Engage in analytical compassion training, starting with mindfulness, then evaluating and challenging spontaneous perceptions to foster intense caring for all people, including those you dislike or ignore. This practice helps loosen overly tight reactions, fostering openness and freedom to find win-win scenarios and benefit from social connectivity.
Begin by visualizing someone you spontaneously care about, imagining giving them all good things and taking on their suffering. Gradually extend this practice to people you ignore, and eventually to those you dislike, to break down self-centered tendencies and develop universal compassion.
Be mindful that idealizing someone or overvaluing a relationship can be a breach with reality, similar to disliking someone too much. Recognizing this can help prevent disappointments and foster a more balanced perspective.
Occasionally, walk down the street and consciously try to notice people you typically ignore. This practice can help expand your awareness and challenge your spontaneous perceptions, contributing to a more open and connected mindset.
Engage in mindfulness meditation to interrupt the ‘default mode network’ activity in the brain, which is often overactive in depression and associated with self-referential negative loops. Well-designed studies show consistent positive results for mitigating depression and anxiety.
Spend time walking in nature, as this experience has been shown to disrupt the function of the default mode network, which is often overactive in major depressive disorder. This can help get you out of your own head and break ruminative spirals.
Profoundly realize when your thoughts are primarily focused on yourself, as this awareness can be a ‘showstopper’ that changes your perspective and helps you shift away from constantly living in your own head.
If your mental health is stable and things are going well, avoid making drastic changes or ‘rocking the boat,’ especially if you have a history of struggles. Breaking something that is working can make it harder to fix again.
Explore the potential of psychedelics like psilocybin or MDMA for treating major depressive disorder or PTSD, but only under carefully controlled, legal, and therapeutic circumstances, especially if other treatments haven’t worked. These substances appear to ‘unwire’ the default mode network and can induce powerful, transformative experiences.
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Download the new 10 with Dan Harris app, now available on Android, to access a library of guided meditations for stress, anxiety, sleep, and more, plus weekly live Zoom community sessions and ad-free podcast episodes. A 14-day trial is available at danharris.com.
Pre-order Dan Harris’s book, ‘Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics,’ which comes out on December 26th. The book aims to help people overcome myths, misconceptions, and self-deceptions that hinder meditation, especially for those setting New Year’s resolutions.
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