busy-ness. Intentionally move your attention from the mind to the body, as your body can withstand emotions, your mind can't as it is hard-wired to come up with a solution even if there isn't one.
CURIOSITY - approach everything and everyone with open-minded curiosity, accepting ongoing change and growth
It's our ability to regulate our attention, reduce our reactive nature and cultivate positive emotions that holds the key to health and happiness.
Key Mindfulness practices (as listed in Sane New World)
R.A.I.N (recognition, acceptance, investigation, non-identification)
Stop and notice
S.T.O.P (stop, think, options - for bringing you back -, proceed)
Similarly, our rational mind, which enables us to identify desirable outcomes and review past events in order to get to new destinations, has enabled our progress as a species, through our ability to review past events in order to ensure successful outcomes, to bridge the gap between where we are and where we want to be. However, the more we get, the more we want, and sometimes those things are actually unattainable - the glitch is in rationalising and analysing in order to find an answer or solution that is not attainable.
Furthermore, these two circuits, feeling and thinking, often clash or reinforce each other's shortcomings. An inability to think our way out of a problem is compounded by feelings of failure, fear and loss. Feelings of fear, failure or loss, trigger our rational mind to try and think its way out of something that cannot be thought out of. And so on. This is compounded by the need to respond to ever-changing external conditions.
Another glitch in the system emerges in our drive to do and accomplish, which has necessitated us committing some things to autopilot in order to conserve energy for overcoming new barriers and obstacles. But too much autopilot and we lose the ability to respond to our environment, which is ever-changing, or regulate thoughts and feelings, which leads to burn or fizzle out. Not to mention how much of your life goes by unnoticed, eliminating a myriad of opportunities for the satisfaction we all so crave.
Mindfulness is about training the mind to counteract these evolutionary glitches; to regulate our responses to thoughts and feelings by cultivating awareness and the ability to distinguish between the need to do or just to be and choose to engage or disengage. Thoughts are not facts. And they come and go and change and evolve and disappear and many of them are habitual patterns that have been formed by your external environment. You do not have to follow them every which way.
Neuroplasticity is the idea that what you practice is what you'll cultivate and get better at. It can be challenging to think and feel in new ways, but it will grow new muscles and neural pathways in your mind.
What to practice?
SELF-REGULATION: We cannot control the things around us.. Life is full of contradictions and compromises and imperfections and change. We cannot stop that. And because we have consciousness, we are aware of suffering and we suffer about the fact we suffer - this is created in our brains. Learning to steer your attention where you want it helps your brain create satisfaction and ease rather than dissatisfaction and tension.
ANCHORING: uses the senses or the breath to take the focus from the busy mind to the experience of a sense. Staying focused without force strengthens the part of the brain that allows you to switch focus, particularly when you want to move from the doing mind to the being mind.
- You're learning to experience without judgement, treating thoughts and feelings as mental events without the need to identify or analyse them.
- You're learning to be aware of what is there without trying to change or fix things.
- By focusing on sight, sound, touch, taste, smell you are learning that everything takes shape and then dissolves.
- You're learning to move focus more adeptly from one area to another and also from a narrow focus to a wide focus.
- You're strengthening your ability to tune your mins in when you want to create, make decisions, problem-solve, compare, etc and tune it out when your thinking becomes harmful or too critical.
ATTENTION. You are where your attention is at any moment and you need focused attention to grow neural pathways and learn new things. We have to learn to pay attention, especially in a world that demands (and praises) multi-tasking and constant busy-ness. Intentionally move your attention from the mind to the body, as your body can withstand emotions, your mind can't as it is hard-wired to come up with a solution even if there isn't one.
CURIOSITY - approach everything and everyone with open-minded curiosity, accepting ongoing change and growth
It's our ability to regulate our attention, reduce our reactive nature and cultivate positive emotions that holds the key to health and happiness.
Key Mindfulness practices (as listed in Sane New World)
R.A.I.N (recognition, acceptance, investigation, non-identification)
Stop and notice
S.T.O.P (stop, think, options - for bringing you back -, proceed)