WP_Query Object
(
[query] => Array
(
[category__in] => Array
(
[0] => 23
[1] => 65
)
[post__not_in] => Array
(
[0] => 7862
)
[posts_per_page] => 50
[ignore_sticky_posts] => 1
[orderby] => desc
[_shuffle_and_pick] => 3
)
[query_vars] => Array
(
[category__in] => Array
(
[0] => 23
[1] => 65
)
[post__not_in] => Array
(
[0] => 7862
)
[posts_per_page] => 50
[ignore_sticky_posts] => 1
[orderby] => desc
[_shuffle_and_pick] => 3
[error] =>
[m] =>
[p] => 0
[post_parent] =>
[subpost] =>
[subpost_id] =>
[attachment] =>
[attachment_id] => 0
[name] =>
[pagename] =>
[page_id] => 0
[second] =>
[minute] =>
[hour] =>
[day] => 0
[monthnum] => 0
[year] => 0
[w] => 0
[category_name] => meditation_mindfulness
[tag] =>
[cat] => 23
[tag_id] =>
[author] =>
[author_name] =>
[feed] =>
[tb] =>
[paged] => 0
[meta_key] =>
[meta_value] =>
[preview] =>
[s] =>
[sentence] =>
[title] =>
[fields] =>
[menu_order] =>
[embed] =>
[category__not_in] => Array
(
)
[category__and] => Array
(
)
[post__in] => Array
(
)
[post_name__in] => Array
(
)
[tag__in] => Array
(
)
[tag__not_in] => Array
(
)
[tag__and] => Array
(
)
[tag_slug__in] => Array
(
)
[tag_slug__and] => Array
(
)
[post_parent__in] => Array
(
)
[post_parent__not_in] => Array
(
)
[author__in] => Array
(
)
[author__not_in] => Array
(
)
[suppress_filters] =>
[cache_results] => 1
[update_post_term_cache] => 1
[lazy_load_term_meta] => 1
[update_post_meta_cache] => 1
[post_type] =>
[nopaging] =>
[comments_per_page] => 50
[no_found_rows] =>
[order] => DESC
)
[tax_query] => WP_Tax_Query Object
(
[queries] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[taxonomy] => category
[terms] => Array
(
[0] => 23
[1] => 65
)
[field] => term_id
[operator] => IN
[include_children] =>
)
)
[relation] => AND
[table_aliases:protected] => Array
(
[0] => wp_term_relationships
)
[queried_terms] => Array
(
[category] => Array
(
[terms] => Array
(
[0] => 23
[1] => 65
)
[field] => term_id
)
)
[primary_table] => wp_posts
[primary_id_column] => ID
)
[meta_query] => WP_Meta_Query Object
(
[queries] => Array
(
)
[relation] =>
[meta_table] =>
[meta_id_column] =>
[primary_table] =>
[primary_id_column] =>
[table_aliases:protected] => Array
(
)
[clauses:protected] => Array
(
)
[has_or_relation:protected] =>
)
[date_query] =>
[request] => SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS wp_posts.ID FROM wp_posts LEFT JOIN wp_term_relationships ON (wp_posts.ID = wp_term_relationships.object_id) WHERE 1=1 AND wp_posts.ID NOT IN (7862) AND (
wp_term_relationships.term_taxonomy_id IN (23,65)
) AND wp_posts.post_type = 'post' AND (wp_posts.post_status = 'publish' OR wp_posts.post_status = 'acf-disabled')
AND ID NOT IN
(SELECT `post_id` FROM wp_postmeta
WHERE `meta_key` = '_pilotpress_level'
AND `meta_value` IN ('','employee')
AND `post_id` NOT IN
(SELECT `post_id` FROM wp_postmeta
WHERE `meta_key` = '_pilotpress_level'
AND `meta_value` IN ('' ))) GROUP BY wp_posts.ID ORDER BY wp_posts.post_date DESC LIMIT 0, 50
[posts] => Array
(
[0] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 7994
[post_author] => 3
[post_date] => 2020-08-07 21:28:29
[post_date_gmt] => 2020-08-07 21:28:29
[post_content] =>
One of the things I love about Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is its ability to distill complicated problems down to simple ones. If you were to look in a textbook of TCM pathology, you’d find a list of probable causes (“etiologies”) for every disease, and before long you’d notice that there’s a fairly small number of root causes. These are things like overwork, trauma, and exposure to harsh climatic conditions. One interesting cause that comes up with great frequency is “imbalance between movement and stillness.”
Historically, this imbalance usually referred to too much physical exertion (in the form of manual labor) and not enough rest. But in the modern world, we almost always see the reverse. Huge portions of our lives are spent sitting, and exercise has become optional for many. It’s an oddly unnatural trend, where physical fitness must be scheduled into our calendar and is often performed indoors on machines.
Meanwhile, there’s an opposite form of movement/stillness imbalance that’s equally unhealthy and often harder for us to remedy. While we’re more physically immobile than ever, on a mental level we’re constantly running marathons. Humans in the developed world are epidemically overworking our minds, processing huge amounts of data, trying to make sense of all the news, while managing an increasingly complex burden of psychological stress.
In the past, most people engaged in much less mental activity (“movement”) and had much more opportunity for mental stillness than we do today. Unfortunately, the simultaneous trend toward physical inactivity means we miss out on the calming and stabilizing effect that physical activity provides for the mind. Because uneasy minds are prone to look for more data to engage with, this can make for an unhealthy cycle.
For optimal health and balance, we need periods of mental stillness during waking life – a deliberate practice of resting the mind that’s different from sleep.
In a word, I’m talking about MEDITATION. It functions as both self-care and training. As an act of self-care, it’s the quintessential fix for a mind that's imbalanced by excessive movement and not enough stillness – and all the health repercussions of that stress. As a form of training, it builds the valuable skills of holding our focus and shifting our awareness.
Our awareness is the broader consciousness within which the mind is contained. It’s vast. In comparison, the mind is tiny. But our experience is powerfully influenced by where we put our attention. If our attention is habitually focused on our own mind, the mind can feel like the whole world. If we just swim around in our thoughts all day, we start to believe that our thoughts are who we are, or at least a very important part of who we are.
We can’t imagine ourselves without our thoughts. But, in actuality, when we stop giving our attention to the mind and “step back” from it, into our broader awareness, we begin to remember something of tremendous value – who/what we really are, and what’s possible for us.
Do you remember those old school arcade machines from the 1980s? The screen was set deep within the machine so that when you leaned in, the sides acted like blinders, and it was just you and the game. If you were really absorbed, “you” even disappeared and all that seemed to exist was the game.
When we allow our mind, body, and possessions to be the lens through which we experience life, it’s like being immersed in one of those arcade machines. In my case, it could be called “The Peter Game.” In your case, maybe it’s The Emma Game or The James Game.
Once in a while we pull back from the machine and look around. Whoa. What time is it? How long was I playing? We remember: life isn’t really just this game. We’re in a room with a whole bunch of other people, all immersed in their own games, but there’s something bigger and more real.
Sometimes this broadening of perspective occurs through spontaneous spiritual revelation. Unfortunately, as far as I know, there’s no reliable way to cause such an experience to happen. Sometimes it comes through psychedelic (or entheogenic) drugs, though it doesn’t tend to be self-sustaining when the drug wears off. Perhaps you remember Ram Dass’s 1971 book Be Here Now, in which he explained that no matter how long he spent in a drug-altered state of consciousness, he always eventually “came down” and returned to being Harvard professor Dr. Richard Alpert with all his neuroses and materialism.
Meditative arts, in my opinion, are the only way to reliably cause this change of perspective in a sustainable and self-empowering way. The empowering part comes from the recognition that you are choosing this and working at it, day in and day out. By meditative arts, I mean certain forms of yoga, certain forms of qi gong and martial arts, and especially seated meditation.
The thoughts, whether we attach to them or not, tend to continue to stream by – just like the video game, which runs continuously in “demo mode.” And, lo and behold, even if we decide not to focus on them, we feel quite alright! Better than alright. We see from this perspective that our attachment to these thoughts, like our unconscious attachment to the imperiled main character in a thriller movie, makes us uneasy. Divesting our attention from the mind is therefore refreshing. Despite the mind’s resistance and apprehension to being deprived of such importance, it’s quite the opposite of being lobotomized.
So, please try it. Sit down comfortably, close your eyes, and rather than squeezing your consciousness down to the size of a peephole that’s focused on your own thoughts, imagine that the peephole is broadening. Let your breathing deepen, but without manipulating it. Open your perception. Not only can you perceive your thoughts, you can also perceive your body. Your perception can go much bigger, but for now that’s big enough. Becoming aware of your body still counts as a break from your incessant focus on the mind.
If you’re unpracticed at shifting your attention, it can be tricky to focus on something as seemingly boring as how it feels to be in this body. The mind seems so entertaining in comparison. Not just entertaining, but compelling – like a tragic news story. It screams, “You’d better pay attention to this! Your survival depends on it. Seriously!” Do you realize what a shameless liar your mind is? It’ll say anything to get your attention.
Luckily, we’re all equipped with an expanded-reality-remembrance-device, AKA the breath. You can just watch it – watch how it expands you, watch how it subsides, watch how you don’t need to do anything to make it happen. Just watch, don’t manipulate. If you find your awareness narrowing around a thought, go broad again, open to the perception of your body, and stay with it. Notice how your everyday consciousness is changed by this practice. I’d love it if you’d share about your challenges and experience in the comments section.
Be well,
Dr. Peter Borten
P.S. Our book Rituals for Transformation has been instrumental in helping so many people establish a daily meditation practice. Going through the book after it was printed even helped me make meditation a more consistent routine. Check it out.
[post_title] => What’s Better than Video Games? Peace, Balance, and Perspective.
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => open
[ping_status] => open
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => whats-better-than-video-games-peace-balance-and-perspective
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2020-08-09 15:54:31
[post_modified_gmt] => 2020-08-09 15:54:31
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => http://thedragontree.com/?p=7994
[menu_order] => 0
[post_type] => post
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
[webinar_id] => 0
)
[1] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 7705
[post_author] => 5
[post_date] => 2019-11-26 23:10:59
[post_date_gmt] => 2019-11-26 23:10:59
[post_content] =>
I was jogging on the mesa behind our house and my thoughts went to the upcoming holidays and my cycles of introversion and extroversion. For me, social gatherings inevitably spur a yearning to be alone or look at my phone or eat. As I gazed at the peaks and valleys of the mountain range in front of me, I realized that this pattern is an expression of the cycling of yin and yang that’s present everywhere in the universe. I’d like to share my thoughts with you in the hope that it will make for a more balanced holiday season.
In social behavior, this cycle moved from an outward orientation (yang) to an inward orientation (yin) and back. Texting, talking, dancing with others, partying, and co-working are all relatively outward activities. Reading the news, playing a video game (alone), taking a bath, eating, and meditating are all relatively inward activities. After some outward activity, most people feel a desire to go inward. After some inward activity, most people feel a desire to go outward.
We see this cycle from inward to outward to inward to outward, or from expansion to contraction to expansion to contraction, throughout the human body (breathing and the beating of the heart), human behavior, and the natural world. This undulating pattern is seen in the waves of our oceans, in waves of sound and light, in the movement of sexual intercourse, in waking and sleeping, and so much more.
When our inward-outward social patterns are relatively balanced, it works. But if there’s a compulsion to go inward and stay there, to always be gazing at a screen, to be in our bubble, or to eat on autopilot, it’s worth looking at. The same is true for someone who is always socially-engaged and feels uncomfortable going inward or being alone. People can become stagnant in one phase or the other. So I propose we use the holidays as an opportunity for a social experiment and personal growth. I believe both inward and outward activities can be either shallow or deep, and going deep gets us out of stagnation by fulfilling us and moving the cycle along.
Here’s a graphical representation of the inward-outward cycle. I labeled something like 70% of the range of both inward and outward activities as “shallow.” This doesn’t mean they’re frivolous, just that they aren’t soul-nourishing in a way that moves the cycle forward. If we make small talk with our coworkers, then play Candy Crush, then send some emails, then eat lunch while browsing a magazine, and so on throughout the day, this curve would look much flatter – we’re moving from shallow external activity to shallow internal activity and never approaching the “peaks.”
It’s hard to be black-and-white in defining what’s shallow and what’s deep, and what’s outward versus what’s inward – but it’s something we can feel. I called eating an inward activity, but of course there could simultaneously be an outward element of social interaction. Coworking could be very outward or somewhat inward, depending on whether it’s very collaborative and verbal or just a bunch of people introverting near each other. Reading about celebrities is what I’d call a “shallow inward” activity. Talking about celebrities is what I’d call a “shallow outward” activity. Meditation is usually a “deep inward” activity. And having sex – or more specifically, connected love-making – is usually a “deep outward” activity.
Thus, in both inward and outward activities, there’s an opportunity to go to a certain depth where the orientation becomes both internal and external. So, while meditation is an inward activity, when you really go deep with it, there can be an expansiveness, a transcendence of your small self, a sense of connection with everything – and therefore an outward orientation. Similarly, while traveling is mostly an outward activity, when we witness the vastness of nature or the beauty of other cultures or the oneness we all share, the profundity of such an expansive moment can turn us inward. We come into our hearts and are silenced and grateful.
I created a more descriptive diagram of what’s going on. This sphere with a hole through the center, kind of a donut shape, is known as a torus. When dealing with energy, it’s called a toroidal field. Humans have toroidal fields of energy that move in both directions. That is, the energy can move up from the center, then outward, down, and up through the bottom. And it can also move down through the center, then outward, up, and down through the top. What I mean to depict here is that when we go deep, we go through whatever state we’re in and move toward the opposing state. When we go outward and deep, this fulfills our urge to extrovert and takes us inward. When we go inward and deep, this fulfills our urge to introvert and takes us outward. Yin becomes Yang and Yang becomes Yin.
What does this all mean in practical terms? There’s nothing wrong with being introverted or extroverted, and nothing wrong with shallower activities, but if you find yourself getting stuck in either phase, or having difficulty with either phase, try going deeper. As a general guide, bringing your full presence to whatever you’re doing will take you deeper.
In an outward-oriented setting, like a Thanksgiving social gathering, how can you get more real? Can you ask what challenges your friends are facing and be totally present for them? Can you connect more deeply than a conversation about turkey or the weather? Can you share what’s alive for you right now? Can you finally be who you really are around your family? When you’re with people can you be 100% with them? If you find yourself in a game of touch football, can you lose yourself in the spirit of play?
How can you make your introverted periods really count? If you sneak off to the bathroom to play on your phone, can you put it down for a minute and really go inward? Can you feel and acknowledge and accept what’s coming up for you? Can you invite the feelings and take the time and presence to see where they lead you? Can you hear your inner child, meet it with your mature inner adult, and give it what it needs to be at ease – so you can return to the party in a lighthearted way? Can you remember to prioritize meditation and other forms of deliberate stillness throughout the busyness of the holidays?
What happens to your phases of introversion and extroversion when you intentionally go deep in both directions? I’d love to hear about your experience in the comments section below.
With love,
Peter
[post_title] => Go Deep for the Holidays
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => open
[ping_status] => open
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => go-deep-for-the-holidays
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2019-11-27 00:19:34
[post_modified_gmt] => 2019-11-27 00:19:34
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => http://thedragontree.com/?p=7705
[menu_order] => 0
[post_type] => post
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 6
[filter] => raw
[webinar_id] => 0
)
[2] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 8094
[post_author] => 1
[post_date] => 2020-10-30 21:55:14
[post_date_gmt] => 2020-10-30 21:55:14
[post_content] =>
Welcome to article number five on longevity. I wrote a series on the topic ten years ago and I felt it was time to revisit it because the world needs a dose of positivity and hope. Not only is it possible to live longer, it’s possible to want to live longer despite the perpetual messages of doom and gloom we’re bombarded with.
In the first article I explained why we must start with living for now and loving life. In the second I discussed the value of working, stretching, and relaxing all parts of ourselves (both body and mind). In the third we explored the incredible healing (and playful) potential of dance. In the fourth, we looked at the impact of media on our health and the importance of being discriminating in our media consumption and taking regular media fasts. You can read these articles on our site. Let’s continue.
#5: Bring Consciousness to Your Breathing
The quality of our breathing can have a profound effect on all aspects of our health. Deep, full breaths calm the mind, massage the internal organs, promote digestion, improve oxygenation of our tissues, bring us into the present moment, and facilitate the release of thoughts and emotions.
The first thing I tell someone suffering from stress or anxiety is to slow down and deepen their breathing, specifically lengthening the exhale. The first thing I tell someone who feels overwhelmed, distracted, or unable to remain rooted in the present is to bring more awareness to their breathing.
The mind follows the breath. This means that shallow, rapid breathing goes along with shallow, rapid, anxious thoughts. By “shallow thoughts” I mean those emanating from most simplistic mechanisms of our being – those concerned with mere survival. You may argue, “These aren’t survival thoughts; they’re thoughts about making my deadline, paying my bills, and avoiding COVID.” But in 2020 that’s what survival thoughts look like, especially when accompanied by fear.
Slowing and deepening the breath slows down the mind and draws our consciousness deeper into the ocean of our being – into the stillness beneath the choppy waves that tend to monopolize our attention. Every breath stands to be a simple, elegant (and rather brief) meditation session. Giving the whole of your attention to a single inhalation and exhalation can profoundly change your consciousness and physical experience. Pain can be alleviated. Perspective can broaden. Point of view can shift. Burdens can be relinquished.
Our lungs inflate and deflate through the action of the diaphragm, the muscle that forms the floor of the space enclosed by the ribcage. When relaxed, it forms a high dome like an umbrella, shrinking the space above it and emptying the lungs. When it contracts, it drops and flattens, enlarging the thoracic space and causing the lungs to fill up. Because both the heart and diaphragm do their work automatically, presiding over the filling and emptying of live-giving chambers, the diaphragm has been called “the second heart.”
The rising and sinking of the diaphragm takes numerous organs up and down all day. Shallow breathing makes for a boring ride – there’s barely any movement at all. Deep breathing, through which you should feel the belly expand (because the fully flattened diaphragm pushes down on the abdominal contents), is much more fun for your organs 😉, besides being relaxing and energizing.
Virtually always, except when eating or talking, the breath should enter through the nose. The nose is considered to belong to the lung system in Traditional Chinese Medicine. The lung warms and filters incoming air. It also adds a special treat from the paranasal sinuses – nitric oxide, a gas which opens our blood vessels and improves blood flow. In contrast, mouth breathing tends to promote poor concentration, poor sleep, dental problems, and begets more mouth breathing. Try to breathe through your nose whenever possible – even while sleeping and during vigorous exercise. Also, humming increases nasal nitric oxide production! And it’s hard to be in a bad mood when you’re humming.
Besides how you breathe, what you're breathing matters: clean, fresh, unpolluted air can be powerful medicine. If you don’t live in a place with good air, consider a good air filter, get your ducts cleaned, avoid household chemicals, use no-VOC paints, get houseplants, and take trips out into the woods.
You probably don’t need to be convinced that the breath is connected to life, but the connection is deeper than we may appreciate. Many languages have words that mean both breath and life, spirit, or God. These include the Sanskrit term Prana, the Chinese Qi, Greek Pneuma, and the Hebrew Neshama.
Similarly, many cultures have names for the Divine that parallel the sound of the breath. One is the Jewish Yahweh, sometimes referred to as the “unpronounceable name of God” which is uttered every time we draw the Universe into ourselves (“yahhhhhhh…”) and then release ourselves into it (“wehhhhhh…”). We literally exchange our own atoms with those of everyone else in each breath.
It’s a similar case with the Hindu Soham, which literally means “I am He/She/That” (or “I am one with the Universe”), also said to convey the inhale (“soooooo…”) and exhale (“hummmm…”). Soham is often inverted to form Hamsa (“The Universe/Divine is one with me”) and carried on the inhale as “hummm…” and the exhale as “saaahhh…” If this idea resonates with you, it can add an additional reward to giving your attention to the breath.
Breathe well,
Peter
[post_title] => Don't Forget to Breathe
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => open
[ping_status] => open
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => dont-forget-to-breathe
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2020-10-30 21:58:49
[post_modified_gmt] => 2020-10-30 21:58:49
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => http://thedragontree.com/?p=8094
[menu_order] => 0
[post_type] => post
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 5
[filter] => raw
[webinar_id] => 0
)
)
[post_count] => 3
[current_post] => -1
[in_the_loop] =>
[post] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 7994
[post_author] => 3
[post_date] => 2020-08-07 21:28:29
[post_date_gmt] => 2020-08-07 21:28:29
[post_content] =>
One of the things I love about Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is its ability to distill complicated problems down to simple ones. If you were to look in a textbook of TCM pathology, you’d find a list of probable causes (“etiologies”) for every disease, and before long you’d notice that there’s a fairly small number of root causes. These are things like overwork, trauma, and exposure to harsh climatic conditions. One interesting cause that comes up with great frequency is “imbalance between movement and stillness.”
Historically, this imbalance usually referred to too much physical exertion (in the form of manual labor) and not enough rest. But in the modern world, we almost always see the reverse. Huge portions of our lives are spent sitting, and exercise has become optional for many. It’s an oddly unnatural trend, where physical fitness must be scheduled into our calendar and is often performed indoors on machines.
Meanwhile, there’s an opposite form of movement/stillness imbalance that’s equally unhealthy and often harder for us to remedy. While we’re more physically immobile than ever, on a mental level we’re constantly running marathons. Humans in the developed world are epidemically overworking our minds, processing huge amounts of data, trying to make sense of all the news, while managing an increasingly complex burden of psychological stress.
In the past, most people engaged in much less mental activity (“movement”) and had much more opportunity for mental stillness than we do today. Unfortunately, the simultaneous trend toward physical inactivity means we miss out on the calming and stabilizing effect that physical activity provides for the mind. Because uneasy minds are prone to look for more data to engage with, this can make for an unhealthy cycle.
For optimal health and balance, we need periods of mental stillness during waking life – a deliberate practice of resting the mind that’s different from sleep.
In a word, I’m talking about MEDITATION. It functions as both self-care and training. As an act of self-care, it’s the quintessential fix for a mind that's imbalanced by excessive movement and not enough stillness – and all the health repercussions of that stress. As a form of training, it builds the valuable skills of holding our focus and shifting our awareness.
Our awareness is the broader consciousness within which the mind is contained. It’s vast. In comparison, the mind is tiny. But our experience is powerfully influenced by where we put our attention. If our attention is habitually focused on our own mind, the mind can feel like the whole world. If we just swim around in our thoughts all day, we start to believe that our thoughts are who we are, or at least a very important part of who we are.
We can’t imagine ourselves without our thoughts. But, in actuality, when we stop giving our attention to the mind and “step back” from it, into our broader awareness, we begin to remember something of tremendous value – who/what we really are, and what’s possible for us.
Do you remember those old school arcade machines from the 1980s? The screen was set deep within the machine so that when you leaned in, the sides acted like blinders, and it was just you and the game. If you were really absorbed, “you” even disappeared and all that seemed to exist was the game.
When we allow our mind, body, and possessions to be the lens through which we experience life, it’s like being immersed in one of those arcade machines. In my case, it could be called “The Peter Game.” In your case, maybe it’s The Emma Game or The James Game.
Once in a while we pull back from the machine and look around. Whoa. What time is it? How long was I playing? We remember: life isn’t really just this game. We’re in a room with a whole bunch of other people, all immersed in their own games, but there’s something bigger and more real.
Sometimes this broadening of perspective occurs through spontaneous spiritual revelation. Unfortunately, as far as I know, there’s no reliable way to cause such an experience to happen. Sometimes it comes through psychedelic (or entheogenic) drugs, though it doesn’t tend to be self-sustaining when the drug wears off. Perhaps you remember Ram Dass’s 1971 book Be Here Now, in which he explained that no matter how long he spent in a drug-altered state of consciousness, he always eventually “came down” and returned to being Harvard professor Dr. Richard Alpert with all his neuroses and materialism.
Meditative arts, in my opinion, are the only way to reliably cause this change of perspective in a sustainable and self-empowering way. The empowering part comes from the recognition that you are choosing this and working at it, day in and day out. By meditative arts, I mean certain forms of yoga, certain forms of qi gong and martial arts, and especially seated meditation.
The thoughts, whether we attach to them or not, tend to continue to stream by – just like the video game, which runs continuously in “demo mode.” And, lo and behold, even if we decide not to focus on them, we feel quite alright! Better than alright. We see from this perspective that our attachment to these thoughts, like our unconscious attachment to the imperiled main character in a thriller movie, makes us uneasy. Divesting our attention from the mind is therefore refreshing. Despite the mind’s resistance and apprehension to being deprived of such importance, it’s quite the opposite of being lobotomized.
So, please try it. Sit down comfortably, close your eyes, and rather than squeezing your consciousness down to the size of a peephole that’s focused on your own thoughts, imagine that the peephole is broadening. Let your breathing deepen, but without manipulating it. Open your perception. Not only can you perceive your thoughts, you can also perceive your body. Your perception can go much bigger, but for now that’s big enough. Becoming aware of your body still counts as a break from your incessant focus on the mind.
If you’re unpracticed at shifting your attention, it can be tricky to focus on something as seemingly boring as how it feels to be in this body. The mind seems so entertaining in comparison. Not just entertaining, but compelling – like a tragic news story. It screams, “You’d better pay attention to this! Your survival depends on it. Seriously!” Do you realize what a shameless liar your mind is? It’ll say anything to get your attention.
Luckily, we’re all equipped with an expanded-reality-remembrance-device, AKA the breath. You can just watch it – watch how it expands you, watch how it subsides, watch how you don’t need to do anything to make it happen. Just watch, don’t manipulate. If you find your awareness narrowing around a thought, go broad again, open to the perception of your body, and stay with it. Notice how your everyday consciousness is changed by this practice. I’d love it if you’d share about your challenges and experience in the comments section.
Be well,
Dr. Peter Borten
P.S. Our book Rituals for Transformation has been instrumental in helping so many people establish a daily meditation practice. Going through the book after it was printed even helped me make meditation a more consistent routine. Check it out.
[post_title] => What’s Better than Video Games? Peace, Balance, and Perspective.
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => open
[ping_status] => open
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => whats-better-than-video-games-peace-balance-and-perspective
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2020-08-09 15:54:31
[post_modified_gmt] => 2020-08-09 15:54:31
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => http://thedragontree.com/?p=7994
[menu_order] => 0
[post_type] => post
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
[webinar_id] => 0
)
[comment_count] => 0
[current_comment] => -1
[found_posts] => 87
[max_num_pages] => 2
[max_num_comment_pages] => 0
[is_single] =>
[is_preview] =>
[is_page] =>
[is_archive] => 1
[is_date] =>
[is_year] =>
[is_month] =>
[is_day] =>
[is_time] =>
[is_author] =>
[is_category] => 1
[is_tag] =>
[is_tax] =>
[is_search] =>
[is_feed] =>
[is_comment_feed] =>
[is_trackback] =>
[is_home] =>
[is_privacy_policy] =>
[is_404] =>
[is_embed] =>
[is_paged] =>
[is_admin] =>
[is_attachment] =>
[is_singular] =>
[is_robots] =>
[is_favicon] =>
[is_posts_page] =>
[is_post_type_archive] =>
[query_vars_hash:WP_Query:private] => 5189d19683cc6ce6f9097182757dd4c1
[query_vars_changed:WP_Query:private] =>
[thumbnails_cached] =>
[stopwords:WP_Query:private] =>
[compat_fields:WP_Query:private] => Array
(
[0] => query_vars_hash
[1] => query_vars_changed
)
[compat_methods:WP_Query:private] => Array
(
[0] => init_query_flags
[1] => parse_tax_query
)
)
Cart
