Recognize that collective human challenges require individual transformation; focus on healing yourself to foster global peace by understanding that it’s to your benefit not to harm others.
To make activism more impactful and avoid reproducing the very issues you’re fighting against, simultaneously use self-healing tools to address internal issues like craving, aversion, and ingrained biases.
By decreasing conditioning through meditation, you can uncover your true human nature, which is inherently characterized by love, compassion, and goodwill, rather than the conditioned habits of greed and fear.
Recognize that change is constant; accept ups and downs, enjoy good times without attachment, and maintain a balanced mind during difficulties, understanding that all states are impermanent.
Cultivate equanimity, the mind’s faculty to be objective, non-reactive, and free from craving or aversion, by consistently practicing meditation to better navigate life’s constant changes.
Cultivate the faculty of accepting reality as it is, staying in the present moment rather than allowing past conditioning to pull your mind into the future or past.
When difficult experiences arise in meditation, practice ’letting be’ by watching them non-judgmentally, exploring their sensations, which creates distance and frees you from being caught up in them.
Deepen your practice by simply accepting whatever arises within you without trying to change it, as this acceptance rapidly facilitates the process of letting go.
Understand letting go as the active release of past attachments and old behavior patterns that create mental tension, worry, and obstruct happiness, rather than as resignation or indifference.
Resolve past issues and emotional history to prevent them from continuously resurfacing and dictating present actions, thereby opening yourself to new possibilities, love, and applying lessons with calmness.
Seek out practices (like meditation or other healing modalities) that allow you to access and work with your subconscious mind, as this is crucial for releasing underlying patterns and truly letting go.
Have goals and pursue them, but examine your motivation: if failure leads to misery, it was a craving; if you can adapt and continue without intense mental tension, it was a true goal.
Employ meditation to observe and release ego-driven desires for external validation or accumulation, allowing your actions to stem from more selfless and constructive intentions.
Focus on cultivating objective feelings and reactions to life’s challenges, as your internal response, not the external event itself, determines whether worry and mental tension arise.
Understand that acceptance and letting go enable you to act from a place of genuine helpfulness, rather than being driven by anger or hatred, without implying resignation or passivity.
Actively work to be gentler in your words and actions, moving away from past harshness to foster more compassionate interactions.
Cultivate self-awareness to recognize and accept difficult emotions like sadness or mental turbulence, allowing you to respond gently and prevent harsh actions or words towards others.
If you feel emotionally blocked, engaging in deep self-awareness practices can help close the distance to your true self, allowing you to reconnect with and express emotions more freely.
By understanding the self as a conventional truth rather than an ultimate, fixed entity, you can loosen your rigid self-identity, making reality easier to manage and fostering personal growth.
By observing the continuous arising and passing of physical sensations and thoughts, realize the truth of impermanence and understand that attachment or aversion to anything leads to suffering.
Engage in deep meditation practices like Vipassana to confront and release accumulated mental patterns and conditioning that contribute to delusion and suffering.
To deepen your practice and personal growth, commit to regular, extended meditation retreats (e.g., a month-long annually) and consider serving at retreats to practice selfless service.
When attending a Goenka Vipassana retreat, commit to noble silence and five moral precepts (no killing, stealing, lying, sexual activity, intoxicants) to create an optimal environment for deep meditation.
Begin meditation by focusing on the sensation of your breath at the area of the nose for several days to calm the mind and develop concentration before moving to body scans.
Once concentration is developed, systematically move your awareness through the body, observing natural sensations to gain insight into impermanence and release underlying mental patterns.
To facilitate healing and transformation, practice observing what is present, accepting it without judgment, allowing it to release, and thereby transforming your state.
While planning for future endeavors, always prioritize your personal growth and freedom from mental tension; be prepared to pause or adjust your work if it leads to digression or increased mental suffering.
When creating or working, prioritize making things genuinely useful for others and serving a purpose, rather than becoming obsessed with external metrics like popularity or likes.
Consciously use social media platforms to amplify your desired growth and identity, transforming it into a tool for positive self-development rather than a source of negative emotions.
Share insights on personal transformation, managing anxiety, and setting goals without craving, as these universal topics can resonate and be useful for a broad audience, regardless of their meditation experience.
If family members struggle to understand your mental health practices, demonstrate their positive impact through increased happiness, kindness, and overall well-being, which can foster their acceptance.
Select mental health practices (e.g., meditation, therapy) that resonate with your individual needs and current state, ensuring they support your goal of becoming a gentle and good person.
Be prepared for challenges in maintaining relationships with people from your past, including family, as your perspective and orientation to life evolve through personal practice.
Cultivate awareness of your own relational needs, such as the need to be seen or understood, and work to meet these needs internally so you can interact with others without expecting them to fulfill what they cannot provide.
Practice accepting that certain individuals, especially in familial relationships, may not be capable of engaging in the depth of relationship or dialogue you desire, and allow yourself to feel the pain of this recognition.
Allow yourself to fully experience and process the pain that arises from the loss of expected relational dynamics, as this can increase your flexibility and capacity to accept people as they are.
Instead of trying to teach or change family members who don’t want help, focus on meeting your own relational needs elsewhere, allowing your loving presence alone to be a resource for them.
Recognize that it’s acceptable to not disclose every detail of your personal growth or mental health practices to your parents, especially if they are skeptical or uncomprehending.
If your financial situation or lack of immediate responsibilities allows, take advantage of the opportunity to attend extended meditation retreats for deep personal growth.
Advocate for policies where governments or businesses compensate individuals for time taken to attend meditation retreats, recognizing its positive impact on mental health and societal well-being.
If you’ve hit rock bottom or are on a destructive path, reflect on how your actions might waste your life or disappoint loved ones, as this realization can provide the courage to change.
To start feeling better and balancing the mind, begin by stopping harmful substances, exercising, and incorporating healthy foods like barley grass into your diet.
If someone you know experiences a profound positive change, investigate the source of their transformation (e.g., a Vipassana course) as it might also dramatically change your life.
To introduce mindfulness to children, explore resources like ‘Sitting Still Like a Frog’ by Eline Snell, ‘Sitting Together’ by Sumi Kim, ‘Awakening Joy for Kids’ by Baer & Liliana, or the Smiling Mind website.