Meditating is like watching a pond become still.
At first, the surface calms down and you can see it reflecting its surroundings.
Then the water itself clears. The particles of mud and dirt sink to the ground and you can see deeper and deeper.
Until you can see to the bottom. You see its texture. The rocks and plants and elevations and dips.
It's the same when meditating. At the beginning, everything is loud and calls for your attention. And the longer you sit, the calmer your mind and the clearer your thoughts become.
The thoughts and feelings that keep coming up during a meditation session are what's really important to you at the moment.
But these, too, are just thoughts. Acknowledge them and let them go. And whether that thought was positive or negative, be kind to yourself. You have just learned something about yourself.
“People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.” — Thich Nhat Hanh
Reading Recommendations
“Bad news draws the mind like storm clouds draw the eye. Yet all around those clouds is a vast and untroubled sky. What pops into the forefront of awareness is by definition a small part of the whole, a figure standing out against the ground.”
To prevent “cognitive entrenchment,” think like a scientist and be wrong often
“In a rapidly changing world, it’s important to be able to adapt and change rather than stubbornly adhering to old ideas and opinions. This was one of the lessons of 2020, a year that forced us to question many of our assumptions about what behaviors are safe, how work and school can be conducted, and how we connect with others.”
Accidental and Essential Complexity
“It’s 1964, Kennedy was shot, the Vietnam War is on its way, and FORTRAN is becoming a popular programming language. You are tasked with making a program to calculate a mathematical equation. You don’t go for your keyboard, but instead for a pencil.”
Weekly Mindfulness Practice
Take a quiet minute and say this sentence out loud to yourself:
I love myself.
How does it make you feel?
If this sentence feels good to you, great!
If it makes you feel a little uneasy, that’s ok, too.
Remember: you deserve to be treated with kindness, fairness, and love by the person closest to you, yourself.
End Note
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Have a great week
Simon
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