Neurodharma

From time to time, consider how a particular experience could be changing your brain bit by bit, for better or worse.

The painful residues of events can get caught in the nets of emotional memory, but without context and perspective. The conscious mind may forget, but as Babette Rothschild wrote, the body remembers.

As Milarepa, the Tibetan sage, described his life of practice: In the beginning nothing came, in the middle nothing stayed, and in the end nothing left.

Whatever your object is, try to remain steadily mindful of it. Be aware of the sense of applying attention to an object, like shifting a spotlight onto something. Also be aware of sustaining attention to an object—staying in touch with it continuously.

The “mind,” as I mean it in this book, consists of the experiences and information that are represented by a nervous system.

Every so often, slow down to recognize that life in general, and your body and brain in particular, are making this moment’s experience of hearing and seeing, thinking and feeling.

The five types of people are benefactor, friend, neutral person, oneself, and someone who is challenging for you.

I once asked the teacher Gil Fronsdal what he did in his own practice. He paused and then smiled and said, “I stop for suffering.” This is where practice begins: facing suffering in ourselves and others.

As the interpersonal neurobiologist Dan Siegel summarizes it, the mind uses the brain to make the mind.

Pick an area of your life such as work, or something more specific such as a project. Ask yourself these questions: Are my efforts aimed at what is truly beneficial for myself and others? Am I pursuing these aims skillfully? Can I be at peace with whatever happens?