The parable of the 2 arrows: How the Buddha is using this metaphor to explain the difference between pain and suffering. Meaning of the parable: The first arrow is the unavoidable pain caused by ongoing external factors. The following second arrow is the self- induced suffering triggered by our reactive emotional mind. If the initial […]
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Training your body, mind and heart while under stress Stressors are everywhere, permanent, either acute i.e. loss of a loved one or chronic such as guilt They are defined as an event being perceived as generating negativities of all sorts.They consciously affect our body, mind and social interactions when they are acute, but, when they […]
Stress and stressors To understand the effectiveness of mindfulness-based meditation in dealing with stress, it is important to understand in detail what stress and stressors are, and what they do. Next week we will talk about therapeutic approaches using body scanning, mind scanning, and meditation. What is stress? The term “stress” was coined for the […]
What is contentment? A Zen perspective Contentment in Zen is a quiet, unconditional “acceptance" with things , events, and people whatever good or bad they are.Contentment arises when judgment, comparison, clinging , resistance , aversion drop away and life is allowed to be just as it is in the current moment. It has nothing to […]
Touching Peace in Everyday Life Every year, as the New Year approaches, we send and receive messages wishing health, prosperity, and peace. In a world filled with rushing, distractions, and competition, these words can feel like empty clichés. Health can be pursued by caring for our bodies and attending to our needs. Prosperity, we’re good […]
Mindful eating We eat every day, but often we’re not really present while eating. It’s common to eat while standing at the counter, rushing through a snack, scrolling on our phones, watching TV, or eating without really noticing what’s in front of us. We follow endless food rules and are constantly told what, how much, […]
As far as Zen is concerned, serenity has nothing to do with some sort of blissful state where everything is peaceful, rosy, cheerful, and happiness runs 24/7. It will never happen. Serenity is a state of mind; it appears when equanimity is achieved, and stress level under control. It means you are able to maintain […]
According to neuroscience, including imaging, our mind is processing around 110,000thoughts/feelings 24/7.Their contents, representing around 50 to 70 Gigabytes of data,* are a blend of factual, concrete realities(R), and virtual ones (VR).How much reality vs. fiction is produced? ……VR seems to be the dominant output.Does this ratio Reality / Fiction affect our societal , emotional […]
