self conscious
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“Hate can breed more negative emotions. It can affect personal and professional relationships. Hatred changes the chemistry in the brain. It stimulates the area in the brain responsible for planning and execution of motion. This part triggers aggression while feeling hateful to either defend or attack. This also creates ‘fight or flight’ responses and increases the levels of two hormones: cortisol and adrenaline. These hormones can cause weight gain, insomnia, anxiety, depression, and chronic illness. Hatred also triggers the mind to try to predict what the person being hated may do as a defense mechanism. This leads to further anxiety, restlessness, obsessive thinking, and paranoia, which affects overall mental health.”
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The Psychology of Hypocrisy – Why We Do it & How to Stop
What is Hypocrisy?
Hypocrisy is defined as the practice of claiming to have moral standards or views to which one’s own behavior (or the behavior of people in our family or tribe) does not meet. It is a pretense of morality that cloaks our inability to meet some predetermined moral code.
“At the root of hypocrisy is a strong desire to be loved and accepted. The fear of humility and judgment is so powerful, that we use doublethink and cognitive dissonance to avoid facing ourselves.”
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What is Self-Deception?
Self-deception is the act of fooling yourself into believing something that is not true or denying aspects of reality to avoid discomfort or cognitive dissonance. Signs of self-deception include:
- Rationalizing or justifying your actions or beliefs
- Ignoring evidence that contradicts your beliefs
- Minimizing or dismissing the effect of your behavior on yourself or others
- Avoiding self-reflection or introspection to maintain a preferred self-image
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‘The art of Zen’ education resource: History of Zen Buddhism
“Zen is a school of Buddhism which emphasises the practice of meditation as the key ingredient to awakening ones inner nature, compassion and wisdom. The practice of meditation (Zen in Japanese) as a means of attaining enlightenment was introduced, as we have seen, by the Buddha himself. Zen approached Buddhism in the most direct, simple and practical way. It grasped that enlightenment was the most fundamental aspect of Buddhism and thus did away with sacred scriptures, rituals and objects of worship, all of which had become a major aspect of Mahayana Buddhism in India.”
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Why Do Some People Always Get Lost?
“Results like these suggest that an individual’s life experience may be one of the biggest determinants of how well they navigate. Indeed, experience may even underlie one of the most consistent findings—and clichés—in navigation: that men tend to perform better than women. Turns out this gender gap is more a question of culture and experience than of innate ability.”
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The Origins of Zen
In Zen Buddhism, the main goal is not exactly “Nirvana” as understood in some other Buddhist traditions. Instead, Zen focuses on achieving “satori” or “kensho,” which are terms for enlightenment or awakening. This awakening is a direct, experiential realization of one’s true nature or the true nature of reality.
While Nirvana in broader Buddhist context often refers to the liberation from the cycle of birth and death (samsara) and the end of suffering, Zen emphasizes a more immediate and experiential understanding. Zen practice involves meditation (zazen), mindfulness, and direct experience, often guided by a teacher, to awaken to the present moment and one’s true self.
In essence, while both Zen and other Buddhist traditions aim for enlightenment and liberation, Zen’s approach is more focused on direct, immediate experience and awakening in the present moment.
By ChatGPT