Alan Watts: Identifying with thoughts

A drug-free mindfulness prescription (1)

“Mindfulness.” Most of us have heard of it. Some of us may have actually tried to practice it. But how many of us know exactly what it means?

This troublingly vague term can be applied to almost anything: mindful breathing, mindful cooking, mindful cleaning, mindful walking, mindful dishwashing, mindful coloring-in.

• Is it just another way of describing good old-fashioned relaxation?
• A fancy form of meditation?
• Or an offshoot of that other mental-health buzz term, cognitive behavioral therapy (mindfulness-based stress reduction)?

The truth is that modern mindfulness is a well-defined clinical treatment [in psychology] for a surprisingly wide range of conditions. It has been used by clinicians for five decades and, during that time, has accumulated a huge weight of evidence to support its efficacy.

From stress and anxiety to depression, psychosis, and pain management, mindfulness has helped millions of people across the world with an array of mental, and even some physical, illnesses.

Even if one is not actually sick, practicing mindfulness has the capacity to improve the quality of everyone’s day-to-day life.

• Western Buddhist monk Ven. Analayo has done a deep dive to define "mindfulness" (sati) in its original Buddhist context, which so influenced the field of Western psychology.

Founder of Taoism Laozi/Lao Tzu

Fundamentally, mindfulness is a mental practice that allows us to focus our attention on the present moment, helping to counteract excessive rumination and worrying (falling into the past or leaping into the future) to become more aware of our own thoughts and feelings, thereby enabling us to better control or accept them.

It is derived from the Buddhist term sati, and the Hindu Sanskrit term smrti (“memory”), meaning “to remember to observe.

• Related video: Empower Your Mind Essential Strategies for Healing and Control (Francesca Tighinean) Five psychology tricks we need to know to control ourselves

“It’s about becoming aware of the messages your body sends you,” says Angie Ward, chief experience officer and tutor at the teacher training organization MindfulnessUK.

“Often our body picks up on signals of emotional discomfort before our brain does. By learning to tune in to the body’s responses, we can make ourselves more aware of how we are feeling and try to respond to our feelings and the situation, rather than react to them in unhelpful ways. Noticing our thoughts can stop the mind from wandering into difficult places as we can choose to bring it back to the moment. It’s not about trying to feel Zen; it’s not about trying to feel anything. It’s just about noticing the way you already feel.”

Clinical use of mindfulness in the West is widely thought to have been started by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, professor emeritus of medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, who took ancient Buddhist applications surrounding meditation, yoga, and spirituality and applied them in a secular, scientific way.

Mindfulness pioneer Jon Kabat-Zinn drew on ancient Buddhist ideas surrounding meditation, yoga and spirituality - Julian Simmonds © Provided by The Telegraph

In 1979 Kabat-Zinn founded the Stress Reduction Clinic, devising an eight-week program of what he called Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MSBR).

There, he invited medics to send him patients for whom usual medications and treatments hadn’t worked. He began to utilize the ideas around meditation together with the scientific methods in which he was trained.

It quickly proved popular and results were positive. He went on to publish various books and academic papers detailing the positive impact MSBR had on stress and the management of chronic physical pain.

• EMF Meter Digital Color Screen Electromagnetic Field EMF Detector Handheld Electromagnetic Field Radiation Tester Temu

As awareness grew, medical professionals began extending the use of mindfulness to other conditions.

The (blue) chicken of depression

“In the late Nineties we began using it in the prevention of depression,” says Mark Williams, professor of clinical psychology at Oxford University and co-author of several books on mindfulness, including the most recent, Deeper Mindfulness.

“We found it helped people to step back and observe their own negative thoughts and bring them under control. Through daily mindful meditations you can actually train your brain to notice the onset of these thoughts and observe them as they come and go without allowing them to spiral into something deeper.”

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) was evaluated and trialed in the UK as a preventive measure against depression and first included in the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence guidelines in 2004.

Today, MBCT is included in the guidelines as a means of managing various types of chronic pain, tinnitus, multiple sclerosis, and more.

Lost Connections: Depressed...Hope (Johann Hari)

Numerous studies have proved it to be effective in helping address mental health problems in the workplace, at universities, and in schools.

“I use elements of mindfulness with a wide range of patients affected by neurological conditions, such as acquired brain injuries, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson’s,” says Dr. Nicolò Zarotti, a clinical psychologist at the Manchester Centre for Clinical Neurosciences and honorary clinical lecturer at Lancaster University.

“It helps facilitate their psychological adjustment to living with a life-changing condition, boost resilience and enhance acceptance.”

MBCT can help treat chronic pain, tinnitus, multiple sclerosis. and more - JLco - Julia Amaral/iStockphoto © Provided by The Telegraph 

So how does it actually work? Prof/ Mark Williams prescribes a program of mindful meditations designed to help patients focus their thought patterns.

“We start with something called a body scan, where you are encouraged to focus attention like a spotlight on the body, starting with the feet and then moving on to other parts,” he says.

“It helps to control attention. Depression is very distracting; it pulls the mind in various directions. Learning to put all of your attention in one place helps prevent that.”

Next, he encourages exercises that focus on breathing techniques. “Modern neuroscience has found that mindful breathing techniques help regulate your nervous system and actually uncouple the parts of the brain that focus on the body and the parts that are involved in overthinking and rumination.”

This process is known as “decentering.”

“It’s not about suppressing negative thoughts,” says Prof. Williams. “It’s about noticing them but not getting completely entangled in them. You give your brain something else to do other than worrying and ruminating.”

It is a robust and often challenging process. “From my own personal experience, it can be tough because it sometimes forces you to really identify and acknowledge your most negative thoughts and feelings,” says Angie Ward.

Psychology, intelligence, anxiety, depression

“But the idea is to befriend them. We all have an in-built negativity bias that encourages us to look out for threats that aren’t always there. If people learn to observe their thoughts within their practice regularly, the science shows we can actually change our neural pathways, becoming more resilient to negative thinking.” This is called neuroplasticity.

Studies have shown MBCT to be as effective in the treatment of depression and anxiety as both antidepressants (such as SSRIs) and cognitive behavioral therapy.

“The problem with an antidepressant is that when people eventually decide to come off it, they tend to relapse into depression,” says Prof. Williams, “whereas mindfulness equips you with the tools you need to cope with mental health problems whenever they arise.”

Mindfulness groups are one of the most common forms of practice. More: Continued in Part 2

• The drug-free prescription for stress, depression, anxiety, and pain: Have you tried it?
• VIDEO: When I try to be Zen (comical)
• Recommended ‘I used to be a sceptic, but now I know mindfulness really works’
• Read more: Sign up to the Front Page (The Telegraph.co.uk) newsletter free: essential guide to the day's agenda from The Telegraph - direct to inboxes seven days a week.
• 8 physical ways to diffuse anxiety when breathing won't work
• The Telegraph via MSN.com; Amber Larson, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

A drug-free mindfulness prescription (2)

Meditation Mindfulness Sticker from Meditation Stickers

CONTINUED FROM PART 1: Mindfulness groups are one of the most common forms of practice.

Chasing the Scream: Truth About Addiction

“This not only helps you learn the meditations but also provides a support network,” says Prof. Williams. “But there are a plethora of apps, books, and online resources now available that people can turn to if they don’t like the idea of group work and can’t get a referral to a specialist. There is a growing body of evidence that these sorts of resources can be just as useful.”

Mindfulness groups provide a vital support network - HRAUN/E+ Mindfulness groups provide a vital support network - HRAUN/E+ © Provided by The Telegraph.

Even for those without clinical conditions, mindfulness is a useful tool in the daily battle with life’s stresses and strains. The mind can be a chaotic place if left unguarded.

Thoughts spiral, worries inflate, worst-case scenarios will run riot unless we develop a mental filing system to keep everything organized.

“It’s about developing a quality of consciousness focused on the present moment,” says Dr. Zarotti. “And it plays a significant role in cognitive reappraisal, an emotion regulation strategy where you take a step back from an emotional event, rethink it and change your reaction to it – to focus not on what the emotion does to you but rather what you do with it.”

And it’s not all about dealing with negative emotions. Mindfulness can also help enrich our experience of the positives.

“With practice, you can become more aware of all the good things around you that might sometimes go unnoticed in busy, stressful lives,” says Ward. “You will notice positive thoughts and feelings when they arrive and perhaps appreciate them more. You might well find yourself becoming more alert to beauty in nature.”

This is just one of the ways in which you can tell if mindfulness is working for you. “I use the analogy of gardening,” says Prof. Williams. “You can plant a seed, but you don’t expect to see the plant sprout the very next day. You keep watering every day and try to be patient.

We suggest trying it for eight weeks before seeing results. Take 10 to 20 minutes to yourself every day to practice mindful meditations. Don’t judge it. Don’t dwell on whether it’s working or not. Just wait. Eventually you will start to notice the benefits. Many people start to feel calmer and more centered within just a couple of weeks.”

It might be scientifically proven to work but there is still something about mindfulness that feels like an art. There is a subtlety to the way in which it works that requires patience and a certain amount of faith. But if the idea of training your brain like a muscle to resist pain, worry, depression and negativity sounds like a lot of hard work, it doesn’t have to be. “Some forms of meditation and therapy ask to elicit a change in your experience,” says Ward.

“But mindfulness is all about just observing the way you already are. By being more aware of yourself, you can take better control of how you feel.” How to get started Professor of Clinical Psychology Mark Williams is the author of Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Finding Peace in a Frantic World that recommends the following exercises:

1. Learning to focus attention

I can change my mind and place my attention?

We often find ourselves distracted. Here is something to practice for a few minutes each day that helps your mind to settle. It takes time to learn this, so don’t worry if it feels hard at first. Start by finding a comfortable posture, either lying down or sitting, spending a few moments bringing your awareness to your whole body, allowing yourself to be just as you are, as best you can.

Find a comfortable posture, either lying down or sitting - vgajic/E+ © Provided by The Telegraph

When you’re ready, bring attention to your feet for 10 breaths. See if it is possible to feel whatever sensations are in your feet – being curious about the ever-changing patterns you find here.

Then, shift your attention to the contact with whatever is supporting you (the seat if you’re sitting) for 10 breaths, then your hands for 10 breaths, and eventually coming to focus on the sensations of your breath itself for 10 breaths.

Then, in your own time, choose whether to stay with the breath as your focus or return your attention to your feet, your hands or the contact with your seat or mat if you’re lying down.

Continue to sustain your attention on the place in the body that you have chosen as your focus for 20 breaths or longer, gently bringing back your attention whenever you find that it has wandered away from where you had intended it to be.

In this way, discover for yourself what supports you in steadying yourself, so you can use this at any time of day or night when the mind feels over-busy or distracted.

2. Sensing the flavor of experience

Anything that arises in the mind or the body automatically brings with it a sense of pleasantness or unpleasantness. This is called the “feeling tone” of an experience.

It can be very obvious or more subtle, but if we are not aware of it, it can be a tipping point, making us react in ways that we might later regret. This short meditation can help you notice the flavor of experience moment by moment and provide a vital pause before you decide how to respond.

First, settle yourself by bringing your awareness to your feet on the floor, or the contact with your seat, or your hands on your lap, or your breath. Keep your attention focused on one of these anchors for 10 breaths. Then, after a while, expand the focus of your awareness to the whole body.

Stay here for 20 breaths, or more if you choose, and when you notice any sensation in the body, register whether it’s pleasant, unpleasant or neither.

Expand the focus of your awareness to the whole body - Olga Rolenko/Moment RF © Provided by The Telegraph

Then, when you’re ready, register the “feeling tone” of thoughts and emotions that come up. This means taking a moment to register whether any of them are pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. Allow this awareness of thoughts and feelings to last for around two minutes if you can.

And if a feeling tone is hard to register, let it go and wait for something else to arise, always aware throughout the meditation that if anything, at any time, seems overwhelming, you can bring the focus of your attention back to your breath, or your feet on the floor, the contact with the chair, or your hands on your lap.

3. Dealing with the over-busy mind

"Don't just do something, sit there."

When you get very busy, it is hard to switch off. Your mind continues to work in the background – rehashing events of the day or planning actions for tomorrow, even when you’d rather take a rest. Many of these actions may never be taken, and yet they can interfere with taking wise and necessary action.

This meditation helps allow you to let go of needless action – at least for now.

Start by settling yourself for a few moments – attending to the sensations of the feet, contact with the seat, the hands or breath, then, for a few moments more, coming to rest in awareness of the whole body, sitting here.

Then, at a certain point, direct your attention to whatever is arising in mind and body from moment to moment: sensations, sounds, thoughts, feelings – whatever they are. Take each moment as it comes, breath by breath, with openness, curiosity and kindness.

Allow yourself to be carried away by daydreams - Westend61 © Provided by The Telegraph

If only there were an easier way to get a grip

From time to time, you will likely become “lost” in thoughts, carried away by daydreams or plans or worries. As soon as you notice this has happened, on the next out breath, say inwardly “no action needed right now”. In saying this, you are not trying to make yourself passive, but instead you are practicing allowing irrelevant actions to fade so you can more easily see what is the best and wisest way to respond to the big choices in your life.

• Recommended ‘I used to be a sceptic, but now I know mindfulness really works’
• Read more: Sign up to the Front Page (The Telegraph.co.uk) newsletter free: essential guide to the day's agenda from The Telegraph - direct to inboxes seven days a week.
• The drug-free prescription for stress, depression, anxiety, and pain: Have you tried it?
• VIDEO: When I try to be Zen (comical)
• 8 physical ways to diffuse anxiety when breathing won't work
• The Telegraph via MSN.com; Amber Larson, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Complete Guide to Buddhism, Mindful Meditation

Seth Auberon, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation) (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Who needs practice when one can just read about it? It's a new year and I want to learn to meditate, be mindful, and reduce stress. I could sit, but that's hard. My mind is curious, and maybe this book writer found something that will make it easier. Could 59 raters be wrong? Yes, but it's better than hitting the cushion too quickly.

The Complete Guide to Buddhism, How to Meditate & Mindfulness Meditation to Reduce Stress, Anxiety & Find Lasting Happiness, for Beginners to Advanced

Whew, what a title. It's a 3 in 1 bundle in the Kindle Edition by author Harini Anand. It has a 4.4 out of 5 stars with 59 ratings.

Reduce stress while increasing calmness, clarity, and happiness even for complete beginners who are not Buddhists.

Mindfulness and meditation are simple practices available to all... Research over the past two decades by the California State University Department of Psychology broadly supports the claim that the practices have beneficial effects on physical and mental health.

Billionaire hedge fund manager Ray Dalio was quoted as saying, “Meditation more than anything in my life was the biggest ingredient of whatever success I’ve had.”

Plus, one is not required to have "faith" in the Buddha or live secluded in a distant monastery to reap the rewards.

This means anyone can increase wellbeing to deal with stress in a practical way while learning about Buddhism, mindfulness, and meditation as one wishes.

This three-in-one bundle includes:

• Buddhism for Beginners: Ancient Strategies for Lasting Happiness, Overcoming Stress, Anxiety & Developing a Zen Mind in the Modern World
• Buddhism: Discover Ancient Strategies for Beginners or Advanced to Achieve Lasting Happiness, Mindfulness & Calm Stress in the Modern World
• How to Meditate: Practicing Mindfulness & Meditation to Reduce Stress, Anxiety & Find Lasting Happiness Even if Your Not Religious, a Beginner or Experienced

[One knows there has to be an editing problem with these books if one of the titles contains a spelling error no one caught, where Your should be You're.]

Key concepts discussed in this bundle include:

• Over 9 different ways of meditation, choosing the best way for each practitioner
• What is Buddhism and what do Buddhists believe?
• Elite level meditations used daily by superstar basketball player Kobe Bryant
• Top tips for practicing mindfulness in everyday life
• The benefits of Moving Meditation plus 3 ways to start practicing them now
• Manage anxiety, stress, depression and sleep
• Why chasing success and happiness is making us miserable – and what to do instead
• The three major Buddhist divisions to know about
• How karma affects everyone and will catch up with us eventually
• The fastest way to start the spiritual path without living in a temple
• The Four Noble Truths and how they can end suffering
• Buddhism for kids to help children learn from our mistakes and live a happy life
• and much, much more!

The teachings of Buddhism, mindfulness, and meditation are straightforward and can be understood by anyone even if not religious. Begin the journey today towards stress-free, happy living with this bundle.

Meditation at the Hammer Museum, UCLA

Hammer.UCLA.edu; Ananda, Jen B. (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Wisdom Quarterly

Special Programs

ONLINE: Mindful Awareness Meditation

Thursdays, 12:30–1:00pm PDT

Since 2010, the UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center has been holding a weekly meditation at the Hammer on Thursdays at 12:30 p.m. For the next few months, these meditations will be held weekly via Zoom. Our hope is that mindfulness can be a refuge for you in challenging times.

Join us online via Zoom.
Join by phone: find your local number

As always, the audio recording will also be posted on the UCLA MARC website and UCLA Mindful app.

---

Mindful Awareness Meditation is the moment-by-moment process of actively and openly observing one’s physical, mental, and emotional experiences. Mindfulness has scientific support as a means to reduce stress, improve attention, boost the immune system, reduce emotional reactivity, and promote a general sense of health and well-being.

The free weekly drop-in sessions take place in the comfortable seats of the Billy Wilder Theater and are open to all who are interested in learning how to live more presently in life. No special clothing is required, and participants are welcome to stay for 5 minutes or enjoy the entire 30-minute session.

Sessions are led by Diana Winston and other instructors from the UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center. Visit www.marc.ucla.edu to learn more about the UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center.

Mindful awareness sessions

Listen to all the sessions going back to 2012, and sign up for the podcast on UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center website.

ATTENDING THIS PROGRAM?
ALL HAMMER PROGRAMS ARE FREE

Location: Billy Wilder Theater
Ticketing: This drop-in session is not ticketed. Seating is first come, first served.
Parking: Under the museum, $7 for first 3 hours, with validation (cash only). Get validated in the Wilshire Lobby.

Read our food, bag check, and photo policies.

♿ Accessibility information

All public programs are free and made possible by a major gift from an anonymous donor. Generous support is also provided by Susan Bay Nimoy and Leonard Nimoy, Good Works Foundation and Laura Donnelley, the Elizabeth Bixby Janeway Foundation, The Samuel Goldwyn Foundation, an anonymous donor, and all Hammer members.

Readings are supported by GRoW @ Annenberg.

Digital presentation of Hammer public programs is made possible by The Billy and Audrey L. Wilder Foundation.

Hammer public programs are presented online in partnership with the #KeepThePromise campaign—a movement promoting social justice and human rights through the arts.

100 Benefits of Not Masturbating

Rob Norris (novice Ven. Bhante Rakkhita Samanera, facebook.com), Ashley Wells, Sheldon S., Seth Auberon, Ellie Askew, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

1. Clearer thinking

2. Better breathing

3. Smoother mood transitions

4. Sharper mental dexterity

5. Better articulation

6. Greater memory

7. Deal with stress more effectively

8. Increase energy levels

9. Reduce depression

10. Deeper interactions with others

11. Improve integrity

12. Boost confidence

13. Remove social anxiety

14. Better focus on task at hand

15. Enjoy simple pleasures more deeply

16. Increase faith in ability to control negative mental triggers

17. Remove risk of arrest and legal troubles

18. Increase joy

19. Renew self-respect

20. Gain free time

21. Need less sleep

22. Have more cash available

23. More interest in trying new things

24. Increase humility

25. Be able to ask others for help

26. Better partnership with dates and mates

27. Better ability to learn and remember

28. Travel free of paranoia through border checks

29. No worry about being found by somebody

30. Stop supporting organized crime

31. Have true bonds with friends

32. Better fitness level

33. Open new doors to spiritual world

34. Confidence to take on any task

35. Ability to start conversation free of insecurity

36. Get rid of paranoia

37. Increase motivation for self-improvement

38. Feel wholeness not reliant on external sources

39. Be free of enslaving need for porn

40. No need to feel guilt or embarrassment

41. Save time

42. Communicate more

43. Renew sensitivity

44. More energy than before

45. Deeper philosophical thinking

46. Have way more patience

47. Increase brainpower and mental endurance

48. Regain focus to finish one job before starting a new one

49. Wake up feeling more rested

50. Restore wit

51. Improve ability to relate

52. Regain job satisfaction

53. Stronger mental control over moods and thoughts

54. Better crisis management

55. Experience more frequent natural highs

56. Inspire other people

57. Develop healthy habits

58. Have a  sharper mental game

59. Increase muscle tone

60. Heighten your sense of humor

61. Have more love towards life

62. Better response to emotionally charged situations

63. Renew sense of being alive

64. Find it easier to get out of bed

65. Develop maturity and competent coping mechanisms

66. Always feel in control

67. Stronger sense of optimism

68. Better control of life skills like exercising

69. Improve quality of productive work

70. Be more present for family and friends

71. Have more agility and awareness

72. Free up worry about porn

73. End craving for something when bored or stressed

74. Better health and wellness

75. Reduce annoyance and anger

76. Communicate feelings better

77. Improve self-esteem dramatically

78. Be a more interesting person

79. Clearer memory

80. Have more laughs

81. Stop panic attacks

82. Feel more power and freedom

83. Enjoy better teamwork

84. Reduce constant anxiety

85. Reduce eye strain and need for drops

86. Reduce tissue and sock consumption

87. Enjoy making more things happen

88. Enjoy the sun and daylight

89. Enjoy observing other lives around

90. Better emotional health

91. Save emotional energy

92. Feel more intense emotions without being ruled by them

93. Have strength to keep going when the going gets tough

94. Enjoy keeping promises

95. Enjoy a more relaxed mental state

96. Improve courage

97. Reduce mental clutter

98. Increase trust

99. Enjoy more sharing

100. Have more success.

STRESSED OUT, best song of 2015? (video)

Twenty One Pilots; Genius.com; CC Liu, Ashley Wells, Seth Auberon, Wisdom Quarterly

Twenty One Pilots got famous with "Tear in My Heart" (official twentyonepilots.com).

 

It's tough being animated

(Fueled by Ramen) "Stressed Out" by Josh and Tyler as Twenty One Pilots, a music video from the album Blurryface (iTunes) available now.

LYRICS (Genius)

I wish I found some better sounds no one's ever heard
I wish I had a better voice that sang some better words
I wish I found some chords in an order that is new
I wish I didn't have to rhyme every time I sang
 
I was told when I get older all my fears would shrink
But now I'm insecure, and I care what people think

My name's Blurryface and I care what you think
My name's Blurryface and I care what you think

[CHORUS]

It's tough being a  kid.

Wish we could turn back time to the good old days
When our momma sang us to sleep, but now we're stressed out
Wish we could turn back time to the good old days
When our momma sang us to sleep, but now we're stressed out
 
Sometimes a certain smell will take me back to when I was young
How come I'm never able to identify where it's coming from?
I'd make a candle out of it, if I ever found it
Try to sell it, never sell out of it, I'd probably only sell one
Give it to my brother, cause we have the same nose, same clothes, home grown, a stone's throw from creek we used to roam
But it would remind us of when nothing really mattered
Out of student loans and tree house homes, we all would take the latter [ladder (lol)]

My name's Blurryface and I care what you think
My name's Blurryface and I care what you think

(JimKim) Cursing my government...she's my carver or my "karma"?

See our "Emotional Roadshow."

Wish we could turn back time to the good old days
When our momma sang us to sleep, but now we're stressed out
Wish we could turn back time to the good old days
When our momma sang us to sleep, but now we're stressed out

Used to play pretend, give each other different names, we would build a rocket ship, and then we'd fly it far away
Used to dream of outer space, but now they're laughing at our face singing, "Wake up, you need to make money!" yeah
Used to dream of outer space, but now they're laughing at our face singing, "Wake up, you need to make money!" yeah

Wish we could turn back time to the good old days
When our momma sang us to sleep but now we're stressed out
Wish we could turn back time to the good old days
When our momma sang us to sleep but now we're stressed out
 

It's tough being a toddler.

We used to play pretend, used to play pretend, money
We used to play pretend, wake up, you need the money
Used to play pretend, used to play pretend, money
We used to play pretend, wake up, you need the money

Used to play pretend, give each other different names, we would build a rocket ship, and then we'd fly it far away
Used to dream of outer space, but now they're laughing at our face saying, "Wake up, you need to make money!" yeah

What is "stressed out"?
Ven. Nyanatiloka edited by Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly

Buddhist Dictionary (Ven. Nyanatiloka)

(1) "pain" or painful feeling, which may be bodily or mental. (See sensation, vedanā).
  
(2) "Stress (distress and eustress), disappointment, unsatisfactoriness, suffering, ill, woe, misery. As the first of the Four Noble Truths (sacca) and the second of the Three Marks or Characteristics of Existence (ti-lakkhana).

Existence in the world makes me cry.

The Buddhist term dukkha is not limited to painful experience as under (1), but refers to the unsatisfactory nature and the general insecurity of ALL conditioned existence and phenomena which, on account of their impermanence, are all liable to disappointment, pain, and suffering -- and this includes also pleasurable experience.

Hence "unsatisfactoriness" (lack of fulfillment, dissatisfaction, lack of an ability to find fulfillment in phenomenal things and planes of rebirth) or "liability to suffering" would be more adequate translations of the term, if not for stylistic reasons.

Therefore, the first noble truth does not deny the existence of pleasurable experience, as is often wrongly assumed. This is illustrated by the following Buddhist texts:
 

Ahh, that's it!

"Seeking satisfaction in the world, followers, I had pursued my own way. That satisfaction in the world I found. Insofar as satisfaction exists in the world, I have well perceived it by wisdom.

"Seeking for misery in the world, followers, I had pursued my own way. That misery in the world I found. Insofar as misery exists in the world, I have well perceived it by wisdom.

"Seeking for an escape from the world, followers, I had pursued my own way. That escape from the world I found. Insofar as an escape from the world exists, I have well perceived it by wisdom" (A.iii.105).

Definition

Wisdom Quarterly and AccessToInsight.org

Dukkha means not getting what I want and getting what I don't want...and no fulfillment.

 

What is the Buddha's definition of stress, suffering, unsatisfactoriness, or dukkha? "Birth is dukkha, aging is dukkha, death is dukkha; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair are dukkha; association with the unloved is dukkha; separation from the loved is dukkha; not getting what one wants is dukkha. In short, the Five Aggregates of Clinging are dukkha" (SN 56.11).

What's "dukkha"?

NOTE: No single English word adequately captures the full depth, range, and subtlety of the crucial Pali language term dukkha. Over the years, many translations of the word have been used ("stress," "unsatisfactoriness," "suffering,"  "disappointment," etc.) Each has its own advantages in a given context, but it also has its shortcomings.

There is value in not letting oneself get too comfortable with ANY one particular translation of the word, since the entire thrust of Buddhist practice is the broadening and deepening of one's understanding of dukkha until its roots are finally exposed and eradicated once and for all.

A helpful rule of thumb: As soon as you think you've found the single best translation for the word, think again. For no matter how we describe dukkha, it is actually always deeper, subtler, and more unsatisfactory than that. More

Why do we stay?

"If there were no satisfaction to be found in the world, beings would not be attached to the world....

"If there were no misery to be found in the world, beings would not be repelled by the world....

"If there were no escape from the world, beings could not escape therefrom" (A.iii.106)."

• See dukkhatā
• For texts on the "Truth of Suffering (Stress)," see The Word of the Buddha by Ven. Nyanatiloka (BPS.lk) and Path to Deliverance by Ven. Nyanatiloka (BPS)
• See The Three Basic Facts of Existence II: Suffering (Wheel 191/193)

Wisdom for the Constantly Connected (book)

OpenLibrary.org; Wisdom Quarterly

From going online to learning what it means to OM on Reuters, it was recently reported that we Americans are willing to go longer without friends and sex than we are to be deprived of our addiction to the Internet.

We spend more time on our computers, BlackBerrys, cell phones [mobiles], and iPods than we do with each other or even with ourselves. Using these technologies becomes a compulsive rather than intentional or creative process. Instead of increasing our productivity, multitasking is stressing us out!

Wisdom 2.0 Conference (Huff Po)

In Wisdom 2.0, Soren Gordhamer offers sound guidance to millions of people trying to find balance between using technology and staying human.

Humorous and fun, both editions provide effective, time-tested tools for reducing stress and nurturing creativity in a technology-saturated world.

Dr. Gabor Mate (live in North America)

(DrGaborMate.com)

• When the Body Says No: Taking Care of Self While Taking Care of Others
• Building Our Children’s Resilience in a Stressed Culture
• Taming the Hungry Ghost: Combining Science and Compassion in Healing Addiction
• The Biology of Loss: Recognizing the Consequences of Impaired Attachments and Fostering Resilience
• Kids in Chaos: Recognizing the Consequences of Impaired Attachments and Fostering Resilience
• When Society Makes Us Sick: The Social Roots of Disease
• Women, Addictions and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)
• The Archaeology of Silence: Working with Clients, Reading Between the Lines

• Stories of Strength: Perspectives on Mental Well-Being
• The Biology of Loss: A Biopsychosocial Perspective on Childhood Mental Health
• Fostering Health In A Toxic Society: The Social Basis of Illness and Well-Being
• Taming the Hungry Ghost: Combining Science and Compassion to Heal Addictions
• Beyond The Medical Model / The Hungry Ghost
• Hungry Ghosts, When The Body…, Scattered Minds: Dr. Maté at the 2012 BCAEA Conference
• Beyond Addiction: The Yogic Path to Recovery