#733 Time for Intra- & Interpersonal Qualitative Change?

     "Einstein said that we cannot solve the problems of he world from the level of thinking that we were at when we created them. I think a lot of people embrace this concept, while underestimating what it really means. A different level of thinking means a different level of thinking. It does not even mean just a different kind of thinking. It does not mean a different emphasis in our thinking. It does not mean a more loving kind of thinking. It means what he said, a different level of thinking, and to me, that is what meditation brings.
      Meditation can change the world because meditation changes us. That is the point. The world will not change until we change. The state of the world is a reflection of who we are. The state of the world is the effect; the state of consciousness of human beings is the cause. Mahatma Gandhi said the problem with the world is that humanity is not in its right mind and that is what meditation addresses. It returns us to our right mind, and until there is this evolution in consciousness, we will stay locked in a fear based perspective in which we continue to see ourselves as separate from each other, and in which we continue to think we can do something to someone else and not reap the result ourselves."    Marianne Williamson

        Ed Shapiro, Deb Shapiro eds. "Be the Change: How Meditation Can Transform You and the World" Sterling Ethos, 2011.

Ancient Chinese Dragon

 

#717 Many Contemplative Practices

     There's a bewildering array of ways to intentionally go deeper, to experience and engage more profoundly with this amazing human journey (see illustration below). Nor is this illustration complete - missing are the numerous and varied specific secular mental-health approaches.
     All of these paths can help one function better and live a happier life.
     A small proportion of people elect to follow a path until it leads to complete transformation of heart-mind-body, referred to in some traditions as awakening, enlightenment or liberation.
     

© The Center for Contemplative Mind in Society
Concept & design by Maia Duerr; illustration by Carrie Bergman

#646 The Mindfulness Movement in America: Opportunities and Challenges

“Mindfulness is pure awareness.

First, do no harm. How do you know if you’re doing harm or not? Through awareness.” 

Jon Kabat-Zinn PhD

Listen to Jon Kabat-Zinn's inspiring interview at this weekend's Wisdom 2.0 conference: 

http://new.livestream.com/accounts/2635433/events/3845334?origin=stream_live&mixpanel_id=13c72687a227fb-01aeae93db92f7-436f2b42

 

from Jon Kabat-Zinn's 2/28/2015 presentation at Wisdom 2.0

#625 Deep Inside - What? Why? How?

     Einstein famously said: "I think the most important question facing humanity is, ‘Is the universe a friendly place?’ This is the first and most basic question all people must answer for themselves. For if we decide that the universe is an unfriendly place, then we will use our technology, our scientific discoveries and our natural resources to achieve safety and power by creating bigger walls to keep out the unfriendliness and bigger weapons to destroy all that which is unfriendly and I believe that we are getting to a place where technology is powerful enough that we may either completely isolate or destroy ourselves as well in this process.”

     Those of us who feel that the universe IS a friendly place likely do so, because we’ve intentionally looked within, via meditation / contemplation, and have repeatedly found at the very least, a measure of sanity, self-compassion, kindness, peace and joy.
     Too many, however, are of the opposite opinion - that the universe is hostile. These folks avoid introspection due to fear. They then project the evil that (they mistakenly presume) lies within, outward, onto the universe. Their unexamined 'shadow' is incorrectly conflated with the universe, resulting in adversarial (instead of nurturing) relationships.
     Can we help decrease such wide-scale, needless suffering by facilitating introspection?

     Please savour: http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/2013/07/367-discovering-manifesting-our-innate.html

cjf2   www.dpreview.com

#585 Consciousness, Meditation & "Spirituality"

     "In scientific terms, consciousness remains notoriously difficult to understand, or even to define. In fact, many debates about its character have been waged without the participants' finding even a common topic as common ground. ... spirituality is not just important for living a good life; it is actually essential for understanding the human mind.
     Only consciousness can know itself - and directly, through first-person experience. If follows, therefore, that rigorous introspection - 'spirituality' in the widest sense of the term - is an indispensable part of understanding the nature of the mind."                              

       Sam Harris. "Waking Up. A Guide to Spirituality without Religion." Simon & Schuster, 2014.

#584 Quality of Attention & Quality of Life

     We humans are fully capable of abysmal stupidity AND equally capable of, and evolving towards, transcendent wisdom. Our infatuation with science and other forms of materialism is starting to wear thin. One of the most vocal and eloquent critics of religion, Sam Harris, just came out with a book on spirituality(!!), in which he uses science to support the essential core treasures held within wisdom traditions. A tongue-in-cheek definition of psychology: "Proving, that what grandma always told us, is true."

     "How we pay attention to the present moment largely determines the character of our experience and, therefore, the quality of our lives. Mystics and contemplatives have made this claim for ages - but a growing body of scientific research now bears it out."                         Sam Harris. "Waking Up. A Guide to Spirituality without Religion." Simon & Schuster, 2014.

#373 How Free is our Free Will?

     In the introduction to his short book “Free Will” (Free Press, 2012), Sam Harris writes: 
    “The popular conception of free will seems to rest on two assumptions: 1) that each of us could have behaved differently than we did in the past, and 2) that we are the conscious source of most of our thoughts and actions in the present. As we are about to see, however, both of these assumptions are false. 
     But the deeper truth is that free will doesn’t even correspond to any subjective fact about us – and introspection soon proves as hostile to the idea as the laws of physics are. Seeming acts of volition merely arise spontaneously (whether caused, uncaused, or probabilistically inclined, it makes no difference) and cannot be traced to a point of origin in our conscious minds. A moment or two of serious self-scrutiny, and you might observe that you no more decide the next thought you think than the next thought I write.”

     When we devote no more than the odd moment to contemplate who we are, and how we relate to our environment, Harris is correct, we do remain locked into being thoroughly conditioned by our past history, genetics, etc. Conditioning powerfully, predictably programs specific responses to specific stimuli. Our default mode is indeed primitive conditioned reactivity - we live much (ALL according to Harris) of our lives on autopilot. Sadly, most of us behave based on the complex cocktail of causes & conditions of our past - our future 'set in stone' by our past - with no chance of creatively carving out new, qualitatively better possibilities. 

     The timeless exhortations to "Know Thyself!" and "A Life Unexamined is Not Worth Living" point to the power of conditioning to enslave, BUT ALSO to the fact that there is A WAY OUT of an otherwise pre-programmed, robotic existence.
     Einstein said, "We cannot solve the problems of today at the level of thinking at which they were first created." Since our "normal" level of thinking is conditioned, it cannot solve the problem of conditioning. Contemplative practices such as mindfulness meditation are designed to free us from the prison of conditioning by cultivating a more evolved level of awareness that leads to wisdom.
     "Wisdom is a function of deep insight into, and mature understanding of, the central existential issues of life, together with practical skill in responding to these issues in ways that enhance the deep wellbeing of all those who the responses affect." 
       Walsh R. The varieties of wisdom: Contemplative, cross-cultural, and integral contributions. Research in Human Development 2011; 8(2): 109-127.

eaglevshawk   www.dpreview.com

#369 Ready for Change?

     "According to the transtheoretical model of change readiness for change is represented across a continuum, from 

precontemplation (denial or minimization of a problem),

contemplation (considering making change), 

action (actively engaged in change), and 

maintenance (efforts taken to maintain changes already made)."

       Jakupcak M et al. Readiness for change predicts VA Mental Healthcare utilization among Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. J Trauma Stress 2013; 26(1): 165-8. 

#360 Technology MUST be Balanced with Timeless Basic Human Skills

     Google's director of research interviewed Nicholas Carr, author of the article "Is Google making us stupid?" and the book "What the Internet is Doing to our Brains - The Shallows." Carr argued that regular use of the internet, computer games & smart phones thoroughly & effectively remodels our thinking, behavior patterns & our brains physically (neuroplasticity), with the corresponding very real danger of disuse atrophy of the neural networks that enable us to reflect deeply AND THUS weaken our ability to behave wisely - "Use it or loose it!"
     "If you look throughout the history of culture, you see that many of the great monuments of culture - whether we're talking about art, science, literature, whatever - come from people who were able to think attentively, deeply, and be contemplative, meditative, and be reflective. And if we devalue those things, and practice those things less, I think we not only get less interesting as individuals, we face a culture that is flatter, not as vibrant, and not as interesting as it used to be.
     ... inundating (oneself) with new technologies, with new information, has to be balanced with being attentive, reading, backing away from technology, even backing away from friends sometimes. It's great to collaborate, but there's also a role in the world for solitude, and I think we should encourage our kids, and ourselves, to practice that as well."
http://fora.tv/2010/06/23/Nicholas_Carr_Is_Google_Making_Us_Stupid

     Speed, quantity, meaningless fun, fast food etc must be BALANCED with - and as we mature as individuals & as cultures, progressively REPLACED by - slowing down, quality, meaning, food that's slowly prepared with love & other quality ingredients etc. Our lives have meaning; technology has no inherent meaning. We make tools / technology to improve - not distort - the quality of our lives.

     See also: http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/2012/07/146-time-to-re-engage.html

evanrassbcglobalnet   www.dpreview.com

#353 Monash University - Opening Minds through Mindfulness

     With Dr. Craig Hassed's leadership, Australia's "Monash University is a world leader in mindfulness programs. (They) currently offer a number of mindfulness programs designed to enhance the experience of both students and staff. (They) are working towards embedding mindfulness in the core curriculum by 2015 so that all Monash students will have the opportunity to learn mindfulness." http://monash.edu/counselling/mindfulness.html

     "Contemplation is a third way of knowing – a missing link – that complements & enhances the rational & sensory. The contemplative mind is opened and activated through a wide range of approaches – from pondering to poetry to meditation – that are designed to shift states of mind in order to cultivate such capacities as deepened awareness, concentration and insight. Historically, the contemplative has been used throughout the wisdom traditions as fundamental for developing interiority and understanding the most essential knowledge, yet it is almost entirely absent from contemporary education."
        Hart T. From information to transformation. Education for the evolution of consciousness. Peter Lang Publishing, NY, 2009.

     See also: http://healthyhealers.blogspot.ca/2013/06/empathy-basic-human-competence.html 

 

Mjeddy   www.dpreview.com