dharmapunx NYC

Mind 2.0: Upgrading Your Brain’s OS Buddhist Methods of Advancing the Human Mind’s Performance The mind can be radiant, but it is often dim and further darkened by all that it takes in. The commonplace individual isn't aware this is the case, and doesn't evolve the mind. The mind can be radiant, and it can be liberated from that which makes it dark. The learned spiritual practitioner is aware of this and evolves the mind. (Pabhassara sutta: Radiant mind) When a new laptop is brought home from the store and removed from its packaging, the computer will operate using its default, out-of-the-box settings; the system is oriented to implement basic tasks for the garden-variety user. Over time the surrounding digital landscape changes, bringing about new demands, such as new file formats or bugs; at this juncture the machine requires simple updates, or patches, to continue performing well; eventually, however, changes to the computing environment are so great, that an e...

Emotions at their core are physical sensations in the body, coupled with shifting levels of mental energy in the mind (tired, fixated or energetic states awareness).  So anxiety may be felt as a clenching in the abdomen, along with a mind that edgily jumps from external awareness to internal fantasies, back and forth. In the case of strong emotions, such as anger or grief, we tend to seek shelter from the storm of physical sensations, which can be quite overwhelming, by focusing primarily on thoughts that divert our attention; during times of anger we may avoid the physical experience by losing ourselves in repeating the stories of outrage. Ironically, in focusing on mental content we tend to trigger, again and again, the very physical sensations we are attempting to avoid. For example, in panic attacks we strive to distract ourselves from the racing heartbeats by listening to the dire thoughts the mind conjures; these ideas only reactivate the panic. When we are capable ...