I resonate with this tremendously: "spending time in my own unconditioned awareness loosens my grip on any feeling of needing to prove myself to anyone (including to myself). Ironically, this has been the source of the biggest improvement to my sense of well-being"... Being freed of this need to "prove" is perhaps the hidden antidote to living in samsara!
"In my experience, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction has approximately no effect at all."
"That said, there is an opportunity for improvement in the sense of well-being due to the durable effects of meditation practice. Being less reactive tends to dramatically reduce the number of triggering incidents one experiences in daily life, which amounts to a reduction of stressors overall. "
Given that MBSR includes regular meditation practice, aren't these statements contradictory?
I think I should have been more explicit, because I see what you mean by the apparent contradiction.
when I tried it, MBSR had approximately no effect (for me) at reducing or mitigating the felt impact of stress events in the short term context that they arise in. In other words, doing a sit on a day when I am feeling stressed out did not reduce stress. It was sometimes even responsible for exacerbating stress because of the framing "I feel stressed and I want some relief." It does not provide relief in that way.
An established mindfulness practice, after several years, was somewhat effective at reducing my reactivity and triggerability in a general sense, but not in a specific sense.
I resonate with this tremendously: "spending time in my own unconditioned awareness loosens my grip on any feeling of needing to prove myself to anyone (including to myself). Ironically, this has been the source of the biggest improvement to my sense of well-being"... Being freed of this need to "prove" is perhaps the hidden antidote to living in samsara!
Beautiful piece
Thanks 🙏
"In my experience, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction has approximately no effect at all."
"That said, there is an opportunity for improvement in the sense of well-being due to the durable effects of meditation practice. Being less reactive tends to dramatically reduce the number of triggering incidents one experiences in daily life, which amounts to a reduction of stressors overall. "
Given that MBSR includes regular meditation practice, aren't these statements contradictory?
I think I should have been more explicit, because I see what you mean by the apparent contradiction.
when I tried it, MBSR had approximately no effect (for me) at reducing or mitigating the felt impact of stress events in the short term context that they arise in. In other words, doing a sit on a day when I am feeling stressed out did not reduce stress. It was sometimes even responsible for exacerbating stress because of the framing "I feel stressed and I want some relief." It does not provide relief in that way.
An established mindfulness practice, after several years, was somewhat effective at reducing my reactivity and triggerability in a general sense, but not in a specific sense.