How to finally let go of painful memories

(Lotus Dharma Path) As we get older, how to let go of painful memories we've carried our whole life | Buddhism

(LDP) As we age, stay away from these 7 people, even close relatives

Nature of Mind: Why thoughts never stop

(Buddhism Podcast) The Nature of Mind: Why thoughts never stop | Buddhist Wisdom

• Maha Kaccana or Kātyāyana (Buddhist monk)
• Mental proliferation: papanca

Mind cannot be seen, so where is it?

(Buddhism Podcast) The mind cannot be seen, so where is it? | Buddhist Wisdom

But what is aware that it is aware?

There is a mind-door, greenish in hue, near the heart. This heart-mind seems to be the physical base of consciousness, not the brain in the cranium. When meditating, attention can be adverted to the area around the heart. There there is a mirror reflecting experience, consciousness, awareness. If the "mind" were in the brain or the head, it seems attention would be placed there to find it. But it is very much down closer to what in the West we refer to as the seat of our emotions. The Buddha did not specify a physical base for vijñāna (consciousness) or manas (in Early Buddhism). However, he seems to have been well aware of the practical application of locating this base for the sake of realizing the ultimate nature of mind-and-matter (nama-rupa), ultimate mind (a stream of cittas) and ultimate materiality (a stream of kalapas). But this is for advanced practitioners of Buddhist meditation rather than philosophers and speculators. For those, perhaps Zen no-mind would be better or the compelling mind-only (Yogachara) view.

• Buddhism Podcast (video); text by Dhr. Seven, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Wisdom Quarterly

Reality comes before thought (podcast)

(Buddhism Podcast) Reality before thought: Buddhism on seeing things as they really are

We believe we are experiencing reality. But by the time we notice anything — a sound, a face, a feeling — the mind has already named it, judged it, labelled it, and wrapped it in a story.

The Buddha traced this [nearly automatic] process with extraordinary precision, showing how a single moment of sensory contact explodes into an entire world of speculations, fears, and suffering.

He also showed where the stifling chain can be broken — and what remains when we stop adding to, embellishing, and distorting what is already here.

This teaching changed Bāhiya of the Barkcloth's life in a single breath, as he achieved enlightenment more quickly than anyone in the recorded history of Buddhism, having heard a single stanza from the Buddha.

It might change the way we see our own "reality."

• 00:00 - The question that stops the mind
• 03:47 - The trap: searching for a pure reality behind thought
• 07:27 - So what is actually happening?
• 13:29 - Seeing clearly: the space where freedom lives
• 19:08 - The teaching to Bāhiya: the ultimate answer
• 25:52 - The lesson that changes everything
• Reality Before Thought: Buddhism on Seeing Things as They Are

Eckhart Tolle: suffering, drugs, meditation?

(Eckhart Tolle) How to find peace in life [through an intermediate technique toward samadhi]

Then ego stopped, time stopped, all was clear.

Meditation is NOT the "doing," not the technique that takes us to stillness. Doing assumes time. To realize "being," just being, is instantaneous. There is no need to travel there, no need for time, no need for an action or doing. If we could just "be," that would be NOW. The Power of Now is to realize what is true right now, as Eckhart Tolle tried to explain it. We need to suffer until we realize that it is no longer necessary.

But the mind keeps thinking!

Sacred drugs? How to stop getting lost in thoughts | Eckhart Tolle

How to know if we’re really awakened or just pretending?

Don't Feed the Monkey Mind: How to Stop the Cycle of Anxiety, Fear, and Worry

Psychotherapist Jennifer Shannon LMFT and illustrator Doug Shannon have 4.6 out of 5 stars (with 1,327 reviews) helping readers deal with monkey mind. The very things we do to try to control anxiety can make anxiety worse.

This unique guide offers a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)-based approach to help

• recognize the constant chatter of anxious “monkey mind,”
• stop feeding anxious thoughts,
• find the personal peace craved.

Ancient sages compared the human mind to a monkey: constantly chattering, hopping [discursively] from one branch to another—endlessly trying to move from fear to safety.

Psychotherapist Jennifer Shannon

For the millions of people's lives affected by anxiety, this process is familiar. Unfortunately, we can’t switch off this “monkey mind.” But we can stop feeding the monkey—stop rewarding it by avoiding the things we fear.

Written by psychotherapist Jennifer Shannon, this book shows how to stop anxious thoughts from taking over using proven-effective cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and mindfulness (sati) techniques, as well as fun illustrations.

By following the exercises in this book, learn to identify anxious thoughts, question those thoughts, and uncover the core fears at play.

Once we stop feeding the monkey, there are no limits to how expansive life can feel. This book shows how anxiety can only continue as long as we try to avoid it. Paradoxically, only by seeking out and confronting the things that make us anxious can we reverse the cycle that keeps our fears alive. More

• Mindfulness-based stress reduction
• How to stop fighting your problems
• Eckhart Tolle; Jennifer Shannon; Amber Larson (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

Ever WONDER? (Alan Watts)

(T&H Inspiration) Audio: British Californian Alan Watts (also alanwatts.com) explains wonder

All things are impersonal, ill, and impermanent

(True Meaning) Alan Watts: Just LET GO often misunderstood as loss through as "internal renunciation" (nekkhamma) when it actually means GAINING FREEDOM from freeing ourselves, that is, from letting go of bonds (fetters) or shackles, things we're stuck to or that are stuck to us, attachments, and all we cling to with craving and greed and lustful affection -- particularly views and the Five Aggregates clung to as self that is not-self (anattā).

• Alan Watts on Pacifica L.A. (KPFK 90.7 FM)
• Alan Watts Sunday, January 18, 2026, 8:00 am
• Pacifica Archives through KPFK.org
• Alan Watts via T&H Inspiration and Motivation, True Meaning; explanation by Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

New Year's resolution: Read this book?

Fox Your Carp, Jeff Bezos

F*ck Your Crap - Break Free and Take Control: The Brutally Honest Guide to Stop Overthinking, Start Living, and Finally Take Control by John Forgetson has 4.8 out of 5 stars (with 273 reviews), and it's getting a push by the algorithm.

Too much thinking? Who, me?

The brutally honest wake-up call that overthinkers can’t stop talking about

The year’s almost here. Still overthinking? Still waiting to change? Maybe it’s time to gift yourself the truth...and actually stick to it this time.

Stop overthinking. Start living. Finally take control of your mind, time, and life. You’ve read enough boring self-help to last a lifetime -- the repetitive and brain damaging kind that sounds good but changes nothing.

By now, we don’t need more motivation, we need a mirror...and a serious slap in the face.

Colorful 2026 New Year celebration with vibrant fireworks (dreamstime.com/365501362)

.

If I could learn meditation, I could do it all.

So if anyone is tired of overthinking while worrying about what everyone thinks and drowning in endless to-do lists that never end, this book might hit like a truth bomb.

Fck Your Crap isn’t another "feel good" pep talk. It’s a brutally honest wake-up call for people who are done pretending everything’s fine.

It’s not about chasing happiness; it’s about taking control of our life, our focus, and our energy. Inside, find a practical blueprint to stop overthinking, silence self-doubt, and build unstoppable momentum.

What’s inside

• How to stop overthinking and anxiety by rewiring the way the brain reacts to fear and pressure.
• How to stop worrying and start living using real tools that actually work, not useless affirmations.
• How to declutter the mind and rebuild daily habits around clarity and purpose.
• Why "positive thinking" is a scam and what to do instead.
• How to build a mindset so strong that we stop letting everything affect us.
• How to finally break free from the Anxious Generation....

Every chapter hits hard, talks straight, and gives the tools to stop overthinking, stop spiraling, and start living.

Forget the gurus. Forget the hacks. This book is for people who want change that lasts.

Who(m) this book is for

Ever said:

• "I can’t stop overthinking."
• "I feel stuck, lost, and mentally drained."
• "I’m tired of fake positivity and surface-level advice."
• "I'm scared..."?

Then this is a MANUAL to read. It’s for anyone ready to throw the excuses away, face the truth, and build a life that finally makes sense.

Whether navigating anxiety, career burnout, or just trying to get life together, this book will become the slap in the face we didn’t know we needed...until now as we read it.

Why it works

Because it’s REAL. Author John Forgetson doesn’t sugarcoat, spiritualize, or oversell. He cuts through the noise and teaches how to stop self-sabotaging, one brutally honest truth at a time.

With over 200 five-star reviews across platforms, Fck Your Crap has already changed how readers think, work, and live. It’s part tough love, part therapy, and entirely life-changing.

Ready to take back control? If we’re done overthinking our potential, this book will help us stop being our own worst enemy.

• Stop worrying.
• Stop waiting.
• Stop believing everything you think.
• Try something new.
• Try something different.
• Try something better.
• Forget motivation.
• Read this instead.
• Let’s face ourselves...and fix our crap.

F*ck Your Crap - Break Free

Buy Fck Your Crap NOW and finally take control of life. [What’s the worst that could happen? John Forgetson gets rich?] DON'T OVERTHINK IT.

P.S. Important note to readers: Due to Amazon’s advertising guidelines, the eBook edition appears as "Fix" Your Crap. The paperback and hardcover versions remain uncensored as Fck Your Crap. Same content, same no-BS truth. That Goodness for censorship, huh? Thanks, Jeff Bezos.

Are we guilty of 'magical thinking'?

(Theory of Samsara) Are we guilty of "magical thinking"? Well, awakening (enlightenment) isn't some kind of "blessing"

• Dalai Lama: Why 'praying' for peace to God [has never and] will never work #fypシ 

What if we observe our mind?

What happens when we truly (dispassionately) observe our mind? | Buddhist Wisdom

How long is 'NOW'? Intro to Metaphysics

How Long is Now? | Intro to Metaphysics 🪐

Suck it up, Devi Cup.

(exurb1a) Help Ex do this full-time if deranged enough (and thanks kindly) ► exurb1r. Anxiety anecdote: This one took about two months to make. A lot of that time was faffing around with a Word document. Not even sure what the point of the script was, but anyhow -- today, very excited to be finally uploading and being rid of the thing.

There I was doing a bit of last-minute polishing in the video editor and suddenly I notice I've deleted half the video in the timeline. Just gone. I reload the old save file, but it's too late. I've written over it already.

I am a cat lady.

About a month of work gone in three seconds of mis-clicking. I'm not sure how far back in the day I made the mistake, and did I mention that the file is so large now that the undo function locks the video editor up almost every time? There's only one option left: tentatively keep hitting undo and just pray this doesn't lock the editor up otherwise ALL GONE. And just pray the buffer remembers far back enough to restore the sequence I deleted otherwise ALL GONE. There I sat for 30 minutes hitting Ctrl-Z as gently as I could, sweat dripping from my furrowed brow.

Even the mice who live in the walls of my apartment were coming out to watch and bite their fingernails or claws or whatever it is mice have, their cheese untouched, their traps empty... Anyway, everything was fine even if I almost soiled myself. The undo function worked, and I briefly felt good about living again for the first time in ten years. I am an idiot. Please don't be an idiot like me. Back stuff up, I beg ye.

Music used ► Queen of the Night - Patrick Hawes, Grace Davidson Swan Lake, Act II - Tchaikovsky - • Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake (Act II, No. 10) Lavender Fields - Aysedeniz Gokcin Dawn of Innocence - Nathalie Bonin. And of course here's your mystery link: • Scavengers Reign S01E03 - Pollination...

New book of depressing poems: inyurl.com/27fdfh63 (may need to change your region). Other stuff: Books what I wrote, yo ► amazon.com/Exurb1a... For sending personalized insults ► exurb1a T-shirts, mugs, and sadness ► teespring.com/stores/exurb1a. I also make horrendous music ► exurbia-1.

• 10 Astounding Meditation Practices That Helped Me Achieve Inner Peace
• 20 Unique Meditation Practices from Around the World
• Ancient humans lived nearly 1 mile within this cave in Europe
• 12 Facts About Redheads You Never Knew
• Top 40 Actresses of All Time
• Waterfall discovery changes what we believed about evolution
• 12 signs of a highly unintelligent person, according to science
• Landmark discovery: Giant fossil pre-dating dinosaurs found
• Exurb1a, Dec. 5, 2023; Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Where do thoughts come from?

Where do our thoughts come from? Buddhist Wisdom

(Buddhism Podcast) Oct. 21, 2025: Buddhism Explained. Where do our thoughts come from? We know the thoughts that just seem to appear in our heads – have we ever truly wondered where they come from?

This post explores Buddhism's unique perspective on the mind (stream of cittas, consciousness), revealing that our thoughts do not spring from a fixed "self" but rather from an intricate dance of interconnected supporting conditions. These are spelled out in the 12 causal links of Dependent Origination.

Discover the profound teachings of Dependent Origination and anatta ("not-self," that all things, while real, are impersonal, impermanent, and utterly incapable of fulfilling us, and are therefore quite illusory, maya) to unlock a surprising sense of freedom and a deeper understanding of who or what we truly are. This is an invitation to see our mind in a whole new light.

• 00:00 - The question behind the question (infinite regress)
• 01:28 - Who owns the thoughts?
• 06:59 - Thoughts arise from conditions
• 13:59 - THE ROOT - ignorance as the fuel
• 17:56 - When understanding brings freedom

#Buddhism #DependentOrigination #Anatta #SpiritualGrowth

What Would Jello Do? (Dead Kennedys)

(Telerama) Jello Biafra (AlternativeTentacles.com), singer (original frontman) for the Dead Kennedys: "In some ways, maybe punk should die...that way it can be reborn" [and become something influential and important again]. Once a great independent thinker, what has happened now?

• Jello Biafra, Dead Kennedys, ABCLibrarySales; Telerama; Seth Auberon, Pfc. Sandoval (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Why do we try to control everything?

Why we try to control everything – and why it never works – The Buddha's answer

(Buddhism Podcast) April 9, 2025: Buddhism Explained. This podcast explores a quiet habit that many of us carry — the habit of trying to CONTROL everything in life.

Through simple language and gentle reflection, we look at why the mind/heart holds on, how this creates tension and stress, and what begins to change when we stop forcing things.

With stories from the Buddha’s life and clear examples, this talk offers a calm and thoughtful way to understand clinging, change, and the freedom that comes from letting go.

• 00:00 - Intro
• 01:47 - Why we try to control life
• 06:50 - Why control always fails
• 11:55 - What happens when we let go
• 17:01 - The Buddha’s real answer

#buddhismpodcast #buddhistteachings #donotcontroleverything

Idiocracy: Wisdom is Disappearing

Dr. Robert Lustig figured this out and wrote a book about it (The Hacking of the American Mind: The Science Behind the Corporate Takeover of Our Bodies and Brains), comparing dopamine to serotonin, quick payoff to the slow burn.

"Explores how industry has manipulated our most deep-seated survival instincts."

—David Perlmutter, MD, author, #1 New York Times bestseller, Grain Brain and Brain Maker

The New York Times–bestselling author of Fat Chance reveals the corporate scheme to sell pleasure, driving the international epidemic of addiction, depression, and chronic disease.

The Hacking of the American Mind

While researching the toxic and addictive properties of sugar for his New York Times bestseller Fat Chance, Dr. Robert Lustig made an alarming discovery—our pursuit of happiness is being subverted by a culture of addiction and depression from which we may never recover.

Dopamine is the “reward” neurotransmitter that tells our brains we want more; yet every substance or behavior that releases dopamine in the extreme leads to addiction.

Serotonin is the “contentment” neurotransmitter that tells our brains we don’t need any more; yet its deficiency leads to depression.

Ideally, both are in optimal supply. But dopamine evolved to overwhelm serotonin—because our ancestors were more likely to survive if they were constantly motivated—with the result that constant desire can chemically destroy our ability to feel happiness, while sending us down the slippery slope to addiction.

Extraterrestrial mystery above Cusco found? - What are these ancient handbags?

In the last 40 years, government legislation and subsidies have promoted ever-available temptation (sugar, drugs, social media, porn) combined with constant stress (work, home, money, Internet), with the end result of an unprecedented epidemic of addiction, anxiety, depression, and chronic disease.

And with the advent of neuromarketing, corporate America has successfully imprisoned us in an endless loop of desire and consumption from which there is no obvious escape. More

The Age of Filth (Era of Mental Trash)

The Era of Mental Trash

(Psyfluence) July 12, 2025: Let's explore the deep crisis affecting our mind and society in the Digital Age. We live trapped in a world overwhelmed by distractions, superficiality, and mass consumption of empty content that dulls our consciousness and weakens our ability to think deeply.

Our life (samsara) is a "simulation"? What's the tangible evidence?

We talk about the silent collapse of the modern mind, a reality where truth is shaped by algorithms, noise replaces reflection, and mediocrity is celebrated as freedom and authenticity.

Did you know this generation is being educated to obey without questioning? We are being trapped in a sweet servitude full of filters, likes, and digitally-induced dopamine addiction. But not all is lost.

There are those who resist, who seek lucidity and depth amid the filth. If you feel something inside you refuses to settle for superficiality and constant noise, this video is for you.

Join the conversation, awaken consciousness, and learn why in a world full of mental trash and why thinking has become a revolutionary act.

Remember. Don’t forget. Subscribe, like, and share so more people can open their eyes and start rebuilding authentic thought.

• Wait. Don't put down that soda and sugarcoated piece of gluten just yet. This just in: Emmy nominations 2025: ‘Severance’ leads with most nominations | CNN
• VIDEO: 77th Emmy Nominations Announcement | Television Academy

Calming the mind with Mingyur Rinpoche

• The Practice of Awareness Meditation w/Mingyur Rinpoche

Life in a white cell: 'La Valigia'

LA VALIGIA || stop motion short film

Life in Hell (Matt Groening)

(Studio Croma Animation) BOLOGNA. An old man is sitting on the edge of a bed in a bare room with stoned walls, his face furrowed with deep wrinkles and his unkempt beard, gnarled hands still full of life, curved shoulders: he is alone and thoughtful. A small and ramshackle window with bars is the only outlet to the outside.

In front of him he has a mysterious suitcase. Opening it the man finds himself in his hands the photographs and the personal effects of a whole life. Thus begins the sequence of memories and visions, synapses of the mind that come to life and invade the room of the elderly bringing him back in time, first adult then boy, finally child.

It took me 40 years to realize what I'll tell you in 8 minutes

Baz Luhrmann - "Everybody's Free To Wear Sunscreen"

• UnJaded Jade: 10-day silent meditation retreat 🧘‍♀️
• Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche (tergar.org)

Better than other La Valigias. PRIZES: -BornShort Film Festival 2014: Best Animation Award Corto Dorico 2014: Best short film -BazzaCinema 2015: Best Screenplay -Lo Spiraglio FF 2015: Best Film -Premio Morandini Corti d'Autore: Winner Nastri d'argento - Corti 2015: Fifth finalist David di Donatello 2015: Fifth finalist Kalat Nissa Film Festival 2015: Best Animation Film ShorTS Int. Maremetraggio 2015: Best Italian Production Cast Film Festival 2015: Special Award Best movies Pázmány Film Festival 2015: Best Italian Film Arno Stream Fest: Best short movie Genova Film Festival 2015: Critics Award Toko Film Festival 2015: Best Screenplay Metricamente Corto 2015: Best Screenplay Corto di Sera 2015: Special prize. F.N.C. Gold frame Ke Corto Film Festival 2015: Best animated short film Parma Intl. Music FF 2015: Best Renaissance 2.0 soundtrack DIRECTOR Pier Paolo Paganelli SUBJECT AND SCRIPT Laura Castaldini, Pier Paolo Paganelli WITH Roberto Herlitzka Rodolfo Bianchi Alex Polidori Riccardo Suarez PRODUCED BY Ivan Olgiati, Stefania Marconi, Daniele Paganelli ASSOCIATED PRODUCER Gloria Giorgianni per Anele PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR Gianmarco Rossetti EDITING Davide Rossetti ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Guglielmo Trautvetter ANIMATION Giacomo Giuriato SOUNDTRACK Matteo Malferrari PUPPET MACKER Matteo Burani POST PRODUCTION Jacopo Gaustini, Luca Lazzarin DIGITAL VIDEO EFFECTS Sara Passuti SOUND Giovanni Frezza PROMOTION Stefania Marconi, Chiara Galloni DISTRIBUTION Paolo Pellicano.

• Studio Croma Animation, "The Suitcase," Jan. 24, 2021; Ven. Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche; UnJaded Jade; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly

Paradox: Thinking without thoughts

How wonderful is real silence, inner-peace!

There is such a thing as thoughtless consciousness, bare awareness without commentary, without chatter, inner silence. It can happen. How it happens, what brings it about, that is hard to say. Begin with outer silence. Bring the mind to a single object for long enough, and it may happen. Feel the freedom. There is full knowing, better knowing than when words/thoughts are intervening. But it must be experienced to believe how wonderful the silence and stillness is. (Jhana or "meditative absorption" moves away from the noise toward the sweet silence and sanity of stillness).

The Paradox of Thoughtless Consciousness

(The Mountain) March 28, 2025: The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend. #quantumconsciousness #paradox #selfawareness

• 00:00 Thoughtless thinker
• 00:33 Distance between reality - thought - speech
• 01:13 Time zone difference
• 01:53 Retrospective mind
• 02:31 Meta thinking and language filter
• 04:38 Raw awareness
• 5:27 Is there a state of no-thought?
• 7:16 Surrender of the seeker
• 9:02 How to arrive at no destination

TAGS: Quantum Consciousness, Observer Effect, Reality Fabrication, Perception Alchemy, Thought Manifestation, Mind Over Matter, Holographic Universe, Wavefunction Collapse, Reality Distortion, Dimensional Awareness, Mental Projection, Non-Dual Awareness, Conscious Creation, Observer Reality Loop, Awareness Constructs Matter, Perceptual Engineering, Cosmic Mind, Simulation Hypothesis, Lucid Manifestation, Ontological Design

Why I'm not a Christian (Bert Russell)

Why I'm NOT a Christian | Bertrand Russell

(Jupitar Star) This thought-provoking video explores Bertrand Russell's classic essay, "Why I'm Not a Christian," in which the logician and renowned philosopher outlines his reasons for rejecting Christianity and organized religion.

(A Dose of Reason) Why organized religion makes absolutely NO sense

Russell critiques the historical and philosophical foundations of Christianity, addressing topics such as the problem of evil, the lack of empirical evidence for religious claims, and the contradictions within religious texts.

Alan Watts for when we think too much, what is the question?

Through logical reasoning and intellectual clarity, Russell presents a compelling case for skepticism and atheism (or at least rejection of monotheistic claims by the Abrahamic faiths), challenging traditional beliefs while encouraging viewers to think critically about religion and its role in society.

(MorgeOfficial) How to prove God doesn't exist - Why are women ill-treated in the Bible?

#atheist #theism #nontheism #religion #questions #science #atheism #bible #truth #catholic

Alan Watts for when you think too much

(T&H - Inspiration & Motivation) Alan Watts gives a clarifying and powerfully insightful lecture on knowing, religion, Jesus, and the big questions we ask. "Life is not a problem, in other words, not a contest between ourselves and our environment. This conception of life turns out to be basically phony." Original audio source: Alan Watts, "Extended Seminars, Early Radio Talks - Ghosts" (T&H).

• Jupitar Star, March 26, 2025; A Dose of Reason (YouTube), 2024; T&H - Inspiration & Motivation, Oct. 23, 2023; Sheldon S., Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly