Discussing with Mindsprings member, Dameon, about the issue of other people's anxiety. Our anxiety work often - rightly- focuses on getting our own nervous systems under control. But what about the people around us? 

if you would like to join the Mindsprings anxiety community come along on Tuesday evening 6pm UK for an hour's stressbusting practice: 
https://www.mind-springs.org/online-live

Other People's Anxiety

Following a meditation exploring self-love, we were talking about the nuttiness of hating your experience. After all, it's the only one we're going to have. 
I then went on to flag up the social prohibition against loving ourselves - it's a bit "grandiose", or "selfish" or worse: "narcissistic. 
But narcissism is very different from love... 

Please do join our 3x weekly meditation group on Zoom. You can find the details on how to come along here: 
https://www.mind-springs.org/online-live

Narcissism vs.  Love

The negative news industry.

Responding to a student’s comment on the distractions of the news media, Alistair speaks about the nature of news as an industry and the myth of ‘being informed’ that drives it.

What if we were to question the mechanism of news and what it means for us?

Join in the conversation live at the Mindsprings Practice Space. It's free and friendly. https://mindsprings-practicespace.org/sign-up/

The Negative News Industry

Jane asked: "Is awareness the same as consciousness? And how do you deal with someone with a lot of shame or someone with no shame, like Donald Trump?" 
Alistair discusses how the definitions of awareness and consciousness are different in Buddhism and Psychotherapy.
What do you think?

The eight conciousnesses and the 45th

In this podcast, Alistair, (after being interrupted by Ben the dog 😀) discusses distractions with the Mindsprings students. He says tension is the motor of distraction. The tenser you make the mind the more thoughts and thinking arise. Just as the more you squeeze the bottom of the toothpaste the faster it comes out of the top.
Do you get distracted by thoughts when meditating?

Thoughts are like Toothpaste

Alistair talks about the three things that dance the waltz of Samsara - Delusion, Wanting & Hatred .

The Infernal Waltz

From a Mindsprings meditation Zoom class discussion. Buddhists take aim at the fixed nature of our sense of selves. They believe suffering is caused when we try to keep ourselves in a fixed state. Alistair says at Mindsprings we are exploring if there really is an unchanging person within us, a 'self.' Perhaps we will find out the Buddhists are wrong.


You can join Alistair in 3x weekly live sessions to practice meditation. Interact with the Mindsprings community and join in these conversations about meditation, Buddhism and life. It's free!

https://mindsprings-practicespace.org/sign-up/

Is the word 'self' meaningless?

Alistair discusses lasting happiness following a question from Jane, a Mindsprings student. We have to look in the right place for bliss. Blissful happiness is in the field of awareness, not in our emotional bodies.

Don't look for chocolate at the ironmongers

Are you a worrier?
In this Podcast recorded from a Mindsprings meditation class, Alistair busts the myths around worrying.

The Truth About Worrying

Alistair discusses toxic relationships and how to empower yourself to change things.

Do you have any difficult relationships in your life?

Dealing with toxic relationships

We're not made up of one coherent self, Alistair explains, but rather there are different parts of us at play or at war. When our internal managers, firefighters and exiles are fighting we suffer. Loving our different parts is a route to finding inner peace.

Managers, Firefighters & Exiles

Alistair discusses Maitri with his students.  Maitri meditation is kindness and compassion for ourselves and others. He says it starts with recognising the knarly patterns within ourselves that get in the way of loving other people.

Real-life Maitri

Alistair remembers his mother saying 'People who ask don't get.' Yet, he says, in Tibetan traditions asking for blessings is an act of devotion. This discussion with students centres on the differences between western attitudes and religion where prayer and asking are supreme spiritual activities. 
Can you ask for help or are you afraid of asking?

Looking for blessings in the right place

Alistair talks about Internal Family Systems. The different parts inside us, identified by therapist Richard C Schwartz. We all have parts playing out an internal role, some are vulnerable, whereas other parts of us are protectors or managers. Learning to recognise these parts and understanding how they interact is key to understanding ourselves.

The Genesis of Parts

How do you react when someone hurts you?
In this recorded teaching, Alistair says it's not ok to be a punchbag. A healthier way is to acknowledge our pain and then try to understand where it is coming from in the other person.

On being a punchbag

It's easy to be compassionate with yourself when you're feeling OK but we are often very mean to ourselves. In this recorded teaching, Alistair says the essence of self-compassion is being OK with whatever our experience is. Even if that experience is crazy-nuts.

Being OK with the not OK

We don't meditate to become good meditators. We meditate to become kind human beings. In this recorded lesson, Alistair discusses steadying the mind and the benefits of different mediation teachings.

Oiling the Cogs with Love

From a recorded lesson: Alistair discusses thoughts and thinking with students. It is not thoughts that make us unhappy. Thoughts come and go but it is unconscious thinking, ego thoughts that cause suffering to arise. Soothing our minds soothes our thoughts. If the body is unified our thoughts ride the Windhorse of the bodys energy.

Thoughts ride the Windhorse

In answer to a students question, Alistair discusses thoughts and feelings. Instead of being bulldozed by our thoughts, we can learn to dance with them. Gentle familiarisation of the inner landscape increases our wisdom and reduces suffering.

Bulldozed by thoughts

Alistair discusses suffering in a teaching session. We are conditioned to believe that we should be suffering but when you remove 'me' you end the struggle.

Mindsprings Podcast with Alistair Appleton

Mindsprings Podcast with Alistair Appleton

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