Practice regulating emotions by simply being aware of them without judgment or active suppression, as this can decrease baseline activity in limbic regions (e.g., amygdala) and lower the threshold for emotional reactivity.
Use a noting and labeling technique by paying attention to whatever arises in your mind (e.g., breathing, image, sound, emotion) and giving it a simple label, which helps create psychological distance and non-judgmental observation.
Labeling your emotions (e.g., ‘doubt,’ ‘anger’) creates psychological distance from them, which is a form of emotion regulation that can downregulate amygdala reactivity and reduce the intensity of emotional responses.
Utilize meditation to actively extinguish maladaptive mental habits and reconsolidate more adaptive ones, making beneficial mental patterns more automatic over time.
Aim to cultivate equanimity through practice, which allows you to experience emotions fully (even intensely) but recover from them more rapidly, rather than avoiding or suppressing them.
Practice meditation to improve attention regulation by learning to sustain attention on an object, engage with it, and then flexibly disengage to shift focus, preventing getting stuck on thoughts or distractions.
Practice developing sensory clarity by focusing on bodily sensations and experiencing the world in a ‘bottom-up’ way, rather than being stuck in anticipatory or conceptual thinking, leading to a more authentic experience.
Engage in meditation with the understanding that while initial motivations may be self-focused, sustained practice often shifts motivation towards prosociality, fostering empathy and a desire to help others, which also benefits you.
When facing a new habit like meditation, systematically identify and list all perceived obstacles (e.g., ’no time,’ ’lose my edge,’ ‘mind too busy’) to tackle them one by one, rather than letting them prevent practice.
Practice meditation to potentially increase the size and function of brain regions involved in sustained attention and meta-awareness (frontal polar cortex, insula, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex) and decrease activity in the default mode network, which is linked to mind-wandering.
Engage in meditation practice to potentially slow down the natural atrophy (shrinking) of your brain, particularly in key regions like the frontal polar cortex and insula, which are important for cognitive function.
Consider incorporating meditation into your routine, especially for conditions like depression and anxiety, as it can be as effective as antidepressants and can be combined with other treatments (e.g., exercise, medication, sleep, diet) for a comprehensive approach.
Understand that mental training, such as meditation, can influence the expression of inflammatory genes, potentially decreasing inflammation across the body and slowing the progression of disease, highlighting the mind’s capacity to impact physical health.
When evaluating claims about meditation or other interventions, be cautious of media hype and look for rigorous scientific studies that use active controls to account for non-specific effects, ensuring that observed benefits are truly due to the practice itself.
Instead of solely focusing on causal relationships, consider viewing meaningful coincidences and life experiences as ‘signposts’ that can guide your path and provide inspiration for difficult questions.
Recognize that purpose and meaning in life are key metrics for well-being and happiness, suggesting that actively seeking and cultivating these aspects can contribute to overall happiness.
If you have a strong, deep interest in a particular area, continue to pursue it, even if mentors or peers express skepticism about its career or life utility, as it may eventually align with your path.
If you experience difficulty falling asleep due to rumination or being ‘in your head,’ practice meditation or mindfulness-based interventions, as they can effectively improve sleep onset insomnia.
If you find it difficult to start or maintain a practice like meditation, leverage scientific evidence and understanding of its benefits on the brain and body as a powerful source of motivation.
Understand that consistent practice of meditation can shift your experience from effortful to effortless, as your brain becomes retrained to be more adaptive and the practice becomes more automatic.
Consider attending a free 10-day silent Vipassana meditation retreat (Goenka style) as a profound way to gain insight into your own mind and understand emotion regulation and attentional control.
When practicing noting and labeling, specifically focus on categorizing experiences into three modalities: visual, auditory, and somatic, to delineate and understand different types of mental events.
Recognize that different meditation delivery methods (e.g., apps vs. 10-day retreats) suit different people, and what works for one person may not work for another, implying a need to find what’s beneficial for you.
If you show interest in a practice like meditation, seek recommendations or guidance from others who are knowledgeable, as this can be a starting point for your own journey.
To learn more about meditation and its scientific basis, visit contemplative neurosciences.com or the Mind and Life Institute website for resources and information on research centers.