Dalai Lama Foundation Study Circle Montreal

May 21, 2012

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How I Changed My Life, In Four Lines

“Changing your life can seem an incredibly tough and complicated thing, especially if you’ve failed a great number of times (like I did), found it too hard, and resigned yourself to not changing. But I found a way to change. And I’m not any better than anyone else, not more disciplined, not more motivated. I just learned a few simple principles that changed my life. So what are the principles that changed my life, repeatedly? […] If you read the brief stories above, you already know: 1. Start very small. 2. Do only one change at a time. 3. Be present and enjoy the activity (don’t focus on results). 4. Be grateful for every step you take.” Leo Babauta shares more. { read more }

Be The Change

Apply these tips to changes you want to make: start small with one step at a time, and be present to and grateful for each step.

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May 20, 2012

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The Science of ‘Social Jet Lag’

“‘Six hours’ sleep for a man, seven for a woman, and eight for a fool,’ Napoleon famously prescribed. (He would have scoffed at Einstein, then, who was known to require ten hours of sleep for optimal performance.) This perceived superiority of those who can get by on less sleep isn’t just something Napoleon shared with dictators like Hitler and Stalin, it’s an enduring attitude woven into our social norms and expectations, from proverbs about early birds to the basic scheduling structure of education and the workplace. But in ‘Internal Time: Chronotypes, Social Jet Lag, and Why You’re So Tired,’ German chronobiologist Till Roenneberg demonstrates through a wealth of research that our sleep patterns have little to do with laziness and other such scorned character flaws, and everything to do with biology.” Maria Popova shares further. { read more }

Be The Change

Tonight, sleep for the amount of time that feels right to you.

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May 19, 2012

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Can Better Data End Global Poverty?

“Do free bed nets in some countries lead to more cases of malaria? Could anti-parasite pills raise school attendance in one country and have no effect in another? How cheap does preventative care have to be for low-income families to see the doctor? There might not be a perfect way to answer these thorny questions on a country-by-country basis. But some leading scientists think the most rigorous answer comes from what they call “randomized controlled trials.” Last year, Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee, published a book called Poor Economics (…) it stakes a larger claim against ‘grand universal answers’ and ‘sweeping conclusions’ about poverty.” A leading development economist speaks on the virtues and limitations of a data-driven approach to healing the world’s most intractable problems. { read more }

Be The Change

“Finding non-zero sum solutions to our social problems requires all the imagination we can muster.” A short passage by Alvin Toffler.

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May 18, 2012

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Can Positive Thoughts Help Heal Another?

For decades, scientists have tried to test the power of prayer and positive thinking, with mixed results. Now some scientists are fording new — and controversial — territory. Gail Ironson an AIDS researcher from the University of Miami noticed that a number of patients with HIV inexplicably never got sick. In trying to understand why, she discovered something surprising. “If you ask people what’s kept you going so long, what keeps you healthy, often people would say spirituality,” she says. “It was something that just kept coming up in the interviews, and that’s why I decided to look at it.” Ironson began to zero in on a patient’s relationship with God in an attempt to predict how fast the disease would progress. This NPR article shares more about her intriguing research and findings. { read more }

Be The Change

Practice witnessing your thoughts today, and consciously sending goodwill to others in your life. Notice if it has an impact on you.

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May 17, 2012

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A Cab Ride I’ll Never Forget

“Twenty years ago, I drove a cab for a living. One night I took a fare at 2:30 AM, when I arrived to collect, the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window. Under these circumstances, many drivers would just honk once. But I had seen too many impoverished people who depended on taxis as their only means of transportation. Unless a situation smelled of danger, I always went to the door. This passenger might be someone who needs my assistance, I reasoned to myself. So I walked to the door and knocked. ‘Just a minute’, answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor. After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 80’s stood before me.” { read more }

Be The Change

Approach an uncertain moment with courage and an openness to skillful generosity.

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I want to let you know about an upcoming opportunity to work directly with the teachings in my new book Emotional Chaos to Clarity. I will be leading an intensive weekend retreat at Esalen Institute that will explore how mindfulness and intention can empower you to live more skillfully and provide a sense of purpose in your life. Here is a description of the retreat:

Emotional Chaos to Clarity Weekend Retreat
Esalen Institute
Big Sur, California
June 8-10, 2012

Do you lack clarity about your life’s direction? Do you feel that you’re unable to cope with difficulty when it arises? Does emotional chaos get in the way of making good decisions and acting wisely? If so, you’re not alone. Most people have one or more areas of their lives that are impacted by the emotional chaos of reactive mind.

You don’t have to be caught in emotional chaos. Imagine feeling a sense of ease and well-being each day of your life regardless of whether life is pleasant or difficult. This is possible when we learn to apply mindfulness and intention to our daily experience. Through cultivating responsive mind, we free ourselves from the turmoil that emotional chaos causes.

In this weekend workshop, you will be guided through a process of personal inquiry to identify where emotional chaos is adversely affecting your life. Through an exploration of the components of skillful living, you will be shown how to recognize and act from your core vales, gain wisdom from pleasant and unpleasant experiences, and cultivate an inner life in which love can flourish, even if your outer life is filled with challenges. Through teachings, small-group discussions, and participatory exercises, you will be introduced to a set of life skills that can profoundly improve your ability to respond to difficult situations and help you discover renewed enthusiasm for life.

To register for this weekend retreat, visit the Esalen Web site.

I hope to see you there!

Phillip Moffitt

SELF-SOOTHING DURING DIFFICULT TIMES — A sample of the life skills that you will learn in this weekend retreat:

When a difficult situation of memory arises, it is essential that you be able to self soothe in order to respond skillfully.
1. Go someplace quiet where you won’t be interrupted and sit comfortably.
2. Notice the unpleasant sensations and feeling that are present in your body and mind.
3. State to yourself, "This difficulty feels like this." For instance, "Having a broken heart feels like this."
4. Recognize that in this moment you are suffering, and have compassion for your suffering.
5. Notice if you are adding to your suffering by criticizing or judging yourself or making up a story about what is happening.
6. To calm yourself, focus your attention on your breath.
7. Observe that you are not only this difficulty and that you have other thoughts and body sensations.
8. Finally, notice that these thoughts and body sensation are always changing. Seeing that this is true, the feeling of difficulty you are experiencing must also be subject to change and is not permanent.

Copyright (C) 2012 Life Balance Institute. All rights reserved.

May 16, 2012

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Staying Sober Through Service

What does making coffee at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings have to do with staying sober? A whole lot, according to recent studies that show that the physical and psychological benefits of service also benefit those with addictions. Addicts who help others, even in small ways – such as calling other Alcoholics Anonymous members to remind them about meetings or making coffee – can significantly improve their chances of staying sober and avoiding relapse. The story of Victor M., as told in this article from the Greater Good Science Center, highlights one man’s journey from addition to sobriety through small and simple acts of kindness. And for Victor, the rewards extend beyond being sober for five years: “I get to watch guys get better – there’s nothing better than that.” { read more }

Be The Change

Reflect on your own addictions, minor or major; does increasing the level of service in your own life have a positive effect?

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