Heal internal separations and conflicts within yourself to open the door to a deeper feeling of connection and belonging to the entire world.
Cultivate loving care and attention towards yourself, rather than being in contention with who you are, to foster natural growth and reduce unhappiness.
Engage in formal meditation practice (seated, standing, or lying down) to observe difficult thoughts and emotions, welcoming them with warmth and non-judgment, which helps in daily life to avoid negative impulses in relationships.
When practicing mindfulness, ensure it co-arises with meta (kindness and care) towards whatever you observe, as true mindfulness involves both attention and compassion.
Accept paradox as the truth of your reality, recognizing that seemingly contradictory truths (like separation and interconnection) can coexist.
When noticing an impulse to argue or be right, observe the energy, allow it to dissipate, and stop the habit before engaging in the pattern of speech.
Practice self-meta (loving-kindness meditation directed towards oneself) as a primary practice, especially if you find it challenging, to cultivate self-compassion.
Study the self deeply to eventually forget the self and experience oneness with all things, as taught by Zen master Dogen.
Make concerted efforts to take breaks and create non-productive time, including in meditation practice, to counter the ‘pathology of productivity’ and foster well-being.
Set clear boundaries with technology, including turning off devices, leaving phones in another room, or going outside without gadgets, to create more space and reduce distraction.
Practice balancing the paradox of acknowledging both differences/difficulties and fundamental interconnection, recognizing your own tendencies to lean towards one or the other.
Self-reflect to identify your personal tendencies to gravitate towards either difference or interconnection, and actively work on balancing these perspectives.
Apply the awareness of interconnection to people and situations you disagree with or find challenging, recognizing that you belong to all of it.
Practice an imaginative meta-style exercise by tracing the life story of someone you disagree with, to cultivate understanding and reduce suffering caused by needing others to be different.
Meet present moment reality without contention or wishing for a different past, to preserve energy for fighting for future change.
Give up the need for people to be different than they are to prevent feelings of superiority and dominating behaviors like belittling or shaming.
Turn down the volume on superiority and separation, as fighting against the truth of reality saps energy and prevents clarity, which is essential for liberation and effective action.
Reconnect to the internal truth that you have always belonged, even when experiencing feelings of not belonging or physical isolation, as belonging starts from within.
Observe and acknowledge your own unconscious biases, even if it’s embarrassing, as a necessary step towards understanding and addressing them.
Practice mindfulness of the four elements (earth, fire, water, air) in your body to connect with the understanding that you are made of the same stuff as nature and are not separate from it.
Embrace the notion that ‘we are nature’ to dissolve boundaries and apply it to all aspects of yourself, including ‘uglier or sillier’ tendencies, seeing them as part of nature.
Explore the balance between acknowledging mystery and engaging with the complexities of social realities, avoiding dismissal of either.
Be attuned to the possibility of experiencing connection and belonging in everyday moments, such as with a child or in nature, not just formal meditation.
Engage in heart practices like meta (loving-kindness meditation), wishing well to others, to experience its powerful effects on your own body and potentially on others.
Notice when you use terms like ‘woo-woo’ and reflect on what you might be dismissing, particularly indigenous ways of knowing rooted in mystery.
Create personal rituals, such as lighting candles and making offerings at an ancestor altar, to frame and structure creative or daily processes.
When engaging with ancestral connection, call upon the wisdom and wellness of all your ancestors, recognizing both their strengths and the survival mechanisms behind their unskillful behaviors.
Engage in dancing to reconnect with your body and challenge feelings of self-consciousness or embarrassment about moving your body in front of others.
Practice dancing, even in private (e.g., in your bedroom), to shed self-consciousness and become more comfortable in your body.
Dive into the teachings of spiritual social justice leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and healing justice movements to understand transformation, abolition, and true freedom.
Adopt a mindful approach to objects and experiences, honoring them as having a living presence (as in Marie Kondo’s method rooted in Shinto wisdom), to recognize that you are embedded in belonging.
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