Ever have those days when disaster seems to follow you everywhere? Spilled coffee, malfunctioning computer, missed bus, miscommunications with friends and colleagues. And have you noticed that your head seems to be in a confused and messy state on these days? And then what about those magical days? When everything seems to just go well. When the mind feels at peace, and the world as you experience it seems to reflect that back to you. Meditation is an incredibly helpful tool to engender a shift in a more positive direction when it comes to the mind. However, today I’m going to focus on a different strategy, but one that is still grounded in mindfulness: thought experiments. There’s a lot of research being done on neuroplasticity: the idea that the brain can change itself. This connects with thousands of years of Buddhist thought that states that though we have little control over external circumstances, we do have a tremendous amount of power over our thoughts, given some practice. The thing that’s becoming more and more apparent to me is that direct experience is the best way to learn. It’s great to study, research, discuss, but we need to try things out ourselves! What I mean is, rather than taking my word for it, try it for yourself. So I’m proposing experimenting with some different ways of thinking. Yeah, just experimenting! Approaching with an open and CURIOUS mind is important. It’s something I’ve started doing pretty recently. I’m calling these exercises thought experiments. I realize that thought experiment sounds, perhaps, vaguely menacing. Also, it’s the term to describe what philosophers and psychologists have been doing for centuries to test out theories. No matter. Think of ‘thought experiment’ as something you do to test out the power of thought, that’s all. You could spend a couple hours on each thought experiment, or perhaps a whole day. Thought experiment number 1: throughout your day, treat each experience you have and each person you encounter as learning opportunities. Whether they be pleasurable, neutral, or challenging, what can you learn from these situations? Thought experiment number 2: take a leisurely walk through your neighbourhood and try to experience each building, signpost, garden and so on as new. Imagine this is the first time you’ve ever been there, seen these things. What do you notice about them? What feelings arise? Afterwards: do you notice a shift in the way you feel, however small? Thought experiment number 3: notice your judgements. That’s it. Notice the positive and negative attributes to ascribe to people, experiences, and objects. Try not to judge yourself for those judgements. Just...notice. Thought experiment number 4: imagine that everything and everyone that you meet in a day is conspiring to bring you joy and love (this has even got a name: ‘pronoia’). With all of these exercises, I would suggest that at the end of the day, reflect upon what you noticed. Try journaling about it. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen…? Shaina Lehan
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February 2019
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