Wednesday, June 5, 2024

Driven by a Surge of Impulses

“Much of the time we are driven by a relentless and insistent surge of impulses. We notice this in quiet moments of reflection, but usually just get carried along on the crest of its wave. Until, that is, we crash once more onto the rocks of recriminatory self-criticism, and from there into moods and depressions.”

“Worrying about what a friend said can preoccupy us so completely that it isolates us from the rest of our experience. The world of colors and shapes, sounds, smells, tastes and sensations becomes dull and remote… We feel cut off and adrift.

“To stop and pay attention to what is happening in the moment is one way of snapping out of such fixations. It is also a reasonable definition of meditation.”

— Stephen Batchelor, Buddhism Without Belief

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