I cannot lie–I have SO gotten sucked into the hourly/daily “BREAKING NEWS” regarding the political and “Me Too” drama that seems ever present on the news. As a past military officer and a Rotarian who believes in the 4-Way Test ethical option: Of the things we think, say or do, ask: Is it the TRUTH? Is it FAIR to all concerned? Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS? Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned? Wanting to support our country’s leadership–I’m feeling quite conflicted.
H E L P ! What’s a wellness-seeking warrior to do to keep all this in perspective and not lose serenity in the process?
At such chaotic times, it’s a normal response to find someone to blame, as if identifying fault could restore the lost normality, and to lash out in anger. Hate and blame are convenient ways of making meaning out of a crazy situation.
Sadly, I see no less of it in the liberal media than I do in the right-wing. Something hurts in there. Can you feel it? We are all in this together. One earth, one tribe, one people.
Many of us have entertained teachings like spiritual retreats, meditations, and prayers. Can we take them now into the political world and create an eye of compassion inside the political hate brouhaha? It’s time to do it, time to up our game.
Professor Richard Davidson, a well-known neuroscientist suggests there are very simple practices that don’t require special tools other than one’s own mind and can be practiced for a few minutes at a time and if they are done regularly, they lead to body-wide changes–first in the brain, then in behavior and ultimately in experience.
Professor Davidson suggests three practices in particular that studies are finding can make regular practices more effective and easier:
Mindfulness practices Data show that when people are really focused on what they’re doing, and their minds are not wandering, they actually feel better about themselves. Studies have found that mindfulness can lessen our tendency to want and desire things we don’t have. Professor Davidson suggests just starting with three minutes using one of the free mindfulness training tools at the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds, and trying to practice three or four times a day and then gradually building up.
Cultivating loving kindness One increasingly popular form of meditation is loving-kindness meditation (LKM), the practice of wishing one’s self and others to be happy, content, and at ease. Studies are finding loving kindness meditation can help cultivate positive emotions, immunity to illness and positive relationships. You can find several free guided meditation for loving kindness by using the Insight Timer app that I have mentioned in previous articles.
Compassion practices focused on gratitude and kindness Try to make a habit of intentionally expressing gratitude whenever you can and to reflect on the kindness of others in enabling you to do whatever it is you’re doing. To just pause each day for a few moments and reflect on how there have been people in your life giving you opportunities and who have enabled you to do certain things that you’re really grateful for can be enormously helpful.
Three minutes of meditative practice sounds like something even I can revive personally.
“The cultivation of well-being through these practices is not something that just occurs subjectively in our minds, but it also impacts our biology below the neck, which is positively affected through our physical health. We have observed improvement of immune function. We have observed lessening of inflammation. We’ve actually observed changes in gene expression that all can occur as a consequence of intentional practice and a focus on positive and wholesome qualities of mind in contrast to allowing our minds to just willy-nilly be the subject of the forces around us,” Professor Davidson reported.
So when it comes to improving our well-being, this contemplative practice for our brain can also send rippling effects for generations to come, warriors!
Let’s be the change we want to see in the world – Ghandhi