Feelings feel different:<ul><li>Fear or anxiety are contracting. Which makes evolutionary sense, as we are protecting from a potential predator.</li><li>Love, awe or curiosity are expansive.</li></ul>Expensive feelings feel good 😄. If we get to notice them they connect us to the world and give us a sense we are all connected.

Expansive vs Contractive Feelings

﻿Nothing to doNowhere to go No one to be

It is how we develop habits. It involves<ul><li>a trigger (for example, the feeling of hunger), followed by</li><li>a behavior (eating food), and</li><li>a reward (feeling sated).</li></ul>We want to do more of the things that feel good and less of the things that feel bad — or stressful.Breaking out of bad habits is can involve using a meditative practice to examine the reward: For example one may notice that the 🚬 they picked up years ago to look cool don't provide coolness anymore and actually taste terrible.

Reward Based Learning

We are seeing the world to the lens of our previous experiences. The more we repeat a behaviour, The more we learn to see the world a certain way. If we are looking at a chocolate 🍫 bar our interpretation of this fact will be shaped by our previous experience with chocolate. This is the scientific term for what the Buddhists call ignorance as we are not seeing clearly. Vipassana, the name of mindfulness meditation, literally translates to seeing things clearly.

Subjective Bias

It's a mental hook that seeks to replace a bad behaviour by noticing that the current reward is not that rewarding after all. And to provide a better one through mindfulness. The main thing is to use curiosity to love from a contracting feeling, to an expansive one. Curiosity feels better than the craving.

Bigger Better Offer (BBO)

Repeated action/behaviour ignoring long term harm. We usually think of addictions as harm. It's like smoking but we suffer from more severe ones:<ul><li>Thinking, ruminating and generating anxiety that leads to bad behaviour.</li><li>Love & approval from others</li><li>Technology and social media.</li></ul>

Addiction

A leading neuroscientist and pioneer in the study of mindfulness explains why addictions are so tenacious and how we can learn to conquer them We are all vulnerable to addiction. Whether it’s a compulsion to constantly check social media, binge eating, smoking, excessive drinking, or any other behaviors, we may find ourselves uncontrollably repeating. Why are bad habits so hard to overcome? Is there a key to conquering the cravings we know are unhealthy for us? This book provides groundbreaking answers to the most important questions about addiction. Dr. Judson Brewer, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist who has studied the science of addictions for twenty years, reveals how we can tap into the very processes that encourage addictive behaviors in order to step out of them. He describes the mechanisms of habit and addiction formation, then explains how the practice of mindfulness can interrupt these habits. Weaving together patient stories, his own experience with mindfulness practice, and current scientific findings from his own lab and others, Dr. Brewer offers a path for moving beyond our cravings, reducing stress, and ultimately living a fuller life.

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A leading neuroscientist and pioneer in the study of mindfulness explains why addictions are so tenacious and how we can learn to conquer them“I found [The Craving Mind] to be one of the best things I’ve read . . . on addiction.”—Ezra Klein, New York Times.“Accessible and enjoyable. The Craving Mind brilliantly combines the latest science with universal real-life experiences—from falling in love to spending too much time with our phones.”—Arianna HuffingtonWe are all vulnerable to addiction. Whether it’s a compulsion to constantly check social media, binge eating, smoking, excessive drinking, or any other behaviors, we may find ourselves uncontrollably repeating. Why are bad habits so hard to overcome? Is there a key to conquering the cravings we know are unhealthy for us?This book provides groundbreaking answers to the most important questions about addiction. Dr. Judson Brewer, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist who has studied the science of addictions for twenty years, reveals how we can tap into the very processes that encourage addictive behaviors in order to step out of them. He describes the mechanisms of habit and addiction formation, then explains how the practice of mindfulness can interrupt these habits. Weaving together patient stories, his own experience with mindfulness practice, and current scientific findings from his own lab and others, Dr. Brewer offers a path for moving beyond our cravings, reducing stress, and ultimately living a fuller life.

Judson Brewer is an accomplished writer whose work has resonated with readers around the world. Judson Brewer has published several books that explore a range of topics, from fiction to nonfiction, and has received critical acclaim for the ability to weave compelling narratives. Judson Brewer's writing style is known for its depth and authenticity, and has earned quite a loyal following of readers.

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