2 Quick Buddhist Lessons

That's Philosophical #11

Welcome to That’s Philosophical, a newsletter exploring mindfulness. Twice a week, I send you inspirational ideas to become a more mindful person in a world that can’t take a break.

You can read the web version here.

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3 weeks ago I shared some lessons I learned from Buddhism, here are two more simple concepts you can use today.

1. ”You yourself make the waves in your mind”

Nothing, no one, but you control how you feel or live. If you are stressed out by external things, it doesn’t mean they are the problem. Your reaction to these things is what you feel inside of your mind. So make sure you respond positively to whatever happens to you.

“Nothing outside yourself can cause any trouble. You yourself make the waves in your mind. If you leave your mind as it is, it will become calm. This mind is called big mind.”

-Shunryu Suzuki

Our mind never rests- meditation is a way to keep the brain relaxed. If you have lots of negative thoughts inside your head after a bad day, the best thing to do is to let go and breathe.

2. Living Here and Now

Occasionally, take 15 minutes to hyper-focus on the world around you. We are so caught up in our own world that we rarely pay attention to the beauty around us.

When we were children, we didn’t have a concept of time, we didn’t have plans and deadlines, we lived in the moment. Life is only happening right here, right now. 

“In magic - and in life - there is only the present moment, the now. You can't measure time the way you measure the distance between two points. 'Time' doesn't pass. We human beings have enormous difficulty in focusing on the present; we're always thinking about what we did, about how we could have done it better, about the consequences of our actions, and about why we didn't act as we should have. Or else we think about the future, about what we're going to do tomorrow, what precautions we should take, what dangers await us around the next corner, how to avoid what we don't want and how to get what we have always dreamed of.” 

― Paulo Coelho, Aleph

Fortunately, it’s not that hard to get back to the moment. Breathe, let go of your thinking about future plans, concentrate on the touching points between your body and the surface you are sitting on.

Next time you sit down or stand up, try to be mindful of that, and notice every single movement you make to perform this complex action, we don’t even notice that.

There are people who are consumed by their past, terrified of their future, and are stuck in anger or anxiety. Sometimes I am one of them, but I am trying to be more mindful.

“Breathing doesn’t mean you are alive”

- Nathan Feuerstein

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Thanks for reading, see you on Saturday!

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