Kind Mind

 One of the most important ways we can improve mindfulness in our everyday life is through acceptance. Acceptance is part of the practice of open awareness in the present moment.  It means allowing experiences to come and allowing them to go – both pleasant and unpleasant. It also involves assenting to the reality of a situation and letting go of what cannot be controlled or changed.

Music “In the Mysterious Distance” by Ethereal Ephemera. Episode artwork by Dove Dahlia.

More at https://www.michaeltoddfink.com

A look at the bright side of aloneness.

Music “Imagine, If You Will” by Bing Satellites. Episode artwork by Dove Dahlia can be seen at https://www.michaeltoddfink.com

Courage and fear are not really opposing emotions. Fear is more of an involuntary response like inflammation or fever. Courage is a principle or virtue that guides a person towards right action and overcoming fear in order to live whole-heartedly.

Hence, the root word of courage is cor which means heart.

Music “Deju Ju All Over Again” by Bing Satellites. Episode artwork by Dove Dahlia.

More at https://www.michaeltoddfink.com

Money can be funny and studies reveal the subtle isolating effect that even the image of it can have on human behavior.

In Daniel Kahneman's monumental book "Thinking Fast and Slow," he highlights the disconcerting results from different priming experiments. For example, when subjects could see monopoly money in the background or stacks of cash on a computer screen-saver, they took twice as long to ask for help with a problem and picked up significantly fewer pencils when the experimenter pretended to clumsily drop them - in contrast to those subjects not exposed to the trigger.

More troubling, people were asked to set up two chairs for them and another as part of a "get-acquainted" conversation while the researcher left the room to retrieve the guest. Money-primed subjects placed the chairs an average of 15 inches farther apart than the control group.

In most cases, money on the mind can promote self-reliance and individualism but trigger selfish behavior and disconnection from others.

There is nothing bad about money. It is very useful. People sometimes say "money is the root of all evil." That is not actually the complete verse. "The love of money.." or craving for this one type of energy - purchasing power - is the problem. And now we have some scientific insight as to why that attachment can be socially harmful.

In the spiritual philosophy of abundance, too much attraction to money can actually be limiting by narrowing one's idea of how resources may be accessed and generating an overall attitude of lack that leads to operating from a sense of scarcity in life.

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(Music “Light in Summer Air I” by Ethereal Ephemera and episode artwork by Dove Dahlia)

This is a very serious public health situation and for countless people it is also an intense psychological test. My heart goes out to all who are sick or love someone who got sick or died and all who are very anxious in this uncertain time.

Just as this outbreak started in one region and has since spread exponentially, so too fear and panic can go viral. When then sun is clouded over in the sky, sunflowers look towards each other for the light.

Similarly, in times of darkness we need to be able to count on one another. Many have reached out to me for guidance and insight and have requested some perspective that hopefully will bring some calm in the midst of chaos.

Light is the symbol of knowledge and illumination. This episode gives some analogies for protecting the inner light.

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(Music “Somewhere in the light II” by Bing Satellites and episode artwork by Dove Dahlia)

Studies suggest that, on average, we have 3 times more positive experiences each day than negative ones. Because of our evolutionary tendency to give more weight to the negative and because of the hedonic treadmill (pleasant experiences lose their mood enhancing power once habituated), this may not seem like the case.

But there is more to it. We have learned that sympathy and empathy are mostly relevant for feeling with others during suffering.

However, in certain Eastern spiritual traditions, there is a practice known as "mudita" or sympathetic joy. It means to rejoice during the virtue, success and well-being of others.

Think of how helpful this could be in an era when social media highlight reels often have the opposite effect for friends - somehow leaving the onlooker feeling diminished, which then can disincline those people from sharing their joy.

New psychological research identifies this as a primary reason why our joy does not grow. Discussing positive experiences with supportive friends has a much greater impact on life satisfaction and well-being than simply thinking about it.

A flock of geese rotates positions in the "V" and they fly farther together because of the boost from the lift of those in front. Similarly, imagine communities knitted together with threads of sympathetic joy, ready to rejoice and then share so as to keep elevating the whole.

This episode explores sympathetic joy to the world!
...and the difference between that and happiness and pleasure as well as other clues from the search for joy in the brain.

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(Music by Ethereal Ephemera “Somewhere in the Light” and episode artwork on website is by Dove Dahlia)

62% of Americans report that they could use more forgiveness in their life. New research is helping our understanding of the link between forgiveness and physical health.

A study published in the journal "Psychology and Health" in 2009 found that random cardiac patients with coronary heart disease who underwent forgiveness training were able to improve blood flow to the heart. They were at less risk of pain and sudden death when compared to a control group, which received the standard medical treatment and only counseling about diet and exercise.

Emotions can be an obstacle to forgiveness. fMRI experiments reveal activation in the emotion centers of the limbic system in the brain when one considers forgiving someone. This likely indicates feelings of anger and hurt, and negative emotions can disrupt rational thinking in the prefrontal cortex. Thus, it can complicate the process.

However, when subjects are guided through fictional scenarios in which they were wronged and then forgave, the anterior cingulate cortex lights up and functions as a bridge between the perception and suppression of moral pain. So, just as we have biochemical mechanisms for reducing physical pain, forgiveness may be a pain reliever for moral distress.

Forgiveness seems to be one of the more misunderstood words in the language of spirituality and healing. This episode explores in more depth what it is and what it is not.

Forgive: GIVE yourself the gift of moving FORward

(Music “The Illuminoid” by Chris Russell and episode artwork by Dove Dahlia)

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We are surrounded by a cult of busyness, and Americans today leave a collective 650 million unused vacation days on the table annually with an overall economic impact of approximately $236 billion.

From childhood, the pressure to compete, achieve, succeed and stay productive is now so strong. Combine that with the fear of missing out and how can people, especially young people, justify just sitting in meditation or sauntering in nature?

This picture is quite different for some of our European counterparts. In France and Germany, for instance, employees use almost all of their paid time off. France federally mandates 25 vacation days and even passed a law allowing employees to disregard work email when not at work.

This episode explores the deeper significance of equilibrium in the body and environment, equanimity in the mind and what kind of higher balance we ought to seek, in spite of cultural limitations, in order to optimize fulfillment and well-being in life.

(Episode artwork by Dove Dahlia and music “Beyond the Veil” by Ethereal Ephemera)

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Psychologically speaking, maturity basically means the ability to respond to the environment in an appropriate manner. Sounds simple. But, how does one respond in an appropriate manner to a political, societal or any other environment when it seems so dark, chaotic or dysfunctional?

To answer, let us come back to the word maturity and trace its roots in search of deeper meaning. The etymology of spiritually charged words often reveals important messages that are hidden over time as words and their applications evolve.

The English word maturity has its origin in Latin. Maturus means “ripeness” which is a description specifically for fruit. What is the difference between ripe and unripe fruit? Unripe fruit is hard and bitter while ripe fruit is soft and sweet. Metaphorically, hardness means rigid and bitterness means unforgiving. Softness is not weakness but rather represents flexibility and sweetness implies kindness. Those are the qualities of maturity.

(Music by Lee Rosevere)

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