9 Mind-Bending Epiphanies That Will Turn Your World Upside-Down 1. You are not your mind. The first time I heard somebody say that, I didn’t like the sound of it one bit. I see quite clearly now that life is nothing but passing experiences, and my thoughts are just one more category of things I experience. If you can observe your thoughts just like you can observe other objects, who’s doing the observing? 2. Of course! 3. I now consider this truth to be Happiness 101, but it’s amazing how tempting it still is to grasp at control of every circumstance to try to make sure I get exactly what I want. 4. Human beings have a habit of compulsive thinking that is so pervasive that we lose sight of the fact that we are nearly always thinking. 5. Yikes. 6. This discovery was a complete 180 from my old understanding of emotions. 7. Learning this allowed me to finally make sense of how people can hurt each other so badly. 8. Believing something is not an accomplishment. 9. Life is a subjective experience and that cannot be escaped.
8 tips to make your life more surprising — from a “Surprisologist” A closeup of Tania Luna, with glow stick. Photo: James Duncan Davidson In today’s talk, Tania Luna shares her experience of immigrating to the United States from Ukraine as a little girl. Perfectly happy with her family’s outhouse and with chewing a single piece of Bazooka gum for a week, Luna found herself blown away by the wonders of her new country. Commit to the mindset and process of surprise. Luna believes we can all be surprisologists. Tania Luna leads a TED audience in a glowstick dance, during a talk given a year prior to the one posted today.
Charming talks for a boost on a bad day | Playlist Now playing All under the age of 16, brothers Jonny, Robbie and Tommy Mizzone are from New Jersey, a US state that's better known for the rock of Bruce Springsteen than the bluegrass of Earl Scruggs. Nonetheless, the siblings began performing bluegrass covers, as well as their own compositions, at a young age. Here, they play three dazzling songs in three different keys, passing the lead back and forth from fiddle to banjo to guitar. 5 Buddhist Philosophies That Are Hard To Practice But Will Pay Off Forever - The Power of Ideas Buddhism is such a powerful philosophy that differs to much of what we’re taught in the west. Today, as I browsing the ideas on Ideapod I came across this epic post from Lisa Martin on 5 Buddhist philosophies we all should adopt. Check it out below and don’t forget to sign up to ideapod.com to share your own ideas! “1. “Practice compassion”. Rather than just being empathetic, compassion takes it to a whole new level by taking action with kindness. Practical tip: Try to do one nice act for another human being daily. 2. Practical tip: Aim to be an impartial observer of your mind several times a day. 3. Practical tip: Call your parents or significant other and let them know how grateful you are. 4. Practical tip: Read Epicurus’ letter in the idea related below! 5. Practical tip: Every time you speak to others, be thoughtful of how your words are affecting them.” If would like to respond to Lisa Martin, you can do so here.
Give and receive Money systemCharles EisensteinPhoto:Thulasi Kakkat The voice of Charles Eisentein may sound incongruous in our country that is in the throes of development. It is straining to be heard in a society charmed by consumerism. But his hard truths, delivered in his soft voice and gentle demeanour, had the audience sit up and listen at David Hall in Fort Kochi recently. The young American speaker and author debunks the envied American Dream that people, communities and countries aspire for. “Gift culture includes any way that people share without money,” says the ‘de-growth’ activist who believes in the shrinking of GDP. Charles is the author of several books that include The Ascent of Humanity (2007), Sacred Economics (2011), and his latest work The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know Is Possible (2013) that deals with the changing narratives of the dominant culture. In Alappuzha Charles had a rich experience when he received the gift of blessing from a man seeking alms.
How to help your doctor give you better care Upstreamists like me — and we can be doctors, nurses or other clinicians — know that asthma can start in the air around us. We know that ailments such as depression, anxiety and high blood pressure can arise from chronically stressful conditions at work and home. We see how policies that deny opportunity, fairness and justice can be reflected in patients’ faces as well as in their DNA. And, just as important, we understand how to translate this knowledge into action. The upstreamist considers it her professional duty not only to prescribe a chemical remedy but also to tackle sickness at its source. There aren’t nearly enough of these pioneers working in health care today, but our ranks are slowly growing. 1. Create a list of the potentially unhealthy issues in your environment. Some of these problems you might be able to fix yourself. 2. So, next time you visit your doctor, try asking: “Doctor, do you consider yourself an upstreamist?” 3. Not a gadgethead? 4. 5. 6.
What are you revealing online? Much more than you think What can be guessed about you from your online behavior? Two computer privacy experts — economist Alessandro Acquisti and computer scientist Jennifer Golbeck — on how little we know about how much others know. The best indicator of high intelligence on Facebook is apparently liking a page for curly fries. At least, that’s according to computer scientist Jennifer Golbeck (TED Talk: The curly fry conundrum), whose job is to figure out what we reveal about ourselves through what we say — and don’t say — online. Of course, the lines between online and “real” are increasingly blurred, but as Golbeck and privacy economist Alessandro Acquisti (TED Talk: Why privacy matters) both agree, that’s no reason to stop paying attention. I hear so much conflicting information about what I should and shouldn’t be posting online. Alessandro Acquisti: My personal view is that individual responsibility is important, but we are at a stage where it is not sufficient. Jennifer Golbeck: I agree with that.
"The Healing Power of a #Meditation Group" #healing #love #mindfulness By Charles A. Francis Helping other people on their spiritual journey is one of the most prominent qualities of an enlightened person. When you begin to see your interconnectedness with the rest of humanity, you will see the suffering in other people, and your compassion for them will naturally grow. One of the ways we can help others is by starting a meditation group. A Meditation Group Can Transform Lives While many of us enjoy meditating alone, meditating with others can enhance our spiritual growth significantly. Spiritual support: There is a synergy that takes place when people meditate together. Avoiding Some of the Pitfalls While starting a meditation group is easy, keeping it growing and thriving can be more of a challenge. Most groups start out with good intentions. What I generally suggest is that you commit to one form of meditation. Exclusivity is another issue to be aware of. The starter kit is based on the 12 Steps of the Mindfulness Meditation Practice.
Think you’ve got a terrible memory? You don’t know the half of it In this far-ranging chat, psychologist Elizabeth Loftus spoke with MIT neuroscientists Steve Ramirez and Xu Liu about the future of memory manipulation. Last year, MIT neuroscientists Xu Liu and Steve Ramirez manipulated the memory of a mouse. In a fascinating and mildly troubling breakthrough caused by a laser and the protein channelrhodopsin, they “activated” fear memories in a mouse. The impetus, says Ramirez, was the awful feeling of a break-up, the desire, Eternal Sunshine-style, to erase the bad associations with his ex. Well, as psychologist and criminologist Elizabeth Loftus knows, humans already have extremely faulty memories; so what happens when the technology for manipulation on the neural level becomes possible? To tackle these questions, TED asked Loftus, Ramirez, and Liu to join in a phone conversation about the future of memory manipulation. A question for the group: Why is human memory so malleable? XL: Memory is also connected to the way we imagine the future.
How Do You Build Psychological Strength? Start With Stress According to the American Psychological Association (APA), stress is a top health concern, and many psychologists say that if we don’t learn healthy ways to manage that stress now, it could have serious long-term health implications. The United Nations International Labor Organization seconds the APA, now defining stress as a “global epidemic”. Indeed, we now spend more time than ever before trying to manage what for many appears unmanageable. The problem is that stress, like risk, does not follow any predictable pattern. A recent study asked participants to list tasks that took a certain amount of time, and then envision themselves completing those tasks. These findings are supported by a survey completed for the U.S. And that is the problem that stress management presents: we are trying to anticipate things that cannot be anticipated, and in doing so, we are wrestling with competing demands. But let’s consider the problem another way.
20 Ways to Feel ALIVE!!!!!! Unless you are the second coming of Jesus Christ (if you are, please comment!) it’s impossible not to feel a bit down sometimes. Here are 20 quick ways to revive yourself and get back that “on top of the world” feeling. Stick your body out of a sunroof while the car is driving I can tell you first-hand this one is a lot of fun. If you don’t have a sunroof, a window works just as well. Bonus Reader-Suggested Ways Swim in a cold lake, beach or riverI never feel more alive than when I get out after a cold swim and my heart is pumping to keep my body warm. How do you make that feeling permanent? Step 1: Figure out what it is that makes you feel dead and cut it out of your life.
How Self-Reflection Can Help You Heal Deep Inner Wounds My friend came over the other day and started playfully teasing me about my Instagram stories. I laughed along until he said, "You're like a different person. That's not even who you are." Oof. I was sick to my stomach. For the next few hours my mind was playing on a loop: Why does he think he has a right to judge me? I wanted to prove that I am simply who I am. Most of us fixate on things that feel bad. The emotions we don't or can't process get stored in the body. These small criticisms used to sit with me for weeks, sometimes longer. The first step is to become aware that your mind is validating a false belief. In my case, I was allowing someone else's opinion about me to validate the idea that there was something fundamentally wrong with me, that I'm unlovable. Deep down, I believe I am a fraud. The mind craves understanding, but it's not always necessary. I am lovable. Let it go. I know, I know—letting go can seem really abstract when you haven't practiced it.
How to Respond to Negative People Without Being Negative “Don’t let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace.” ~Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama A woman with whom I once worked seemed to talk non-stop and loudly, interrupt incessantly, gossip about whomever wasn’t in the room, constantly complain, and live quite happily in martyrdom. It seemed nothing and no one escaped her negative spin. She was good at it. She could twist the happiest moment of someone’s life into a horrendous mistake. At first, my judgmental mind thought her behavior to be quite inappropriate. Her negativity was infectious. For a while, though, I listened to her whenever she followed me into the lunchroom or the ladies’ room. I’d excuse myself from the one-sided chit-chat as soon as possible, wanting to someday be honest enough to kindly tell her that I choose not to listen to gossip. And it was exhausting because whether I listened to her or not, or even managed to momentarily escape her altogether, I was still held captive by her negativity. Photo credit: D.
How to Practice the Art of Being Present I’ve often experimented with ways to weave mindfulness practice into the speed and hubbub of daily life. The premise is simple: mindfulness meets the moment, the result is being present, and that can’t be bad. It also has the benefit of undermining that recurring thought “shouldn’t I be setting aside some more time for my mindfulness practice?” Bringing mindfulness to the activities we already choose to include in our lives is a great way to start. When we bring mindfulness into our daily routines (dishes, laundry, eating) what we’re doing is bringing a bit more focus to each moment. For example, when washing the dishes is just part of “cleaning up the kitchen,” it makes it harder to be with that one moment fully. I especially like the practice of bringing mindfulness into a daily routine when that routine includes other people, like having lunch or holding a meeting. When I’m ready for a bigger challenge, I play with bringing my awareness to those times when I get triggered. Routines.