Practice surrendering to the paradoxical nature of reality, acknowledging that some truths (like the absolute and relative) are simultaneously true and beyond full mental comprehension. This allows you to experience deeper meaning and insights by letting go of the need for purely rational understanding and seeing what unfolds.
Cultivate practices that allow you to experience yourself and the world from a position of true integration, rather than separation. This can lead to functioning effectively without an ego agenda or rigid boundaries, representing a profound awakening in how you perceive reality.
Approach life with clear intentions and observe how reality appears to organize itself in profoundly meaningful ways around you. This fosters an interactive relationship with the world, recognizing that you are part of a mysterious tableau where intentions can have effects.
Actively work on developing intellectual humility and cognitive flexibility, fostering an open mind. This approach helps you avoid clinging to opinions and allows for a more open, less annoying way of engaging with the world and new ideas.
Develop discernment to know when to apply doubt and skepticism and when to take a leap of faith or openness. While opening your mind can bring in ’trash,’ it can also bring in ‘diamonds,’ requiring a balanced approach to new ideas.
Move from outright dismissiveness to respectful skepticism or agnosticism regarding mysterious, magical, or far-out concepts. This allows for a more open-minded approach without fully committing to belief, as the host found it psychologically tricky to believe in unproven things.
Consciously create space for mystery and spiritual experience in your worldview, moving beyond a purely scientific or rational assimilation. This acknowledges that some aspects of life, like direct spiritual experience, may not be fully explained by current scientific paradigms.
Engage in regular meditation practice to open yourself to subtle experiences and new ways of thinking and knowing. Meditation naturally makes previously unnoticed subtleties more apparent, fostering greater openness to diverse experiences and perspectives.
Acknowledge and actively explore your innate power of intuition, even if you previously dismissed or filed away such experiences. This allows you to tap into a deeper way of knowing that your rational defenses might have previously closed off.
Incorporate deep listening into your daily meditation practice, especially in the mornings, to open intuitive channels. This helps you become more receptive to subtle knowing that your rational mind might typically block, without fixating on its origin.
Pay close attention to the signals your body sends, recognizing this as a form of intuition or ‘intelligence below the neck.’ Our racing minds often cause us to miss these crucial signals, which can provide important information about situations.
Consciously connect with your heart (emotions/feelings) and belly (sensory experiences) centers, in addition to your thinking mind. This practice helps open up intuition by engaging other ways of knowing, as our culture often overemphasizes the thinking center.
In meditation, consciously choose whether to focus ’towards’ difficult thoughts/emotions (e.g., with self-compassion) or ‘away’ (e.g., to breath, ground, or opening eyes). This choice is a fundamental freedom in meditation, allowing you to manage your energy and engage with experiences at your own pace.
Aim to cultivate equanimity or inner peace around the struggles that are an inherent part of life, rather than expecting life to be struggle-free. This reframes ’living with ease’ not as an absence of difficulty, but as a stable mindset in its presence.
Gently monitor your body for signs of ‘clench’ or tension while engaged in creative work, and use it as a signal to ease up. According to Joseph Goldstein, ’the good stuff doesn’t come from the clench,’ and easing up allows for better creative flow and problem-solving.
Intentionally create both internal and external spaciousness in your routine to accommodate the varied emotional and physical demands of creative work. This allows room for the ‘crazy eyes’ moments, the struggles, and the need for physical release, which are part of the creative process.
When feeling coiled or tense during creative work, take short breaks to engage in physical activities like tossing a ball, lying down, or playing. These actions help release physical and mental tension, allowing you to return to the work refreshed and more effectively.
When difficult thoughts or emotions arise during meditation, apply the RAIN practice (Recognize, Allow, Investigate, Nurture). RAIN provides a structured way to work with challenging internal experiences, allowing for deeper understanding and self-compassion.
Engage in physical relaxation practices, such as lying down meditation or breathing into the belly and chest, to release bodily tension. Releasing physical tension in the body, especially in areas like the heart space, can directly help in releasing corresponding mental and emotional tension.
When negative self-talk or thoughts of past mistakes arise, consciously ground yourself into the present moment. This prevents getting lost in past narratives and allows you to address what’s happening now, rather than being consumed by regret.
Actively challenge and work through societal messages and internal training that lead to self-criticism for expressing natural human emotions like anger or setting boundaries. This helps to dismantle harmful expectations and allows for a more authentic experience of self.
Reframe the concept of ’evil’ as ‘bad behavior’ when judging yourself or others. This perspective, shared by Father Gregory Boyle, can be very useful in avoiding writing off yourself or others as inherently bad, focusing instead on actions.
Maintain an open mind to various possibilities in healing, including prayer, meditation, and receiving well wishes, without claiming causal links. This openness to mystery, rather than rigid control or fear, can bring about new possibilities and experiences.
Focus on being truly in tune with your feelings rather than being driven by fear or the need for control. This approach has been liberating for Seben in navigating her health journey, allowing for freedom regardless of health status.
Actively engage in practices that encourage an interactive relationship with the world and observe their effects on your feelings. This experiential approach allows for personal discovery, but it’s crucial to seek feedback from community to avoid delusion and biases.
Use the I Ching (or similar divination system) by posing a situation-based question and interpreting the hexagrams. This tool can provide helpful context, unblock uncertainty, and offer meaningful insights, leading to better outcomes in various situations.
Utilize ritual tools like Oracle cards, tea leaves, or coffee grounds to help you witness patterns and synchronicities. These tools can serve as aids to open up intuitive vibrations and access knowing that is not available through purely rational means.
Place important instructions or reminders on your skin (like tattoos) or in visible places. This serves as a constant reminder for practices like meditation instructions (e.g., ‘relaxed awareness,’ ’let go’).
Adopt an intention or mantra like ‘for the benefit of all beings’ to guide your actions and mindset. This can help cultivate a sense of safety and a broader, more compassionate perspective.
Avoid eating late dinners, as it can negatively impact sleep quality and lead to tiredness. Dan’s personal experience shows that even without alcohol, a late meal can disrupt sleep.
Listen to binaural beats with headphones, using specific playlists for concentration/flow states or for sleep/relaxation. Seben finds them effective for improving focus during writing and for promoting sleep and relaxation.
Listen to Carolyn Casey’s ‘Visionary Activist Astrology’ audio series, particularly focusing on her descriptions of each planet as aspects of being human. This series offers a brilliant, literate, and humanistic take on human nature, complementing meditation practice.
Listen to the ‘Weird Studies’ podcast for intelligent, irreverent, and educated discussions on various aspects of the magical and mysterious. This podcast offers a way to intelligently wrestle with the reality of living in a more magical world.
Consider rewatching the TV series ‘Succession’ from the beginning. It’s recommended as one of the best pieces of television and art, offering incredible acting, dense writing, and subtle dharma woven throughout, making a rewatch highly rewarding.
Watch the TV show ‘Reservation Dogs’ (on Hulu and FX). It’s highly recommended as a hilarious, smart, funny, and tender all-native production that offers a significant commentary on the U.S. and its history.
Give a rating or review to the podcast on your favorite podcast player. This action ‘really does help with all the algos’ and supports the show.
Recognize and address your own propensity for dismissiveness, especially when it stems from closed-mindedness or a purely materialistic worldview. This shift can lead to a more respectful agnosticism and openness, moving away from reflexively writing things off as ‘bullshit.’
When encountering non-rational or mystical experiences, work on developing new models and framings to make sense of them for yourself. This helps integrate experiences that don’t fit existing rational paradigms, even if you don’t fully understand them yet.
Consciously practice the ‘willing suspension of disbelief’ when encountering new or mysterious concepts. This allows you to temporarily set aside skepticism and engage with ideas, potentially opening doors to new insights and experiences.
Cultivate an understanding and acceptance of paradox (like the absolute and relative) as a fundamental aspect of life. Recognizing that ‘paradox is the portal’ and that both truths can coexist is imperative for maintaining sanity and navigating complex realities.
Acknowledge and allow struggle to be an inherent part of your creative process, rather than resisting it. Accepting struggle as part of the work, as Jeff suggests, can paradoxically create more ease within challenging creative endeavors.
When the inner critic arises during meditation, recognize its harsh words and ideas about how things ‘should’ be. Acknowledging the inner critic is the first step to working with it, rather than being dragged by its unrealistic expectations for smoothness or ease.
For persistent negative self-stories or deep-seated issues, consider engaging in therapy or exploration outside of formal meditation practice. Some deep-seated narratives may require dedicated therapeutic work beyond what can be fully addressed in meditation alone.
Consciously avoid clinging rigidly to your opinions. Clinging to opinions can make you ‘annoying other people’ and hinders openness, as suggested by the Buddha’s teaching.