Hints and suggestions for dealing with unwholesome factors in our lives:

The following suggestions are adapted from “Full Catastrophe Living”, by Jon Kabat-Zinn.

1. Free yourself from the tyranny of time by reminding yourself that “time is a product of thought” and that our concept of time is bound up in our expectations, agendas and goals. We can let go of “time urgency” by bringing our minds back to the present moment and asking ourselves, “Is it worth dying for?” We can intentionally protect some of our time each day for non-doing, and we can choose to drop into the richness of the present moment by stepping outside of clock time altogether.
2. Look at how you are filling up your daily hours and aim to create spaces for non-doing by simplifying your life – this may mean consciously choosing to give certain things up or saying “no” to some requests, obligations or commitments. It may lead you to ask if you really need to be working as much as you are, and whether you could manage with less money. In this way, we can make our time our own, and even if we are unable to reduce the many demands upon our lives at this time, we may be able to find more stillness in the midst of our busyness by letting our minds rest more in the present moment as we engage with the activities of our lives.
3. Be aware of your relationship to information. How much do you read newspapers and magazines? How do you feel afterwards? When do you choose to read them? Is this the best use of these moments for you? Are you aware of cravings for news and information, to the point where it suggests addiction? How is your behaviour affected by the need to be stimulated and bombarded? Do you keep the radio or TV on all the time, even when you are not watching or listening? Do you read the papers for hours just to “kill time”?
4. Be aware of how you use your TV. What do you choose to watch and how often? What needs does it satisfy in you? How do you feel afterwards? What is the state of mind that brings you to turn it on in the first place? What is the state of mind that brings you to turn it off?
5. What are the effects of taking in bad news and violent images on your body and state of mind? Notice if you feel powerless, angry or depressed in the face of world stress. Try to identify issues that you care about and do something, no matter how small, that will give you a sense of meaningful engagement. This could be something within your family or local community, or simply taking your re-cycling to the re-cycling banks. Try taking a “fast” from world news from time to time, and come home to the real news that is happening on your own doorstep, in your family, your relationships, your environment and your own state of mind.
6. Become aware of the types of conversations you get yourself into, with colleagues, family or friends. Be aware of the impact upon our states of mind of conversational styles built around complaining, moaning, gossiping, exaggerating, talking behind people’s backs and so on. What do we choose to talk about or become engaged in? How do we feel afterwards? How do we feel when we have had an interaction with another built upon harmony, truthfulness and kindness? How can be build more nourishing conversations into our relations with others, and when could we choose to keep quiet?