Samadhi, intention, direction

Notes I made a couple of weeks ago while listening to Rick Hanson, author of Buddha’s Brain:, talking about samadhi (concentration). This advice resonates well with my own practice, wanted to make note of it here for reference (mine and yours).

  • Set an intention – which sets the mind to a particular direction.
  • Relax, settle down.
  • Help yourself feel safer.
  • Activate positive emotion. Think about things that gladden the heart (activating dopamine and norepinephrine).
  • Keep the critters out. The voices in your head aren’t necessarily friendly or helpful.
  • Build a wholesome neural structure.
  • Intend and sense/evaluate benefits – “How’s that going for you?”

Author: Jon Lebkowsky

Co-wrangler of Plutopia News Network, cohost Radio Free Plutopia. Podcaster, writer, dharma observer, enzyme. Former editor/publisher, FringeWare Review; associate editor at bOING bOING and Factsheet Five; writer at Mondo 2000, 21C, Wired, Whole Earth Review, Austin Chronicle; sub-editor at Millennium Whole Earth Catalog; blogger at Worldchanging. Digital culture maven, podcaster, writer, dharma observer, enzyme. On The WELL, Cohost of VC (virtual communities), Media, and Civil War (.ind) conferences.

One thought on “Samadhi, intention, direction”

  1. This is a great book – accessible without being too light. It does a huge service for both the research field of interpersonal neurobiology and the practice path of Buddhism. Together these fields support what we need today, a way to really grow up as mature adults and wake up to our deepest and most creative nature. Thanks for mentioning it. As a psychologist and Zen priest, it see it as a welcome sign that these two fields are integrated more fully explored in this way.

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