It's not “don’t meditate” but rather, that meditation is like many things — great for some people, but not necessarily for everyone. If you’ve struggled with traditional forms of meditation, yet still crave a way to settle your mind and ease your anxiety, happily, there are other approaches that can create a similar kind of mental expansiveness to that offered by meditation. These techniques don’t have nearly the same fervor or body of research backing them, but they are valuable alternatives, especially for those of us who find meditation unbearable rather than unburdening.

Meditation Is Not Great For Everyone

I find that visualization gives me the same kind of distance and space that many people find in meditation, but it also engages my imagination in the process. Rather than feeling like I need to sit with uncomfortable feelings or ideas, it allows me to transform them creatively — not to avoid them but to work with them in a generative, dynamic way. I haven’t found great research on the use of visualization as a meditation alternative, but there are <a href="https://journals.lww.com/ajnonline/Citation/1998/98120/The_Benefits_of_VISUALIZATION__Research_suggests.25.aspx">anecdotal accounts </a>of nurses using visualization with patients, particularly children, as a method of relieving pain.

1. Visualization

Certain types of coloring may help reduce anxiety. In particular, <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ688443.pdf">research shows </a>that coloring a complex abstract design such as a mandala or a plaid pattern can reduce anxiety in a meaningful way. Structured patterns like this have strong symmetry that taps into the harmony aesthetic, which promotes calm through symmetry and balance, quieting the visual noise of our surroundings so we can focus more deeply on what we care about. Tied to this, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07421656.2019.1645498">subsequent studies </a>have shown that coloring not only decreases anxiety, but also increases mindfulness and may also improve attention and creativity.

2. Colouring

Drumming is a grounding activity that lets us blow off steam in a safe and non-aggressive way. Notably, drumming is one activity that has typically been studied as a group intervention rather than an individual practice. It’s possible that solo drumming also has benefits, but <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13612-016-0048-0">current research </a>on drumming tends to focus on the physical experience of rhythm, synchrony and belonging as the key drivers of mental well-being.

3. Drumming

Looking upward may also help, as this increases the amount of light that enters the eye, which itself has distinct benefits for mental well-being. Little research has been done on cloud gazing (sadly!), however <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0013916518807274">one study </a> points to the benefits of sky views as restorative, and accessible. While green nature views have been widely shown to help reduce stress, sky views are beneficial because they can be accessed even in dense urban areas.

4. Cloud Gazing

<a href="https://juliacameronlive.com/basic-tools/morning-pages/">Morning pages </a>are a creative tool devised by the writer Julia Cameron in her celebrated book <a href="https://geni.us/DBoXUYo">The Artist’s Way </a>. To do them, you simply write three long-hand pages first thing in the morning, writing without stopping and allowing whatever thoughts arise to go onto the page. For writers, morning pages are a way of breaking through the pressure of the blank page and opening a line of dialogue with your creative brain. No one has to read them. In fact, you can place them directly into the trash when you’re done if you choose.

5. Morning Pages

Walking meditation is <a href="https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/walking_meditation">a form of meditation </a>in its own right, but even if you don’t have a formal walking meditation practice, some form of mindful movement can be calming. Walking is easy and accessible to most people, and for those who feel stuck when attempting a seated meditation, it can help by engaging the body as well as the mind in the act of quiet reflection.

6. Walking

Meditation is great for some people but not for everyone -- including author and designer Ingrid Fetell Lee. Here, she shares some alternatives that can help expand your awareness, calm your mind, and sink into the present moment.

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Mindfulness

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Health

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Meditation

Can’t seem to meditate? 6 joyful activities for you to try instead

<ul><li> Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that sends signals from one neuron to another.</li><li> Whatever your drug of choice, chocolate, nicotine, amphetamines, sex, social media, or shopping, dopamine is the final common pathway for all pleasurable, intoxicating and rewarding experiences.</li><li> It is believed to be the most important neurotransmitter when it comes to the experience of pleasure, motivation and reward. </li><li>But it isn’t ‘pleasure’ all the way because the same areas of the brain that process pleasure also process pain, and pleasure-pain work like a balance.</li></ul>

Dopamine(C8H11NO2)

• When that pleasure-pain balance tilts to the side of pain after the experience of pleasure, we experience feelings of discomfort, restlessness and irritability which can leave us unhappy and wanting to recreate the feeling of pleasure.• ANY type of addiction makes us malleable and you can’t behave in a rational or ethical manner if you are addicted to dopamine.

Pleasure-Pain Balance

• The only way to not get hooked to this pleasure-pain cycle is to ensure the time in between each ‘fix’ is long enough for our dopamine levels to drop back to our personal baseline of dopamine release.• Research has found chocolate increases dopamine above baseline by about 50%, sex is about 100%, nicotine is about 150% and amphetamines is about 1,000%.

Baseline Of Dopamine

Dopamine detox and a shift to conscious consumption with due consideration of the consequences, giving you back some of the power and freedom you lost when you pledged yourself to the rat race and the status competition.

Power And Freedom 

D - Admit that you have addiction and collect DATA about it.O - Understand the OBJECTIVE of your consumption addiction.P - What is the PROBLEM consumption addiction is causing?A - 30 days of ABSTINENCE.M - Practice MINDFULNESS.I - What INSIGHT do you get into your desire to consume , the problem it causes .N - What are the NEXT STEPS beyond 30 days of Abstinence.E - EXPERIMENT what strategy suits you .

D-O-P-A-M-I-N-E Detox

1. Increases ability to focus<ul><li>With the help of dopamine fasting, you can increase your capability of focus. </li><li>As it is related to the idea of less stress and distractions. This can happen by bringing some positive alterations to your everyday lifestyle.</li></ul>2. Increases self-motivation<ul><li>It improves focus, it directly increases self-motivation and this self-motivation helps in increasing daily productivity. </li><li>It also helps in achieving the main focus of our goals and career.</li></ul>

Benefits of Dopamine Fasting:

3. Improves emotional regulation<ul><li>It improves emotional regulation because we tend to stay distant from social services and other toxicity which helps in attaining emotional regulation and it also helps in bringing peace again in our lives.</li></ul>4. Develops great self-control and willpower<ul><li>We maintain distance from the real world and social media. This helps in developing great self-control and willpower as this type of fasting is related to mindfulness-based activities.</li></ul>

5. Develops and improves patience<ul><li>It is related to mindfulness activities which helps to develop and increase and patience levels. </li><li>It will improve our patience and as well as sleeping cycle.</li></ul>6. Increases life satisfaction<ul><li>When we start living with peaceful and stress-free life, it eventually increases the satisfaction towards life. </li><li>Dopamine fasting basically takes us out from stress and brings back us to peace by distancing us from a toxic and stressful world.</li></ul>

Take a break from your vices and devices to appreciate life joys.

You are probably very aware that the hard activities bring value to your life, and the others just momentary pleasure, so why do you still gravitate towards them?
To understand this, we need to look at a neurotransmitter known as dopamine.

Learn how to reset your focus, productivity, and overall capacity for happiness. Yes, it's that important. In our modern age, we are constantly flooded with dopamine. That might sound like a good thing, but it means that we constantly require more and more stimulation to feel simple happiness. It's a very, very bad thing. It's the root of why we can't accomplish what we want, and why we can't even feel what we want. Learn how to detox your dopamine, biohack your nutrition, and master the art of energizing sleep. Dopamine Detox is a book that teaches you exactly what dopamine is and isn't. It's the pleasure hormone, but that doesn't mean more is better. You'll get various techniques, all scientifically proven and validated, to regulate your dopamine to healthy levels. You'll see how 1, 3, and 7 day detoxes can work, and you'll also learn about the other ways you can prepare your body for peak performance, such as with your gut biome, your sleep, and how small nudges can make you the healthiest person you know. Easy yet effective strategies to be present, mindful, and in the moment. Nick Trenton grew up in rural Illinois and is quite literally a farm boy. His best friend growing up was his trusty companion Leonard the dachshund. RIP Leonard. Eventually, he made it off the farm and obtained a BS in Economics, followed by an MA in Behavioral Psychology. Discover the keys to peak performance in all aspects of life, in 10 minutes a day. How your environment can be your greatest enemy or ally What self-compassion has to do with dopamine The most effective 7-day detox plan that you must follow The foods, supplements, and diets that fuel us the best The powerful effects of light and temperature on health and wellbeing Circadian rhythms and how to make them work for you What you absolutely need in your bedroom, and what one thing you must keep ou

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Dopamine Detox

<ul><li>Breathe in through your nose, as deeply as you can.</li><li>Fill your belly first — feel it expand — then your chest.</li><li>Finally, with the last little inhale, feel your collarbones lift.</li><li>Hold it for an instant, then let it all out through your nose.</li><li>Almost done. Now use your stomach to push the last of it out your mouth.</li><li>Repeat two times (or do a longer session for total relaxation).</li></ul>You’ve just increased the levels of oxygen and feel-good chemicals in your blood, which is good for your brain and your body.

Take three deep breaths

If you’re compelled to make a new to-do list, keep it short. No more than one or two things that can be knocked off today. Get them done. Pat yourself on the back and have a cookie. Then forget about to-dos until tomorrow. Repeat.

Throw out your to-do list

If you’re feeling stressed or depressed or just blah, dig deep into your mind to figure out what’s behind it. The key to any successful stress-reduction strategy is to first figure out what’s bugging you. Is there a single cause? Great! But often there isn’t anything specific, which indicates your stress is caused by anxiety — worry over things you can’t even define. Either way, put the damn thought (or feeling) into a mental box and commit to addressing it at some specific later time.

Put one bad thought in a box

Doesn’t matter what you actually do. A long, hot bath. A totally aimless walk around the neighborhood. Lunch in the park. Visit a friend. Take a nap. Read a book.Whatever it is, don’t involve your phone, computer, or any other communication device. Turn them off, check out for a stretch, and make sure anyone who might need you knows you’re incommunicado.

Schedule time for yourself

We humans are often unaware of the positive effect we can have on another person by simply recognizing their existence, perhaps offering a smile or a kind word, and how good such acts are for our own mood. Wave to a neighbor you usually ignore. Compliment the bagger at the grocery checkout. Come up with just about any excuse to thank a nurse.

Acknowledge someone

Loneliness is one of the biggest hurdles to our collective mental health and well-being, now more than ever. And each of us, lonely or not, craves social connection. So, think of someone you care about who hasn’t heard from you in a while, and send them a short note. Just say hello and ask how they’re doing.

Text or email a friend

Doesn’t matter if you walk or just sit, do some gardening, or merely ponder your existence. It’s well established that spending more time outside will improve your mood, especially if you can find some green space. As an added benefit, natural daylight triggers chemical changes in the brain that let us know it’s time to be awake and alert, which in turn helps the brain and body know when it’s time to sleep—both good mood boosters on their own.

Go outside

We are all creatures of habit, and a lot of our habits suck. Changing them is hard. One great trick is to piggyback a new habit onto an existing one. First, come up with something easy that you think you could manage every day. Now stack that new behavior onto something you do daily.

Start one new positive habit

Science-backed ways to improve your mental state and feel better right now. And don't worry, "exercising" is not on the list.

8 Simple But Effective Mood Boosters

Radical self-care isn’t just bubble baths and indulgence in a bag of quality chocolates.It’s taking responsibility for our lives and owning elements within our control to maximize our wellness and potential.

Radical Self-Care

Self-care that provides a sustainable, long-term solution to overwhelm and stress must start with resilience—an essential life skill. With resilience, we can take personal ownership of our circumstances professionally and personally in order to manage our stress effectively as we respond and take consistent action.

Sustainable Self-Care Starts with Resilience

<ul><li>Clear your clutter: examine the amount of clutter you have—both in your living space and your mind. </li><li>Refine your habits: your habits and routines are the structures that create your freedom to flow and be fully in the moment. </li><li>Fortify your support: create structures of support in your life to help you stay connected and on track. </li></ul>

Three Tips to Increase Resilience in Everyday Life

Redefining self-care through resilience and responsibility.

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Habits

How to Take a Radical Approach to Self-Care

From the moment we first open our eyes in the morning to the moment we go to bed, we’re confronted with a barrage of decisions. Which outfit should I wear? What should I make for dinner? What’s the fastest route to take to work today? Our minds are often full of a continuous stream of tasks, and it takes a toll on our mental well-being. 
With so much information coming from different sources—from news to social media outlets to our own family in the background—our brains can feel completely overwhelmed.

The Brain Is Always On

The truth is, our mind isn’t at its best or at its most creative when it’s being held under the weight of thousands of tasks and projects.
We need to work on clearing our mind and freeing up space—both physically and mentally—to allow our creative ideas to start flowing.

Declutter Your Mind

Try something called a “brain dump” in the first hour of your day. This exercise, which only requires 10 minutes, can help you empty your mind of negative thoughts and streamline your focus on what matters most.
It works like this: Take a few minutes to write down on paper everything that’s weighing you down, letting your mind flow freely onto the page. If you think keeping everything you need to know neatly packed away in your head is a smart way to run your life, you’re probably hurting your productivity and stifling your creativity.

The Brain Dump Exercise

One can try embracing quiet reflection and moments of doing absolutely nothing. When you disconnect from distractions, you give space for your mind to create new pathways.
If you’re hesitant to break away because you feel that you’re on a roll, be mindful that it might be a false impression. Your brain needs downtime to remain industrious and generate better ideas.

Being Passive

It’s been proven that spending time in nature relieves attention fatigue and increases our creativity. If you’ve been using your brain to multitask—as most of us do most of the day—and then you set that aside and go on a walk, without all of the gadgets, you’ve let the prefrontal cortex recover.
That’s when we see these bursts in creativity, problem-solving, and feelings of well-being.

Be In Nature

Our never-ending obligations are important, but those flashes of creativity, the ones that come to you spontaneously in some quiet hours, are pushed to the back of your mind.
Honouring your passion can help you tap into your emotions and boost your creative genius, but only if you allow yourself the space to pay attention. When you open your eyes first thing in the morning, rather than rehearse your multitude of to-dos, remember to reflect on the ideas that enliven you, the ones that fill your cup with meaning. Those are the ones that should be at the top of your list.

Respect Your Passions

You’ve decluttered your home for remote work. Now declutter your mind.


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Creativity

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Science & Nature

How to quiet your mind by doing a brain dump

Kapila was a Vedic sage who lived around the 6th century BCE and is considered a founder of Samkhya, the oldest of the six orthodox schools of Indian philosophy, or darshans. His name comes from the Sanskrit meaning “reddish brown” and is translated as “the red one.” Kapila is considered an incarnation of Vishnu who came to earth to restore spiritual order. He is also known for teaching Bhakti yoga, the spiritual path of liberation or enlightenment.

8. Rishi Kapila 

Kapila is a given name of different individuals in ancient and medieval Indian texts, of which the most well-known is the founder of the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy. Kapila of Samkhya fame is considered a Vedic sage, estimated to have lived in the 6th-century BCE, or the 7th-century BCE.Rishi Kapila is credited with authoring the influential Samkhya-sutra, in which aphoristic sutras present the dualistic philosophy of Samkhya. Kapila's influence on Buddha and Buddhism have long been the subject of scholarly studies.

Biography

Many historic personalities in Hinduism and Jainism, mythical figures, pilgrimage sites in Indian religion, as well as an ancient variety of cow went by the name Kapila.Kapila is credited with authoring an influential sutra, called Samkhya-sutra(also called Kapila-sutra),which aphoristically presents the dualistic philosophy of Samkhya.These sutras were explained in another well studied text of Hinduism called the Samkhyakarika. Beyond the Samkhya theories,he appears in many dialogues of Hindu texts, such as in explaining and defending the principle of Ahimsa (non-violence) in the Mahabharata.

Kapila And Ahimsa

The Rigveda X.27.16 – estimated to have been composed between 1500 and 1200 BCE – mentions Kapila (daśānām ekam kapilam ) which the 14th-century Vedic commentator Sayana thought refers to a sage; a view which Chakravarti in 1951 and Larson in 1987 consider unreliable, with Chakravarti suggesting that the word refers to one of the Maruts, while Larson and Bhattacharya state kapilam in that verse means "tawny" or "reddish-brown"; as was also translated by Griffith.

In Vedic texts

Kapila is mentioned in chapter VIII of the Uttaradhyayana-sutra , states Larson and Bhattacharya, where a discourse of poetical verses is titled as Kaviliyam , or "Kapila's verses". The name Kapila appears in Jaina texts. For example, in the 12th century Hemacandra's epic poem on Jain elders, Kapila appears as a Brahmin who converted to Jainism during the Nanda Empire era. According to Jnatadharmakatha , Kapila was a contemporary of Krishna and the Vasudeva of Dhatakikhanda . The text further mentions that both of them blew their shankha (counch) together.

Jainism

Buddhists literature, such as the Jataka tales, state the Buddha was Kapila in one of his previous lives.Scholars have long compared and associated the teachings of Kapila and Buddha. For example, Max Muller wrote (abridged),There are no doubt certain notions which Buddha shares in common, not only with Kapila, but with every Hindu philosopher.It has been said that Buddha borrowed his atheism from Kapila. But atheism is an indefinite term, and may mean very different things. In one sense, every Indian philosopher was an atheist,for they all perceived that the gods of the populace could not

Buddhism

claim the attributes that belong to a Supreme Being (Absolute,the source of all that exists or seems to exist,Brahman).Kapila,when accused of atheism,is not accused of denying the existence of an Absolute Being.He is accused of denying the existence of an Ishvara.As Buddhist art often depicts Vedic deities, one can find art of both Narayana and Kapila as kings within a Buddhist temple, along with statues of Buddhist figures such as Amitabha, Maitreya, and Vairocana.In Chinese Buddhism, the Buddha directed the Yaksha Kapila and fifteen daughters of Devas to become the patrons of China.

The following works were authored by Kapila, some of which are lost, and known because they are mentioned in other works; while few others are unpublished manuscripts available in libraries stated:<ul><li>Manvadi Shrāddha - mentioned by Rudradeva in Pakayajna Prakasa .</li><li>Dṛṣṭantara Yoga - also named Siddhāntasāra available at Madras Oriental Manuscripts Library.</li><li>Kapilanyayabhasa - mentioned by Alberuni in his works.</li><li>Kapila Purana - referred to by Sutasamhita and Kavindracharya. Available at Sarasvati Bhavana Library, Varanasi.</li></ul>

Works

•Kapila Samhita - there are 2 works by the same name. One is the samhita quoted in the Bhagavatatatparyanirnaya and by Viramitrodaya in Samskaras . Another is the Samhita detailing pilgrim centers of Orissa.•Kapilasutra - Two books, namely the Samkya Pravacana Sutra and the Tattvasamasasutra, are jointly known as Kapilasutra.Bhaskararaya refers to them in his work Saubhagya-bhaskara.•Kapila Stotra - Chapters 25 to 33 of the third khanda of the Bhagavata Mahapurana are called Kapila Stotra.•Kapila Smriti - Available in the work Smriti-Sandarbha, a collection of Smritis, from Gurumandal Publica.

....

•Kapilopanishad - Mentioned in the Anandasrama list at 4067 (Anandasrama 4067).•Kapila Gita - also known as Dṛṣṭantasara or Siddhāntasāra .Kapila Pancharatra - also known as Maha Kapila Pancharatra. Quoted by Raghunandana in Saṃskāra Mayukha .Ayurveda books mentioning Kapila's works are:Vagbhatta mentions Kapila's views in chapter 20 of Sutrasthana .Nischalakara mentions Kapila's views in his commentary on Chikitsa Sangraha .Kapila's views are quoted in Ayurvedadipika .The Kavindracharya list at 987 mentions a book named Kapila Siddhanta Rasayana .

.....

Hemadri quotes Kapila's views in Ashtangahradaya (16th verse) of the commentary Ayurveda Rasayana .Sarvadarsanasamgraha (Sarva-darśana-saṃgraha ) mentions Kapila's views on Raseśvara school of philosophy.TeachingsKapila's Samkhya is taught in various Hindu texts:

......

<ul><li>"Kapila said, "Acts only cleanse the body. Knowledge, however, is the highest end (for which one strives). 5 When all faults of the heart are cured (by acts), and when the felicity of Brahma becomes established in knowledge, benevolence, forgiveness, tranquillity, compassion, truthfulness, and candour, abstention from injury, absence of pride, modesty, renunciation, and abstention from work are attained. These constitute the path that lead to Brahma. By those one attains to what is the Highest." </li><li>"Bhishma said (to Yudhishthira), 'Listen, O slayer of foes! The Sankhyas or followers of Kapila, </li></ul>

Mahabharata

who are conversant with all paths and endued with wisdom, say that there are five faults, O puissant one, in the human body. They are Desire and Wrath and Fear and Sleep and Breath. These faults are seen in the bodies of all embodied creatures. Those that are endued with wisdom cut the root of wrath with the aid of Forgiveness. Desire is cut off by casting off all purposes. By cultivation of the quality of Goodness (Sattwa) sleep is conquered, and Fear is conquered by cultivating Heedfulness.Breath is conquered by abstemiousness of diet. (Book 12: Santi Parva: Part III, Section CCCII.)

<ul><li>"My appearance in this world is especially to explain the philosophy of Sankhya, which is highly esteemed for self-realization by those desiring freedom from the entanglement of unnecessary material desires. This path of self-realization, which is difficult to understand, has now been lost in the course of time. Please know that I have assumed this body of Kapila to introduce and explain this philosophy to human society again."</li><li>"When one is completely cleansed of the impurities of lust and greed produced from the false identification of the body as "I" and bodily possessions as "mine," </li></ul>

Bhagavata Purana

Continued above - one's mind becomes purified. In that pure state he transcends the stage of so-called material happiness and distress." Kapila, the founder of Samkhya, has been a highly revered sage in various schools of Hindu philosophy. Gaudapada (~500 CE), a Advaita Vedanta scholar, in his Bhasya called Kapila as one of the seven great sages along with Sanaka, Sananda, Sanatana, Asuri, Vodhu and Pancasikha. Vyasa, the Yoga scholar, in his Yogasutra-bhasya wrote Kapila to be the "primal wise man, or knower".

Recognition

Kapila: Vedic sage, of the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy, Philosopher

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Society, Arts & Culture

About Kapila: Vedic sage, of the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy | 

You don't need to sit still on a pillow to get many of the benefits of mindfulness, science shows.
Many people find other ways to quiet their brains, be in the present moment, and reduce their stress.

Meditation Can Seem Hard

Almost everyone secretly meditates, whether they realize it or not.
Most of us pursue some activity demanding absolute presence of mind: if not mountain climbing or sailing or bike racing (where a lapse of attention might mean death), then photography or singing or recreational cookery (where a lapse of attention means you'll screw things up).

We Already Meditate Without Knowing It

Some people simply just aren't a good fit for a traditional practice (particularly those with unresolved trauma). There are some alternatives that would work better.
<ul>
<li>Coloring. Those adult coloring books you see around actually have solid science behind them.</li>
<li>Drumming or playing a similar musical instrument.</li>
<li>Cloud gazing or spending time with nature.</li>
<li>Writing in the morning, whatever comes to your mind.</li>
<li>Mindful walking. Benefits of mindful walking include stress reduction and improved cognition.</li>
</ul>

Meditation Alternatives

You don't need to sit still on a pillow to get many of the benefits of mindfulness, science shows.

Can't Manage to Meditate? Try These 5 Stress-Busting, Mind-Clearing Activities Instead

Our minds need decluttering too. Whenever we are occupied by things that are not helpful, we are burying the good things underneath. Leave the things that don’t bring us joy, don’t let them steal our peace. 
Like the physical decluttering, you need to do it often. Every day if you can: just as you should tidy your room every day, so the mess doesn’t accumulate.

A Cluttered Mind Can Mess Up Your Life

Make a list. Are there any important things that you’ve wanted to do but never started? How important are they? What is making you delay them?
Understand whether and how these things are important. Then decide how to tackle the challenges preventing you from starting them. When everything is clearer, make a plan and follow it.

Clear Your Procrastination List

Daily practice of mindfulness will help you detach from your emotions and watch them from above. Many times we are worrying without recognizing it.
Worrying is the biggest unhelpful thing that can occupy our minds. It takes up so much space that we can’t enjoy the present. Mindfulness will help recognize it as soon as it emerges. When it does, acknowledge it and let it pass like a cloud in the sky, then move on with the present. Don’t let your worrying control you.

Stop Worrying

When you ignore or delay something that you promised to do, it still stays on top of your mind. Whenever you do something else, your brain will remind you that you should have been doing that other thing instead.
This is not helpful. Declutter the negative emotions for yourself so you can free up space for productive action.

Follow Through on Promises and Commitments

We can’t focus on ourselves when our brain is occupied with emotions related to someone else, or anger and hate of the world. We need inner peace before we can focus on the present. Let go of those emotions that you bear inside.
Your emotions will only affect you, not anyone else (unless you act on it). Find your closure if you need it, but let it go.

Let Go of Anger and Forgive

You don’t need a journal to know that someone or something is toxic to you.
You need to say NO to anything that takes you down from your current state.

Say No to People and Things that Drag You Down

The problem with clutter is that, once you are in the middle, you don’t realize it anymore. You carry on ignoring, going around it. You get used to the disorder so much that you become the disorder…

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Mental Health

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Entertainment

5 Easy Steps to Declutter Your Mind

Jules Shuzen Harris, the first African American Zen master, argues that people in the West practice secularised forms of Buddhism or mindfulness, that hide the true meaning of Awakening. He claims mindfulness is also a form of “spiritual bypassing,” avoiding psychological problems in favor of “pretend Enlightenment.”His method is to apply the Buddhist philosophy using not only meditation, but psychotherapy, mainly the Mind-Body Bridging & the I-System (system that regulates mind-body states by calming your default-mode network).

Jules Harris's Beyond Mindfulness

To be aware is not about maximising your state of wellbeing (like in mindfulness), but about about realising (your) true Buddha nature. Our ego puts out a constant fight with us & others, but our true nature is one of connectedness. And every time we sit we re-connect with the true reality of the present moment.Dedicated practice & reaching Enlightenment is a painful process & it's natural to see your ego dissolving as a loss. Quite terrifying actually! It takes a lot of courage & commitment to fight against the ego who is trying to conserve itself.

True Enlightenment vs Mindfulness

For Jules, true enlightenment can still be obtained in the modern world. <ul><li>Understand the Buddhist conception of consciousness and the role of ego in it.</li><li>Understand that clinging to a narrative is how the ego fights back. Know the Skandhas, or the sources of suffering.</li><li>Become familiar with the buddhist realms of existence</li><li>Use the realms to make mind-maps, thus combining Zen philosophy and practice with modern psychology.</li><li>Use the maps as a guide towards deeper investigation and as a starting point in Zazen (Zen meditation).</li></ul>

Jules Harris's Method

Consciousness is unresolved scientific problem. We don't really know what makes us aware. Because it's so hard to define we think of us as made up of matter and spirit. In Buddhism, however, there are 9 level of consciousness:<ul><li>6 senses (touch, hearing, smell, taste, seeing ... & thoughts). Thoughts are considered sensations because they are coming just like the senses.</li><li>Ego: the false feeling there is a static "you".</li><li>Subconsciousness - the part of your mind which operates without your awareness.</li><li>Pure original consciousness based on the Substance. Buddha nature.</li></ul>

Buddhist Consciousness 

We may think Buddhism is about living a world free of desires and pleasures. It's impossible and also not true. Clinging to desire is the problem.Say you are excited about dining at your favourite restaurant, but when you get there you find it closed. It's ok to want to eat your favourite food, but the real problem is when an unexpected event, like its closing, ruins your day.

Desire And Clinging 

In Buddhism, it refers to the 5 aggregates of clinging (the source of suffering). To understand them let's think of hearing a person clapping:<ol><li>form (or material image, impression) - This is the experience of the clapping sound</li><li>sensations (or feelings, received from form) - Is the clap a plesant or displeasing sound?</li><li>perceptions - Noticing the person clapping</li><li>mental activity or formations - We notice he clapped to gain attention</li><li>consciousness - We remember of a story about clapping</li></ol>All of these usually happen in less than a second. Experiences are actually made up of multiple groups.

Skandhas, Why We Suffer

For Buddhists, these 6 realms represent all possible states of existence. They were traditionally conceived as real places, but can also be interpreted symbolically:<ol><li>Heavenly Realm: Life in heaven is a continual round or pleasure, but finite. Gods ultimately die.</li><li>Demigods Realm: semigods are locked into continual struggle with them. They are primarily driven by envy and greed for power.</li><li>Ghost Realm: Ghosts are are described as tormented by hunger and thirst.</li><li>Animal Realm: Animals are run by instinct.</li><li>Hell Realm: The realm of true suffering, which is hate.</li><li>Human Realm: Human beings with agency </li></ol>

The Six Realms of Existence

Jules, proposes to adopt mind-maps (a tool in the I-System) and combine them with the Skandhas and the 6 Realms to get to a better understanding of yourself.<ul><li>Chose a question from one of the realms. Like "What give me pleasure?". Write on the middle of a blank page. </li><li>Using Zazen or simple reflection write how that manifests in you. Unfiltered map. </li><li>Repeat the next day. Over time, as you explore more questions & as you meditate on these issues you will have a repositories of maps that show your evolution in how you describe your reality.   </li></ul>

Using mind-maps in Zen

Jules Harris proposes we interpret the realms psychologically to guide us to make mental maps for ourselves.<ol><li>Heaven (pleasure, comfort): What I am addicted to? What are my desires?</li><li>Demigods (jealousy, arrogance, power): How do I defend my happiness? What am I jealous of?</li><li>Ghosts (lust, hunger): Why am I dissatisfied? </li><li>Animals (fear & instinct): What do I fear?</li><li>Hell (hate): What are the triggers for anger & hate?</li><li>Humans (doubt & change): What's on my mind? How can I improve?</li></ol>You can use meditation to investigate these questions & write the answers as a mind-map.

Using the Six Realms to calm the ego

Zazen, the Zen meditation, can start easy and progress towards complexity:<ul><li>Count breaths & exhalations. Breath in - 1. Breathe out - 2. Do it until you get to 10 & restart. If you notice any thoughts just label them.</li><li>Concentrate on full breath cycle. Count only exhalations.</li><li>Concentrate on "pure" breathing. No counting. </li><li>Shikantaza, or simply resting without any thoughts.</li><li>Study a koan, or a Zen riddle like "What is the sound of one hand clapping?". Ideally done with a teacher.</li></ul>Don't look at these techniques as a progression. You can study koans one session & do counting in the next.

Stages of Zazen

<ul><li>There is no bad Zazen. If you start to appreciate your state or if you get frustrated by your thoughts you are only bringing your ego into the forefront. </li><li>If you get addicted to a good sensation you only get through meditation, you most likely stranded off the path and you should seek support. </li><li>Don't judge your sessions. There is no purpose in Zazen, no good or bad. Just be!</li></ul>

Hints for a better Zazen

A Zen student needs 3 foundational conditions:<ol><li>True Faith: Have faith that everyone has Buddha nature. have faith that you can get to this truth.</li><li>True Doubt: Doubt what seems to be reality. Most of the time the reality are just construct of your ego.</li><li>Powerful Will: Have persistence to keep on the path when you are troubled, worried, frustrated etc. </li></ol>

3 conditions for Enlightenment 

This collection will show you how to direct all of your attention and awareness to the present

How to Be More Mindful

Jules Harris, the first African American Zen master, makes an argument to go beyond mindfulness towards a more classical views of Buddhism. His method combines psychological interpretation of Buddhist text with psychology.

An effective new approach to Buddhist practice that combines the rigor of traditional meditation and study with the psychological support necessary for practice in modern life. Zen teacher Jules Shuzen Harris argues that contemporary American Buddhists face two primary challenges: (1) “spiritual bypassing,” which means avoiding or repressing psychological problems in favor of “pretend Enlightenment,” and (2) settling for secularized forms of Buddhism or mindfulness that have lost touch with the deeper philosophical and ethical underpinnings of the religion. Drawing on his decades of experience as a Zen practitioner, teacher, and psychotherapist, Harris writes that both of these challenges can be met through the combination of a committed meditation practice, a deep study of Buddhist psychological models, and tools from a psychotherapeutic method known as “Mind-Body Bridging.” Using this unique approach, students can do the real work of awakening without either denying their embodied emotional life or missing out on the rich array of insights offered by Buddhist psychology and the Zen practice tradition.

philosophy

Philosophy

An effective new approach to Buddhist practice that combines the rigor of traditional meditation and study with the psychological support necessary for practice in modern life. Zen teacher Jules Shuzen Harris argues that contemporary American Buddhists face two primary challenges: (1) “spiritual bypassing,” which means avoiding or repressing psychological problems in favor of “pretend Enlightenment,” and (2) settling for secularized forms of Buddhism or mindfulness that have lost touch with the deeper philosophical and ethical underpinnings of the religion. Drawing on his decades of experience as a Zen practitioner, teacher, and psychotherapist, Harris writes that both of these challenges can be met through the combination of a committed meditation practice, a deep study of Buddhist psychological models, and tools from a psychotherapeutic method known as “Mind-Body Bridging.” Using this unique approach, students can do the real work of awakening without either denying their embodied emotional life or missing out on the rich array of insights offered by Buddhist psychology and the Zen practice tradition.

Jules Shuzen Harris

Zen beyond Mindfulness

<ul><li>The key point in. . .from the Buddhist psychological point of view – and the  Buddha's expertise is the mind: that might surprise us, you know? – is that. . .we can,  </li></ul><ol><li>one: become familiar with it quite deeply, we can drill down and become ever more familiar  with what's going on – all this seeming chaos – </li><li>but, two: we can sort it out, we can edit it,  we can be our. . .we can mold our mind, as Lama Zopa says, into any shape we like.</li></ol>

We Can Mould Our Mind

But we have to have confidence in that. Our problem is whatever thought pops up – especially  the negative ones – we believe they're true, you know? This is the worst crime against ourselves:  we believe the negative thoughts. I mean, but they're just thoughts and their habits, you know? So then we need to look at them, assess them carefully, and we need to distinguish  the thoughts, we need to distinguish between the facts and the fictions.

Our Biggest Problem

In other words, we  have thoughts that are reasonably valid, that are useful, that cause us to be content and happy and  help us help others: that's called love, kindness, forgiveness, generosity, blah blah blah. And then  we have low self-esteem and anger and fears and anxiety and jealousy: these ones, you know? But  somehow the unhappy ones seem to come without being invited, don't they? But the other point is,  we can actually actively, proactively have positive thoughts.

We can actually proactively have positive thoughts.

So when we understand that – and the person we become is created by our thoughts – then we can start to have this confidence. That it's my mind,  I can become familiar with it and I can turn it into whatever mind I like.

I can turn it into whatever mind I like. 

We're not discussing  the brain, we're discussing the actual cognitive process itself. So we have to become familiar  with it and then we have to have the courage not to be scared of what's there, you know? And then  to learn to. . .to reprogram ourselves, write new scripts – that's the way of putting it. But it's  a long term job. We have to have courage and we have to have patience, but it's possible.

Learn To Reprogram Your Mind.

We all have the power to reprogram our mind.

Thought of the day from Venerable Robina Courtin Subtitles available in English and French To turn captions on or off, click on CC To change the language, click on Settings (3 dots or cogwheel)

Thought of the day from Venerable Robina Courtin

Subtitles available in English, German, Portuguese and French

To turn captions on or off, click on CC
To change the language, click on Settings (3 dots or cogwheel)

Buddhist nun.

Ordained since the late 1970s, Ven. Robina has worked full time since then for Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche's FPMT.

Schedule of Teachings: http://www.robinacourtin.com/teaching-schedule/

Robina Courtin

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT 83: Programming our mind — Robina Courtin

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