Modern mindfulness trends

Edit: Since this became a separate thread. Piggybacking off Youse are listening to too many Dhamma talks - #72, this is an example of how too much of a ‘good’ thing can have less-than-helpful results:

I remember in the early days of the pandemic seeing people’s Dhamma calendars. Heck, I wanted in on that too! But then I realized that there’s a way to quickly burn oneself out, even with the Dhamma.

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And, according to the BBC, youse are practicing too much mindfulness :roll_eyes:

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I’ve read some really controlling and obsessive behavior from some online Buddhist forums about ‘mastering your thoughts through mindfulness/meditation’. People always seem to get burnt out trying to micromanage their thinking. If someone is practicing mindfulness that way instead of just being aware and gentle, then I can imagine this scenario easily. But the correct way to be mindful and ‘mindfulness burnout’ can be another thread in itself.

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Well, if you look at the perfectly symmetrical image of a well shaped young lady, it’s enough to get a bit stressed. Correction: I can’t keep the writer David Robson accountable for the added images. Still, it’s important to mention that mindfulness and meditation in the press are frequently been associated with perfect bodies in perfect positions. It reduces once again humans to their bodies where as mindfulness is about the mind. When editing an article on this topic, journalistic deontology requires you stay as well visually honest to your subject.

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Mindfulness can go haywire when practiced outside of its intended context(s)? Who would’ve thunk! :grin:

Sometimes I wonder if people who just want stress relief would benefit more from the 5 precepts. Westerners don’t like being told what to do, but it’s all about packaging, isn’t it? The precepts are easier to practice correctly without a teacher, and I bet the benefits would be higher than half-hearted mindfulness.

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I’d agree with that. However, to be fair to David Robson, it’s quite likely he had nothing to do with those images. In a newspaper, it’s usually the copy editor or picture editor who will afterwards chose a headline, fix any typos or style issues, add imagery (I’d imagine it’s probably the same for the BBC news website – some editor or assistant looked after layout and probably selected a bunch of stock images afterwards from an image bank).

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Practice is a piece of cake.

Step 1: Posture

Step2: Breath

Step 3: Move into the Silence

A beginner’s guide to mindfulness

You are right, thank you for mentioning this. I corrected my quote.

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As far as explanations go, they’ve got it quite right :stuck_out_tongue:

It’s only slightly abbreviated version of MN118:

It’s when a mendicant has gone to a wilderness, or to the root of a tree, or to an empty hut. They sit down cross-legged, with their body straight, and establish mindfulness right there. Just mindful, they breathe in. Mindful, they breathe out.
When breathing in heavily they know: ‘I’m breathing in heavily.’ When breathing out heavily they know: ‘I’m breathing out heavily.’ When breathing in lightly they know: ‘I’m breathing in lightly.’ When breathing out lightly they know: ‘I’m breathing out lightly.’ They practice breathing in experiencing the whole body. They practice breathing out experiencing the whole body. They practice breathing in stilling the body’s motion. They practice breathing out stilling the body’s motion.
They practice breathing in experiencing rapture. They practice breathing out experiencing rapture. They practice breathing in experiencing bliss. They practice breathing out experiencing bliss. They practice breathing in experiencing these emotions. They practice breathing out experiencing these emotions. They practice breathing in stilling these emotions. They practice breathing out stilling these emotions.

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