Quotes on Mindfulness

[Daniel E.]

Is mindfulness overrated? A major new study suggests so

New research has found no changes in brain structure after an eight-week mindfulness course. But does that really matter?

www.smh.com.au

"If something changes in your brain but nothing changes in the way you feel, is it really relevant?"

 

[Daniel E.]

Why Mindfulness Is Overrated

Mindfulness has its upsides, but the human brain isn’t wired to be so attentive all the time.

www.fastcompany.com

"Mindfulness has its upsides, but the human brain isn't wired to be so attentive all the time."

 

[Daniel E.]

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210202-how-mindfulness-can-blunt-your-feelings-and-spike-anxiety

"We’ve had an overwhelming number of people contacting the lab and saying, ‘I can't feel anything, I don't feel any love for my family. What do I do?’"

– Willoughby Britton

 

[Daniel E.]

Frontiers | Does Neutral Affect Exist? How Challenging Three Beliefs About Neutral Affect Can Advance Affective Research

Researchers interested in affect have often questioned the existence of neutral affective states. In this paper, we review and challenge three beliefs that r...

www.frontiersin.org

Buddhist philosophy argues that when people ignore their neutral feelings, they are more likely to experience boredom and ignorance because all feelings, including neutral feelings, should to be attended to (Bodhi, 2000; Kudesia and Nyima, 2015). Dhammadinna, a nun, stated that when people have neutral feelings, ignoring them and not knowing can be painful and unpleasurable, whereas knowing the neutral feeling is pleasant (Anālayo, 2017). Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, went even further saying the following about the practice of mindfulness with regard to neutral feelings:

"In the process of practicing we discover that the neutral feelings are very interesting. As when we sit, there is a sensation that is neutral. When we bring mindfulness to the neutral feeling, you find that it is quite nice. You see that you already have enough conditions for happiness with a neutral feeling. If you look deeply at the neutral feeling you see that it is wonderful. When you see your feelings passing by like a river, you see that 80% of your neutral feelings are quite pleasant. With mindfulness, our neutral feeling is transformed into happiness" (Thich, 2011).​

 

[Daniel E.]

From "Zen Zach," a Geico motorcycle commercial:

"The only notification he hears is the sound of the ocean."

 

[Daniel E.]

Private Site

At first glance, it might seem ironic that developing comfort with the opposite concept – impermanence – is so helpful to us as we mature. However, when we consider separation anxiety develops in connection with object permanence, the irony fades. As infants, it’s precisely because we become aware people and things are relatively permanent that we begin to experience anxiety at the prospect of losing them.

“We reduce, concretize, or substantialize experiences or feelings, which are, in their very nature, fleeting or evanescent. In so doing, we define ourselves by our moods and by our thoughts. We do not just let ourselves be happy or sad, for instance; we must become a happy person or a sad one. This is the chronic tendency of the ignorant or deluded mind, to make “things” out of that which is no thing.”

― Mark Epstein, Thoughts Without a Thinker: Psychotherapy from a Buddhist Perspective

 

[Daniel E.]

When stressed, go to the spa.
SPA = Shift in Perceptual Awareness.

~ Alan Cohen

 

[Daniel E.]

Mindfulness May Moderate the Relationship Between Intrinsic Motivation and Physical Activity: A Cross-Sectional Study

This study aims to characterize the relationships between intrinsic motivation towards physical activity, mindfulness, and physical activity level. We measured self-reported mindfulness, motivational regulation towards exercise, and physical activity level in 280 French students. Analyses...

hal.archives-ouvertes.fr

"Increasing mindfulness skills of individuals could improve their intrinsic motivation to exercise and, thus, physical activity."

 

[Daniel E.]

https://www.instagram.com/yung_pueblo/

Elevate with Yung Pueblo | Substack

Reflections on Personal Transformation and Relationships. Click to read Elevate with Yung Pueblo, a Substack publication with hundreds of thousands of subscribers.

yungpueblo.substack.com

 

[Daniel E.]

It may be when we no longer know what to do
we have come to our real work,
And that when we no longer know which way to go,
we have begun our real journey.

~ Wendell Berry

 

[Daniel E.]

“Impermanence has been my greatest teacher, by far. Before I really started trying to develop my own self-awareness, I was just absent from life and the people I really love. As I started attuning myself to impermanence and the fact that things are so fleeting…it’s helped me to just be there, to be there with my wife, to be there with my parents, to give them my attention, rather than just scrolling on my phone when I’m sitting next to them. If you’re able to embrace the fact that everything is impermanent, it will allow you to be so much more present in life.”

~ Yung Pueblo