When we encounter someone, the mind summarizes and simplifies tons of details. Though fast and efficient this process has lots of problems. As our ancestors evolved, rapid sorting of friend or foe was very useful but is it still.
What can you do when there’s nothing you can do? Love Someone. Sometimes something happens. Perhaps your cat takes a turn for the worse, there’s a money problem, or it’s on a larger scale: maybe there’s been an election and you’re grappling with its
Controlling your attention – being able to place it where you want it and keep it there, being able to pull it away from what’s bothersome or pointless.
The most important things often get pushed to the sidelines. But if you don’t make a sanctuary for what is important, it will get overrun B and C priorities.
You can open to a sense of freedom and autonomy where you get to decide what you could stop doing and lighten up.
True kindness is a two-way street: caring for others eases your mind; caring for yourself strengthens your heart. From this balance, joy and connection grow.
Being at peace with others’ pain helps us be supportive of their pain.
Get beyond the hassle and bad feelings by admitting fault. Remind yourself how it’s in your own best interest to admit fault and move on. It takes a strong person to admit fault, and it puts us in a stronger position with others.
Life shows us generosity in a magnitude of ways including our senses and the natural world. The best thing we can do is to receive generosity.
Where does it hurt? The practice: Recognize suffering in others. We’re usually aware of our own suffering, but seeing the suffering in others: that’s not so common. All the news and pictures of disaster, murder, and grief that bombard us each day
If you don’t see progress in your own life, then you will feel stagnant, or declining. Learn to notice the things that are improving all around you.
Painful experiences range from subtle discomfort to extreme anguish – and there is a place for them. Sorrow can open the heart.
What do you do when the bottom falls out? Take heart. By “taking heart,” I mean several related things: Sensing your heart and chest, finding encouragement in what is good both around you and inside you, resting in your own warmth, compassion, and
Humans are vulnerable to being alarmed, manipulated, and even intimidated by threats, both real ones and “paper tigers.” Understanding how your brain became so vigilant and wary, and so easily hijacked by alarm, is the first step toward gaining more control over that ancient circuitry and is less rattled or distracted by exaggerated, manageable, or false alarms.