The Practice of Not Thinking: A Guide to Mindful Living

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One section in ‘The Practice of Not Thinking’ that resonated with me was when he wrote that 'pleasure doesn’t exist physically - it is an illusion that we experience pain reduces, and the brain interprets the absence of pain as pleasure. ‘ Writing Style

May be this is a good opportunity to not overthink the experience of reading the book, but instead simply vocalise the thoughts that find their way to my mind and allow this review to take its natural course, without resistance, selective thought processing or harsh judgement of my own opinions, thus silencing my klesha of anger that thinks I should have chosen a better book as my 100th registered book in goodreads, an honour one might think, or my klesha of arrogance that thinks it knows what its talking about. The Practice of Not Thinking’ by former monk Ryunosuke Koike is an exploration of the power and potential of clearing one's mind and embracing a state of non-thinking. In this engaging book, the author invites us to look at the way we perceive and engage with our own thoughts. Mindfulness Dette blir en altfor enkel analyse av et komplekst fenomen. Han utelater også latter sin egenskap til å skape intimitet, dets evne til å ta opp tabu tema, eller hvordan latter kan tranformere noe uheldig, noe vondt eller trasig, til noe komisk. Jeg liker blant annet dette sitatet til Gordon Allport godt: The neurotic who learns to laugh at himself may be on the way to selfmanagement, perhaps to cure. Klesha in Buddhist philosophy means poison, the most damaging of all are: anger, desire, arrogance and uncertaintyJeg finner meditativ praksis - på tvers av alle religioner og livssyn - svært interessant. Hvilke innsikter/betraktninger gjør man gjennom år med målrettet introspeksjon? Vi må derimot alltid ha i bakhodet et meditasjon er en ferdighet, en aktivitet, som igjen er preget av språket og det teoretiske rammeverket man velger som kontekst for introspeksjonen. Det er ikke en kongevei til sannhet. Dette er tydligere i for eksempel kristen meditasjonspaksis hvor målet ofte er å komme nærmere Gud, eller komme nærmere Guds sanne natur; de bruker ofte veldig like teknikker som i østlige religioner og livssyn.

In a section entitled ‘How to control your body and your mind’, Ryunosuke looks at everyday activities that we all engage in. Speaking, listening, seeing, reading and writing, eating, discarding, touching and nurturing. I particularly like the section on discarding, which is very much about minimalism, and getting rid of what you don’t need. I had a look at my book shelves and filled a couple go bags, which I took to the local charity shops. If you’ve read this blog before, you’ll know that I have a strong interest in books on meditation and mindfulness, so a lot of the book was covering familiar ground. It’s difficult to read any new perspectives on the subject, but I think applying techniques to modern living, as this book does, is the way to go. So we don’t want to—nor are we able to–put an end to thinking. That said, there are benefits to intentionally practicing what I call “Not-Thinking.” Discursive thinking—the constant stream of one thought after another—is a deeply ingrained habit. It’s so ingrained that we often start thinking just to occupy our minds! But even during our waking hours, the mind needs to rest now and then. The practice of Not-Thinking is restful, calming, and restorative. According to Buddhist teacher, Ayya Khema:It is written for a Japanese audience, so there were parts and language that just didn’t resonate with me. But that’s ok, because I was able to get the overall message and ideas. Ryunosuke’s writing style throughout is engaging and thought-provoking. When we realise that our mind is but a slave to our brain’s reflexes, we can mount a revolution against the things that control us.’ A few of my reading choices this year have been inspired by Kpop; this was inspired by an actual Kpop singer, Ten from WayV/NCT who chose this book for a What's In My Bag challenge. If I had my career and talent as mismanaged as him, I might need to think less too. If we’re truly sorry about something, we should think about the best way to ease the burden on the other person rather than merely apologizing or making an excuse for our own comfort.”

The basis of everything is pain and pleasure is merely the sensation experienced as a result of pain reduction Awareness: That’s the big one, the main main take away of the book told in the simplest form and described in one significant term is AWARENESS. The author is a strong advocate of meditation, as he should be and the main gist is to be aware of every item, sound, visual, flavour and odour that we engage with fully and presently with as much focus that we can possibly cultivate. Do that and your entire mode of existence is altered, heightened and elevated. The book was suppose to tell me how to do that but its useless in that regard so may be, I might give meditation a go, or just try the do it quietly thing, i feel like i have a better chance at actively altering my pace, tone and mode of interaction with stimuli rather than meditate, but who knows. For example, as you’re taking in the sights around you, the thought might arise, “I don’t feel well.” But instead of stopping with what is simply a description of how you feel at the moment, soon you’re off on what I think of as the equivalent of a guitar riff. You take that simple “theme”—“I don’t feel well”—and the riff begins: “I’m going to have a horrible day”; “Nothing will go right”; “I’ll may never feel well again.” Solid state physics Quantum theory Chemical bonds SCIENCE Physics Condensed Matter Física do estado sólido Mecânica quântica Here are five suggestions for practicing Not-Thinking. Try them for a few minutes throughout the day—while sitting at your desk, while standing in line—almost anywhere will do. It does take practice though, because we’re surprisingly addicted to discursive thinking. 1. Open the five sense doors to whatever is happening around you.the impulsive energy of the mind [...] causes us to become bored with what is in front of us. It impels us to start looking for new stimuli, which is what makes us lose direction.’ When you’re immersed in discursive thinking, it’s easy to forget that there are five experiences that are available outside your analytical mind: what you’re seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and feeling physically. Try letting your attention rest on what’s coming in at these five sense doors. You’ll find a rich and fascinating world right at your fingertips—with that last sense door, literally at your fingertips, perhaps in the feel of soft material against your body. The four emotions that nurture happiness in Buddhism: Joy, Kindness, Compassion and Equanimity [the state of eliminating anger and confusion] Ryunosuke talks a lot about Klesha’s which are something I haven’t heard of before. It’s basically a disturbing emotion, such as a fear or ignorance, which clouds our minds, and leads to unhealthy actions.