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    Tetragrammaton with Rick Rubin

    Jon Kabat-Zinn

    Wed Apr 17 2024
    mindfulnessmeditationself-healinghealthcareawareness

    Description

    This episode explores the power of mindfulness and meditation in living a fulfilling life. The speaker revisits their book 'Full Catastrophe Living' and discusses the importance of tapping into innate resources for learning and healing. They share insights on empowering patients through participatory approaches and delve into the practice of meditation and its connection to human evolution. The episode also highlights the role of mindfulness in preserving the planet and explores various books on mindfulness and meditation. It concludes with discussions on resting in awareness, finding stability within oneself, and the wonder of the body.

    Insights

    Education should focus on tapping into one's own deep resources rather than just acquiring external knowledge.

    This approach allows for learning, growing, healing, and transformation.

    Meditation helps reveal our innate genius aspect associated with healing, well-being, and creativity.

    It empowers individuals to participate in their own journey towards greater health and well-being.

    The convergence of medicine and meditation has transformed healthcare by incorporating participation as a key element.

    Patients reported significant improvements in their health compared to traditional treatments.

    Mindfulness can be a tool for managing anxiety, depression, and various psychological challenges.

    It involves focusing on the present moment and using the breath as an anchor.

    Human beings are seen as a way for the universe to understand itself.

    Scientific discoveries about our origins from elements created in stars support this perspective.

    Mindfulness encompasses compassion, kindness, and love, helping individuals connect with their inner awareness beyond thoughts and emotions.

    It fosters a deeper understanding of oneself and the world.

    Awareness is a powerful superpower that is often overlooked but crucial for living each moment fully and meaningfully.

    It allows individuals to be fully present and engaged in their lives.

    Meditation becomes more relaxed with age, focusing on waking up completely and appreciating the body.

    Differentiating between concentration practices and mindfulness practices in meditation is important.

    Pure awareness is always available and there is no specific curriculum or specialized mindful state to attain.

    Resting in awareness without striving for anything is the ultimate goal.

    Humanity plays a significant role in the universe and should recognize the potential for collective genius to prevent self-destruction.

    Engaging in meditative awareness is seen as a karmic assignment for humanity.

    Chapters

    1. Revisiting and Updating 'Full Catastrophe Living'
    2. Tapping into Innate Resources for Learning and Healing
    3. Empowering Patients through Participatory Approaches
    4. Introduction to Meditation and Mindfulness
    5. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program
    6. Meditation and Human Evolution
    7. Connection, Awareness, and the Expanding Universe
    8. Preserving the Planet and Living Mindfully
    9. Books on Mindfulness and Meditation
    10. Meditation as a Radical Act of Sanity and Love
    11. Concentration and Mindfulness Practices in Meditation
    12. Resting in Awareness and the Role of Humanity
    13. Finding Stability and Beauty within Oneself
    14. Being and Creativity in Meditation
    15. Embodying Awareness and the Wonder of the Body
    16. Living Mindfully and Expanding Our Understanding
    Summary
    Transcript

    Revisiting and Updating 'Full Catastrophe Living'

    00:02 - 07:43

    • The speaker revisited a book they wrote 30 years ago and made updates for a new edition.
    • The updated edition includes a new forward, afterward, and improved audio.
    • The original book titled 'Full Catastrophe Living' focused on mindfulness-based stress reduction program started at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in 1979.
    • The book aimed to help individuals engage with unwanted aspects of their lives and find agency in living their own life.

    Tapping into Innate Resources for Learning and Healing

    07:15 - 15:37

    • Everyone has innate interior resources for learning, growing, healing, and transformation.
    • Education should focus on tapping into one's own deep resources rather than just acquiring external knowledge.
    • Learning and growing throughout life can lead to healing and acceptance of oneself as perfect.
    • Healing is about coming to terms with things as they are, not fixing or getting rid of everything that's wrong.
    • Meditation helps reveal our innate genius aspect associated with healing, well-being, and creativity.
    • Doctors create conditions for healing but individuals ultimately heal themselves in a self-healing system.

    Empowering Patients through Participatory Approaches

    15:10 - 22:52

    • The speaker set up a successful outpatient clinic in the Department of Medicine without having medical credentials.
    • People projected confidence onto the speaker due to his background in molecular biology from MIT, which helped establish credibility for the clinic.
    • The clinic focused on empowering patients to participate in their own journey towards greater health and well-being through an eight-week program that included meditation practices.
    • Patients who participated in the program reported significant improvements in their health compared to traditional treatments, leading to a shift in how physicians view participatory approaches alongside drug and surgical treatments.
    • The convergence of medicine and meditation has transformed healthcare by incorporating participation as a key element, influenced by the speaker's work over 45 years.

    Introduction to Meditation and Mindfulness

    22:31 - 30:04

    • The word Buddha means to wake up, and the first noble truth in Buddhism is the actuality of suffering.
    • The eight-week meditation course was initially ten weeks but was shortened to allow for a day-long session and avoid holiday conflicts.
    • The course introduces lying-down meditation as a way to help people drop into the present moment comfortably.
    • Participants are taught to focus on breath sensations in the body as an anchor for attention during meditation.
    • In 1979, audio tapes were used to support participants with guided meditations and yoga sequences outside of class.

    Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program

    29:46 - 37:36

    • MBSR program includes guided yoga sequences and sitting meditation to cultivate mindfulness
    • Mindfulness helps individuals become aware of their thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations
    • The concept of 'thought mirror' is introduced to help people observe thoughts as events in awareness
    • Mindfulness can be a tool for managing anxiety, depression, and various psychological challenges
    • Practicing mindfulness involves focusing on the present moment and using the breath as an anchor

    Meditation and Human Evolution

    37:12 - 45:26

    • Humans evolved with sensitivity to present moment signaling to survive and be in community.
    • Meditation was a natural practice for Homo sapiens during the hunter-gatherer period.
    • The speaker's upbringing in a household with a scientist father and artist mother influenced their perspective on creativity and recognition.
    • Attending a talk at MIT led the speaker to start meditating at 21, which became a lifelong practice.
    • Meditation is described as a love affair with the present moment and an inquiry into one's true self.

    Connection, Awareness, and the Expanding Universe

    45:06 - 53:09

    • Meditating alone versus meditating in a group can still create a sense of connection to others and the universe.
    • Using possessive pronouns like 'my' or 'your' can limit awareness and perpetuate a sense of self.
    • Awareness is not owned by individuals but is universal and limitless.
    • Silent meditation can have profound effects on individuals, creating a sense of being without doing anything.
    • The concept of awareness is compared to the expanding universe, with no center or periphery.
    • Human beings are seen as a way for the universe to understand itself, as evidenced by scientific discoveries about our origins from elements created in stars.

    Preserving the Planet and Living Mindfully

    52:46 - 1:01:21

    • Elements like oxygen, phosphorus, and nitrogen are created when stars explode, essential for technology and life on Earth.
    • Humanity needs to recognize the importance of preserving the planet and living in harmony with nature.
    • Mindfulness encompasses compassion, kindness, and love, helping individuals connect with their inner awareness beyond thoughts and emotions.
    • Scientists benefit from maintaining a 'don't know mind' to explore beyond current knowledge and make new discoveries.
    • Awareness is a powerful superpower that is often overlooked but crucial for living each moment fully and meaningfully.

    Books on Mindfulness and Meditation

    1:00:54 - 1:08:40

    • The first book, 'Full Catastrophe Living', was written after years of teaching an eight-week course to a wider audience.
    • 'Wherever You Go There You Are' was written three or four years later and came out in 1994, focusing on a different aspect.
    • The speaker emphasizes the importance of mindfulness and meditation in recognizing one's inner resources and living life fully.
    • Mindfulness meditation helps individuals realize the value of being present in the moment and letting go of unproductive thoughts.
    • The conversation highlights the interconnectedness between individuals through shared experiences of beauty and growth.

    Meditation as a Radical Act of Sanity and Love

    1:08:17 - 1:16:22

    • Through mindfulness meditation, one can realize the nature of thoughts and their impermanence.
    • Being fully present in the moment without attachment to thoughts is a radical act of sanity and love.
    • Life itself is a meditation practice, encompassing all activities and interactions.
    • Engaging in meditative awareness is seen as a karmic assignment for humanity to prevent destruction of the planet.
    • The practice of meditation evolves over time but remains a profound and valued part of life.

    Concentration and Mindfulness Practices in Meditation

    1:16:03 - 1:24:01

    • Meditation becomes more relaxed with age, focusing on waking up completely and appreciating the body.
    • Differentiates between concentration practices and mindfulness practices in meditation.
    • Concentration practices aim for stability of attention on one object like a mantra or flame.
    • Mindfulness practices involve just sitting and resting in awareness without striving for anything else.
    • Accessing pure awareness is challenging due to constant thinking and emotions, but it is always available once attachment to thoughts and emotions dissolves.

    Resting in Awareness and the Role of Humanity

    1:23:47 - 1:32:24

    • Pure awareness is always available and there is no specific curriculum or specialized mindful state to attain
    • Guided meditation can be helpful initially, but ultimately one needs to rest in awareness without striving for anything
    • Meditation practices aim to reconcile internal conflicts and bring unity between oneself and awareness
    • Humanity plays a significant role in the universe and should recognize the potential for collective genius to prevent self-destruction
    • Poetry can capture the struggles of inner conflict and the journey towards self-acceptance

    Finding Stability and Beauty within Oneself

    1:31:54 - 1:41:39

    • Poetry by Rilke is discussed, emphasizing the beauty of life and stability through metaphors like mountains.
    • The mountain meditation practice is explained as a way to find stability and beauty within oneself.
    • The importance of being present in the moment and recognizing one's intrinsic qualities is highlighted.
    • Guided meditations and self-reflection are recommended for personal growth and navigating life's challenges.

    Being and Creativity in Meditation

    1:41:12 - 1:52:15

    • The focus is on 'being' rather than 'doing' in various aspects like counterculture, sacred geometry, generative art, mythology, and magic.
    • A guided body scan meditation is described where awareness is brought to different parts of the body while focusing on sensations and breathing.
    • The meditation involves deep breathing and letting go of sensations with each out breath as attention moves through different body regions.

    Embodying Awareness and the Wonder of the Body

    1:51:52 - 2:04:33

    • Guided meditation focusing on different body regions from collarbones to head and face
    • Encouragement to be present in awareness without doing anything
    • Emphasis on the intrinsic beauty and wonder of the body and oneself
    • Reminder to fully embody awareness in the present moment

    Living Mindfully and Expanding Our Understanding

    2:04:07 - 2:14:14

    • Life goes on and requires full presence to complete karmic assignments.
    • Mindfulness is available 24/7, fostering intimacy with oneself and the present moment.
    • Humanity benefits from waking up to mindfulness, co-creating their life's score.
    • Every breath and action can be a form of prayer or meditation for the betterment of the world.
    • Silence and creativity are integral to what makes us human, expanding our understanding of reality.
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