#549 What Operating System am I Running on Now?

     We have 2 very different "ways of being in the world" depending on which of the 2 very different parts of our brain (operating system) is directing our thoughts, words & behavior: 
          1) a primitive brain stem, we share with reptiles & other animals, that permits a very basic level of functioning
          2) a highly evolved prefrontal cortex that, permits a much more sophisticated, evolved level of behavior - that of homo sapiens sapiens.

     One of these always dominates. Some human beings live the highest quality of life possible, which includes helping the rest of humanity evolve to enjoy the same optimal quality of life. Other fellow humans experience "a living hell" continuously butchering each other, like crazed animals. 
     Most of us are somewhere in between - sometimes inspiring, generally just muddling along, & at times we're (justifiably) ashamed of ourselves. How can we be inspiring more often & filled with regret less often?
     We can all learn to PHYSICALLY FEEL which operating system (part of our brain) is operating AND we can TRAIN to engage our more highly evolved operating system more & more consistently, to optimize our own & others' short & precious lives. It's all part of mindfulness training.

Mado   www.fredmiranda.com

#500 Changes, Ambivalence & Progress

     Most of us start Mindfulness training with the (realistic) hope & expectation that we'll become better able to handle life's stresses. Clearly, we ourselves expect to change, becoming more resilient, thus being able to enjoy an improved quality of life.
     Though we're intent on changing ourselves - at the same time - we're deeply ambivalent. This ambivalence is perfectly natural & healthy. We tend to identify with a certain sense of self, self-concept or ego, which we (mistakenly) assume to be permanently fixed & stable. Change to one's self-image feels threatening, and may evoke fear & anxiety. Knowing this, and realizing that our self-concept is actually constantly evolving over time, and remembering that we are, through Mindfulness practice, intentionally promoting & guiding the natural evolution of our consciousness, we can become consciously aware of, & accept our natural ambivalence, and proceed gently, at our own healthy, physiologic pace.

#429 To Affect the Quality of the Day

     “Mindfulness practice means that we commit fully in each moment to being present. There is no 'performance.' There is just this moment. We are not trying to improve or to get anywhere else. We are not even running after special insights or visions. Nor are we forcing ourselves to be non-judgmental, calm, or relaxed. And we are certainly not promoting self-consciousness or indulging in self-preoccupation. Rather, we are simply inviting ourselves to interface with this moment in full awareness, with the intention to embody as best we can an orientation of calmness, mindfulness, and equanimity right here and right now.”

      “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” 
 
      “To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts.” Henry David Thoreau

        Kabat-Zinn J. “Wherever you go, there you are. Mindfulness meditation in everyday life.” Hyperion, NY, 1994. 

#398 Clarity of Mind - the Jar of Soil & Water Metaphor

     If we take a glass jar, add some soil, fill it with water, put a lid on, then shake it all up, we've created a cloudy suspension of particles - dilute mud. Now if we leave this jar undisturbed, we see that inevitably all the soil particles gradually settle to the bottom, leaving crystal clear water above. 
     The soil particles represent the myriad things to which we attend. The more "going on in our lives", the more darkly turbid the jar contents. Inherently pure clear water represents our mind.
     The more we practice mindfulness meditation, the more opportunity we provide for the jar to sit still, the more particles settle, and the greater the clarity of the water.
     Each time we notice that we're thinking, worrying, daydreaming etc - playing or wrestling with soil particles - we patiently gently effortlessly - without shaking the jar - let it go, returning our awareness to the physical feel of the present moment eg breathing, posture, muscle tone, sounds.
     Although most of us only have rare, very brief experiences of our jar containing crystal clear water (all mud at the bottom), we all have this natural capacity. It truly is simply (though not easily) a matter of prioritizing time for this evolved activity. We have a lifelong habit of playing & struggling with mud. Now we know how to intentionally achieve clarity of mind. Far more exciting than theory - just another floating particle - is seizing the opportunity now to actualize & stabilize this clarity.

Kentville, Nova Scotia

#396 Intentionally Improving our own Mental & Emotional Health

     "... just as we as a society are learning to take more responsibility for our physical health by engaging in regular physical exercise, we can also take more responsibility for our minds & brains by engaging in certain mental exercises (mindfulness meditation) that can induce plastic changes in the brain and that may have enduring beneficial consequences for social and emotional behavior. 

     ... qualities such as well-being ought to be viewed, at least in part, as a product of trainable skills ... interventions explicitly designed to promote well-being may have beneficial behavioral and biological effects."

       Davidson RJ, McEwen BS. Social influences on neuroplasticity: stress and interventions to promote well-being. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15(5): 689-95.

     For a nice summary of the neuroscientific support for the effectiveness & benefits of Mindfulness training see: http://healthyhealers.blogspot.ca/2013/09/emotions-attention-introspection-are.html

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"Well-being is actually a skill," said Dr. Richard J. Davidson, professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and the study's senior author. "It's something that can be enhanced with training. If we can take more responsibility for our well-being, we can help to minimize burnout or decrease its severity." - See more at: http://wisdomresearch.org/blogs/news/archive/2013/09/05/mindfulness-meditation-fights-burnout-new-study-of-teachers-suggests-video.aspx#sthash.DXmVJtve.dpuf

#249 Busy, Scattered, Distracted, Monkey Mind & Clarity

     When we sit in meditation, particularly when there's a lot going on in our lives, the mind is flooded with, sometimes overwhelmed by, thoughts.

      “… in the mind of the ordinary person, no less than sixty-four thoughts come and go every … fraction of a second. These thoughts arise because … of desire, aversion, and ignorance. Because of them, our minds cannot help but constantly move. Only by transcending (these) can the mind stop moving.”
       Sheng Yen “Song of Mind. Wisdom from the Zen Classic Xin Ming.” Shambhala, Boston, 2004.

     Fortunately, as we continue sitting, thoughts settle with time. If we take a glass jar of water with a clump of mud and shake it, the water becomes opaque and brown. But as the jar sits still, and the mud settles to the bottom, the water gradually clarifies. Like water, the mind is inherently crystal clear.
     Time alone isn't enough. We must "choose to confront those fears and desires that hitherto we had either repressed or acted out.” Specifically, we must work directly & wisely with desire, aversion and ignorance.
       Batchelor S. “Living with the devil. A meditation on good and evil.” Riverhead Books, NY, 2004.

Photo: wchee   www.dpreview.com