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Being Nature: A Down-to-Earth Guide to the Four Foundations of Mindfulness
How to tune in to our own biology in pursuit of spiritual awakening
• Provides a practical program, complete with enjoyable, even playful meditations, for realizing greater self-awareness, increased wisdom, and happiness
• Shows how recent discoveries in physics, evolutionary biology, and psychology express in scientific terms the same insights the Buddha discovered more than 2,500 years ago
• Reveals the origins of attachments, desires, emotions, and thoughts in our own bodies
Taking us on an evolutionary journey to find the origins of emotions, desires, and thoughts in our own bodies, Wes “Scoop” Nisker shows not only how cutting-edge science is proving the tenets of the Buddha but also how we can interpret the traditional practices of Buddhism through this scientific lens for more personal freedom and peace of mind.
Using the traditional Buddhist meditation series of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness as a framework, Nisker offers a witty narrative along with practical meditations and exercises to train the mind to overcome painful conditioning and gain greater self-awareness, increased wisdom, and happiness. He shows how recent discoveries in physics, evolutionary biology, and psychology express in scientific terms the same insights the Buddha discovered more than 2,500 years ago, such as the impermanence of the body, where thoughts come from, and how the body communicates within itself.
Presenting a variety of new ways to harness the power of mindfulness to transform our understanding of both ourselves and the world, Nisker teaches us how to put our understanding of evolution in the service of spiritual awakening.
• Provides a practical program, complete with enjoyable, even playful meditations, for realizing greater self-awareness, increased wisdom, and happiness
• Shows how recent discoveries in physics, evolutionary biology, and psychology express in scientific terms the same insights the Buddha discovered more than 2,500 years ago
• Reveals the origins of attachments, desires, emotions, and thoughts in our own bodies
Taking us on an evolutionary journey to find the origins of emotions, desires, and thoughts in our own bodies, Wes “Scoop” Nisker shows not only how cutting-edge science is proving the tenets of the Buddha but also how we can interpret the traditional practices of Buddhism through this scientific lens for more personal freedom and peace of mind.
Using the traditional Buddhist meditation series of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness as a framework, Nisker offers a witty narrative along with practical meditations and exercises to train the mind to overcome painful conditioning and gain greater self-awareness, increased wisdom, and happiness. He shows how recent discoveries in physics, evolutionary biology, and psychology express in scientific terms the same insights the Buddha discovered more than 2,500 years ago, such as the impermanence of the body, where thoughts come from, and how the body communicates within itself.
Presenting a variety of new ways to harness the power of mindfulness to transform our understanding of both ourselves and the world, Nisker teaches us how to put our understanding of evolution in the service of spiritual awakening.
- GenresSpirituality
279 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 29, 2022
14 people are currently reading
91 people want to read
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 23, 2022
Buddhism, like any spiritual practice, has both a more scientific side, with psychological insights you can leverage to improve your life, and a more religious side, with supernatural elements that always seem to take things a little too far. The cool thing about Buddhism though, relative to other religions, is that, once you strip away things like reincarnation and karma, its fundamental insights reconcile quite nicely with the latest science.
Essentially, Buddhism has two fundamental tenets: (1) interdependence and (2) impermanence—i.e., everything is made of the same fundamental materials, is dependent on everything else for its existence, has a rich evolutionary history, and is in a process of continuous change. By meditating on these aspects of reality, the practitioner of Buddhism comes to realize that they are not separate from nature but are rather an integral part of it.
This also happens to be what modern science tells us. Physics tells us that all matter is composed of the same atomic and subatomic building blocks; biology tells us that all life is composed of the same cellular and genetic material; and evolution tells us that we all share a common ancestor if you go back far enough in time. In this general way, Buddhism and science appear to be compatible.
What’s unique about this book, relative to other books on Buddhism, is the equal emphasis on science and the incorporation of science into mindfulness and meditation practices. For example, rather than just telling you to focus on your breathing or to do a simple body scan, the author takes you through a brief evolutionary history of the body and has you incorporate this deeper scientific knowledge into your meditation sessions. The result is often fascinating, and it will almost certainly get you thinking differently about your body, its relation to the world, and its deep evolutionary history.
The book takes you through the four foundations of mindfulness, focusing on the body, sensations, emotions, and thoughts, providing you with the necessary tools to scientifically investigate your own consciousness. The result is a welcome break from the chaos of the modern world, along with some much needed training in mindfulness and attention.
Of course, as with any book on Buddhism, the reader may wonder how far to take things. The promise of achieving total mental tranquility at the cost of complete apathy may be a price you are unwilling (or unable) to pay. Rich emotional experience, including desire, is not likely something people would want to deny themselves, even if that means, sometimes, that those experiences are negative. This is, after all, what it means to be human.
So while many people may reject Buddhism’s idea that tranquility is the greatest good, I think what everyone can benefit from is a sense of calm and focus that can result from deep meditation practice. And if this is your goal—to simply incorporate some mindfulness into your life—this is one of the best and most interesting books you will find on the subject.
Essentially, Buddhism has two fundamental tenets: (1) interdependence and (2) impermanence—i.e., everything is made of the same fundamental materials, is dependent on everything else for its existence, has a rich evolutionary history, and is in a process of continuous change. By meditating on these aspects of reality, the practitioner of Buddhism comes to realize that they are not separate from nature but are rather an integral part of it.
This also happens to be what modern science tells us. Physics tells us that all matter is composed of the same atomic and subatomic building blocks; biology tells us that all life is composed of the same cellular and genetic material; and evolution tells us that we all share a common ancestor if you go back far enough in time. In this general way, Buddhism and science appear to be compatible.
What’s unique about this book, relative to other books on Buddhism, is the equal emphasis on science and the incorporation of science into mindfulness and meditation practices. For example, rather than just telling you to focus on your breathing or to do a simple body scan, the author takes you through a brief evolutionary history of the body and has you incorporate this deeper scientific knowledge into your meditation sessions. The result is often fascinating, and it will almost certainly get you thinking differently about your body, its relation to the world, and its deep evolutionary history.
The book takes you through the four foundations of mindfulness, focusing on the body, sensations, emotions, and thoughts, providing you with the necessary tools to scientifically investigate your own consciousness. The result is a welcome break from the chaos of the modern world, along with some much needed training in mindfulness and attention.
Of course, as with any book on Buddhism, the reader may wonder how far to take things. The promise of achieving total mental tranquility at the cost of complete apathy may be a price you are unwilling (or unable) to pay. Rich emotional experience, including desire, is not likely something people would want to deny themselves, even if that means, sometimes, that those experiences are negative. This is, after all, what it means to be human.
So while many people may reject Buddhism’s idea that tranquility is the greatest good, I think what everyone can benefit from is a sense of calm and focus that can result from deep meditation practice. And if this is your goal—to simply incorporate some mindfulness into your life—this is one of the best and most interesting books you will find on the subject.
Displaying 1 of 1 review