Buddhist Hacks for Managing Anxiety and Overthinking
TL;DR
- Employing the "There is a body" phrase as a mindfulness anchor broadens attention to the entire physical form, preventing over-efforting and manipulation of the breath by establishing a relaxed, full-body awareness.
- The "Whatever works" principle encourages adaptive meditation practice, allowing individuals to adjust techniques based on personal needs and temporal effectiveness, rather than adhering to rigid, universal instructions.
- Phrases like "Walking through space" and "Walking through the mind" de-emphasize the identification with a fixed, embodied self, fostering a more fluid perception of experience by shifting the framework of awareness.
- The "Is this useful" question acts as a critical filter against unproductive rumination, distinguishing between constructive problem-solving and habitual, anxiety-driven thought loops by assessing the practical value of mental content.
- "Cowboy dharma" involves the decisive, non-averse abandonment of highly seductive, unskillful thought patterns, akin to shooting them out of the sky, to prevent being carried away by their compelling narratives.
- The "Dead end" phrase serves as a preemptive, loving "no" to unproductive mental loops, recognizing that certain thought processes lead nowhere and are therefore not worth pursuing, thereby conserving mental energy.
- Recognizing "practice assessment tapes" involves becoming aware of the neurotic tendency to constantly evaluate one's meditation progress, allowing for a more organic and less judgmental unfolding of the practice.
Deep Dive
Joseph Goldstein, a prominent Buddhist teacher, offers practical "hacks" derived from Buddhist principles to manage anxiety and overthinking. These insights, presented as concise phrases, serve as mental tools for both meditation practice and daily life, aiming to cultivate greater ease and clarity. The core utility of these phrases lies in their ability to disrupt habitual patterns of mental distress by offering alternative perspectives and actionable mental adjustments.
The utility of these phrases is demonstrated through several key concepts. "There is a body" serves as an anchor for full-body awareness, creating a larger framework for attention during seated meditation. This approach helps to avoid over-efforting or manipulating the breath by resting attention on the entire body's experience, fostering a sense of ease. This phrase also has profound implications for walking meditation, paradoxically revealing the non-solid nature of the body as sensations are experienced as pure phenomena in space, challenging our conventional sense of a fixed self.
Building on this, phrases like "sensations moving through space," "walking through space," "walking in a dream," and "walking through the mind" offer progressively broader frameworks for awareness during movement. These expand the sense of self beyond the physical body, loosening identification with a fixed identity. This exploration of perspective highlights how our perception is conditioned by our chosen framework, offering a pathway to dissolve the notion of a stable, substantial self and cultivate acceptance of experience's fluid nature.
Goldstein also addresses the common meditator's tendency towards self-judgment and striving with phrases like "practice assessment tapes" and "is this useful." The former identifies the neurotic habit of constantly evaluating one's progress, suggesting mindfulness of this pattern to avoid being caught by it. The latter, "is this useful," acts as a critical filter for rumination and worry, prompting a pragmatic assessment of whether continuing a line of thought is productive or merely entering a "dead end." This concept of "dead end" is also a direct tool to disengage from unproductive thought loops, particularly those fueled by desire or anxiety, by recognizing their lack of forward momentum.
A more active strategy for disengaging from seductive, unskillful thought patterns is "cowboy dharma." This involves a decisive, humorous abandonment of deeply ingrained, problematic thoughts, akin to shooting them out of the sky, rather than passively observing them. This practice, combined with the wisdom of knowing when to say "no" to unproductive mental states, complements the Buddhist emphasis on acceptance, providing a balanced approach to mental discipline.
Ultimately, these Buddhist hacks offer practical, accessible methods for transforming our relationship with anxiety and overthinking. By providing specific mental tools and reframing our perspective, they enable individuals to navigate internal challenges with greater equanimity and insight, fostering a more peaceful and effective engagement with both practice and life.
Action Items
- Audit mindfulness practice: Identify 3-5 recurring "practice assessment tapes" (e.g., judging progress, overthinking outcomes) and note their frequency and impact.
- Implement "dead end" technique: For 2-3 identified unhelpful thought loops (e.g., worry, regret), practice labeling them "dead end" to disengage.
- Explore "walking through space" exercise: Dedicate 5-10 minutes daily to practice whole-body awareness while walking, focusing on the space around you.
- Develop "cowboy dharma" response: For 1-2 highly seductive negative thought patterns, practice immediate, humorous abandonment without aversion.
Key Quotes
"The phrase says be mindful and then in the pali equivalent of quotation marks there is a body and then to the extent necessary for clear knowing and continuous mindfulness that's the whole phrase but because that phrase there is a body is set off in the equivalent of quotation marks it was bikkhu nyanaponika who's a german monk great scholar great practitioner and he wrote a wonderful book about the satipatthana sutta he highlighted the fact that because it's in quotation marks it almost serves it's like the almost the equivalent of a mental note or a label that the phrase can be used to acknowledge something in our practice"
Joseph Goldstein explains that the phrase "there is a body" comes from a foundational Buddhist discourse on mindfulness. He highlights how a scholar noted its use as a mental label or acknowledgment within practice, suggesting its utility for practitioners. This interpretation emphasizes the phrase's role as a practical tool for establishing mindfulness.
"So rather than the narrowing to a particular point or particular area in the body this is taking the whole body the whole body awareness there is a body so just as a sidebar that phrase it's not a metaphysical statement about whether there is a body or there isn't a body it's not about that although it does have some implications for that which i'll mention later so it's just it's really just a way of guiding people as the beginning of sitting to settle into a full body awareness there is a body and then holding that frame and becoming aware of the sensations of the body breathing within the frame rather than narrowing the attention"
Joseph Goldstein clarifies that "there is a body" is not a philosophical statement but a practical instruction to cultivate broad, full-body awareness. He explains that this approach serves as a larger framework for attention, allowing one to rest in the sensations of the entire body breathing, rather than focusing narrowly on a specific point. This method aims to foster ease and prevent over-efforting during meditation.
"So what that does similar to there is a body but even a larger wide angle lens is making space just the visual space you know that we always have making that the holding framework rather than just the whole body being the whole framework so it's walking it's walking aware of the space through which we're walking and so once it's set up it's at that one has to continually be thinking about this as soon as you have that set up in the mind when play a little bit just to get the the felt experience of it i'll just it becoming the space in which the walking is happening it's really interesting it's just a different experience of walking with less identification with the body as being of us being constrained within the limits of our bodily form"
Joseph Goldstein describes the phrase "walking through space" as an extension of "there is a body," employing a wider lens to make the visual space the primary framework for awareness. He explains that this practice shifts the experience of walking by emphasizing the space through which one moves, leading to less identification with the physical limitations of the body. This offers a different perspective on the act of walking.
"So this question might be a good antidote to the practice assessment yes yes it would be very helpful i think and it generally is it's a useful question you know because we can get so frequently lost just in endless thought loops about one thing or another and we think it's important that we keep thinking about it but at a certain point it shows how ridiculous the mind can be because clearly at a certain point it is not useful at all"
Dan Harris suggests that the question "Is this useful?" serves as an antidote to the tendency of "practice assessment tapes," which involves constant self-evaluation during meditation. Joseph Goldstein agrees, explaining that this question helps identify and disengage from unproductive thought loops, highlighting the mind's potential for ridiculousness when it fixates on non-beneficial thinking. The phrase encourages a practical evaluation of mental content.
"So cowboy dharma is when there are certain patterns that just are so seductive to us we cannot give it any airtime at all so that's when take out your six shooter shoot it out of the sky and one necessary frame it has to be done with a sense of humor otherwise it's a version exactly the image to me is a humorous image and that's why it works but that component is really important because if we do it with aversion it's just feeding it"
Joseph Goldstein defines "cowboy dharma" as a practice for dealing with highly seductive thought patterns that are difficult to disengage from. He uses the metaphor of shooting down thoughts with a six-shooter, emphasizing that this must be done with humor and not aversion. Goldstein explains that this approach involves actively abandoning the thought, rather than simply observing it, to prevent being consumed by its pull.
"So I started using the phrase dead end at the front end so as soon as the desire first thought or image or fantasy would arise as soon as it came i would say oh dead end which was just a reminder to me that this does not go anyplace it doesn't lead anywhere and so it made it much easier to let go of it and then just to stay with my practice not to be seduced by it"
Joseph Goldstein describes the phrase "dead end" as a tool used at the initial arising of a thought, image, or fantasy, particularly those driven by desire. He explains that by labeling it a "dead end," it serves as a reminder that the thought leads nowhere productive. Goldstein states this practice makes it easier to release the thought and return to one's meditation practice without being seduced by it.
Resources
External Resources
Books
- "The Four Foundations of Mindfulness" by Bikkhu Nyanaponika - Mentioned as a book that highlighted the phrase "there is a body" from Buddhist discourse.
Websites & Online Resources
- dormancysite.org - Mentioned as a website with recordings of thousands of dharma talks in the Vipassana tradition, searchable by teacher or topic.
- 10 happier with dan harris app - Mentioned as the platform to download to sign up for the free seven-day New Year's meditation challenge.
Other Resources
- The Four Foundations of Mindfulness (Satipatthana Sutta) - Referenced as a foundational Buddhist discourse describing mindfulness practice.
- Cowboy Dharma - A concept described as not giving seductive thoughts any "airtime" and "shooting them out of the sky" with humor and wisdom.
- Dead End - A phrase used as a reminder that certain thoughts or fantasies do not lead anywhere and should be let go.
- Practice Assessment Tapes - A term for the tendency to continually evaluate one's meditation practice, which can be a hindrance if done neurotically.
- Monolithic and Personally Monogrammed - A description of how thoughts or emotions can feel like they are uniquely and undeniably "ours."