Renowned meditation teacher and neuroscience research consultant, Shinzen Young, discusses mindfulness in the modern meaning crisis. Topics include happiness, enlightenment, and his new project involving brain stimulating technology to accelerate meditation gains. The podcast explores the dimensions of human happiness, levels of self understanding, and the importance of finding a broader path to happiness in old belief systems. They also touch on the power of coaching, the relevance of enlightenment, and finding technology to accelerate proven methodologies.
Modern mindfulness can optimize happiness by providing relief from suffering, increasing fulfillment, understanding oneself, mastering behavior, and engaging in meaningful service.
Establishing and maintaining a psychospiritual health regimen and seeking the guidance of a competent mindfulness coach are crucial for achieving happiness goals.
Mindfulness skills, such as concentration, clarity, and equanimity, enhance fulfillment and allow individuals to fully engage in the present moment, amplifying the satisfaction derived from any experience.
Deep dives
The relevance of modern mindfulness in the context of the meaning crisis
The podcast episode delves into the modern meaning crisis and the role of mindfulness within it. Shinzen Young, a renowned meditation teacher, discusses how modern mindfulness can address the unfulfillment, fear, and breakdown of old ways that characterize the modern era. He highlights the broad concept of happiness and the potential for mindfulness to optimize happiness across different dimensions: relief from suffering, increase in fulfillment, understanding oneself at all levels, mastering behavior, and engaging in meaningful service. Shinzen emphasizes the need for a psychospiritual health regimen, and the importance of having a competent mindfulness coach to guide individuals towards their happiness goals.
The power of modern mindfulness in optimizing happiness
Shinzen Young outlines the dimensions of happiness and how modern mindfulness can contribute to a complete positive psychology. He explains how mindfulness skills, such as concentration, clarity, and equanimity, can enhance experiences of relief from suffering, fulfillment, self-knowledge, mastery of action, and service to others. Modern mindfulness is described as an elegant system that can transform one's understanding of happiness, regardless of their goals, age, or demographic. Shinzen stresses the importance of establishing and maintaining a psychospiritual health regimen and suggests seeking the guidance of a competent mindfulness coach for personalized support.
The feasibility and relevance of enlightenment
Shinzen Young addresses the concept of enlightenment and its potential relevance for most individuals. He distinguishes between different levels of enlightenment and suggests that understanding oneself at the deepest level is both feasible and important, especially in the face of mortality and the dying process. He highlights the transformative power of mindfulness in breaking down limited identities and opening up the possibility for deeper levels of liberation and self-understanding. Shinzen acknowledges that while full enlightenment may be rare, the initial taste of liberation is achievable through consistent mindfulness practice and the guidance of a competent mindfulness coach. He also discusses ongoing research into technology-enhanced mindfulness training and the potential to amplify its benefits.
The Importance of Mindfulness Skills in Fulfillment
Fulfillment is not solely dependent on external circumstances or pleasures, but also on the level of mindfulness one cultivates. Concentration, clarity, and equanimity are essential mindfulness skills that enhance the fulfillment derived from any experience, whether it is a sensory pleasure or a mild enjoyment. Mindfulness skills allow individuals to be fully present and engaged in the moment, amplifying the satisfaction they derive from even the simplest pleasures. Lack of mindfulness skills can prevent individuals from experiencing fulfillment, even with indulgences in extravagant or expensive possessions. Therefore, the key to deeper fulfillment lies in cultivating and practicing mindfulness skills.
The Extended Paradigm of Happiness and Mindfulness
The podcast explores a paradigm shift in understanding happiness that goes beyond traditional beliefs and customs. While traditional ways of seeking happiness may have their merits, a broader and more modern approach, which encompasses mindfulness skills, is proposed. This extended paradigm emphasizes the cultivation of attention skills like concentration, sensory clarity, and equanimity to optimize happiness at all levels. Mindfulness is not limited to deep self-understanding but also extends to surface-level happiness and success. By integrating mindfulness training into daily life and establishing a structured practice, individuals can experience optimal happiness, positively impacting various aspects of life. This extended paradigm provides an alternative and complementary way to attain fulfillment, aligns with scientific principles, and can coexist with traditional belief systems.
Welcome to the Season One Finale of the Soulspace Podcast! On this episode, we talk to Shinzen Young about mindfulness within the context of the modern meaning crisis. Shinzen is a renowned meditation teacher and neuroscience research consultant. We met with him in Toronto after he had just finished leading a meditation retreat. Shinzen first became fascinated with Asian culture as a Jewish teenager growing up in Los Angeles in the 1950s. As he likes to describe himself: “I’m a Jewish-American Buddhist teacher who got turned on to comparative mysticism by an Irish-Catholic priest and who has developed a Burmese-Japanese fusion practice inspired by the spirit of quantified science.” We discuss happiness, enlightenment and his current new project which involves using brain stimulating technology that may dramatically accelerate meditation gains. He is the author of The Science of Enlightenment: How Meditation Works.
Shownotes
http://www.soulspacepodcast.com/2019/07/21/episode26 (http://www.soulspacepodcast.com/?p=1935)
'You Are Simply', Poem by Thal Mohammed
Music by Hoiking Fung
https://youtu.be/5Ph3oJ125sc
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About
Adrian Choo & Thal Mohammed explore modern spirituality and life's profound questions with fellow seekers. Through stories, lessons and practices, this show helps listeners deepen their inner work and move towards a more meaningful life. Music produced by Hoiking Fung.
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