So I am a little divided about this. Sitting in the audience and feeling the emotion in the air as Scott talk really reinforced the content for me until… …negative visualization. Don’t get me wrong, Scott, I am a great believer in the power of mindfulness and have been trying (somewhat haphazardly due to my desire to win at games) for some time and am making meditation a part of my daily practice. I guess I would have appreciated a psychological safety warning similar to that given before Ross Fishers “What Scares Me Most” talk. You gave the example that you spend a small portion of each day imaging the worse thing possible, the death of your son. I wasn’t sure if this was to promote mental resilience or because of the Stoic tenet of voluntary discomfort. Unfortunately in an audience of 2000 people in the auditorium, and however many online, some of us have been in this terrible situation. My daughter died 6 years ago and when being asked to imagine her death it was all too easy for me and probably did not have the desired effect. That aside it was a great talk, got me into listening… Read more »

[…] post Podcast 182 – Kettlebells for the Brain – Meditation from SMACC 2016 appeared first on FOAM EM […]

Hi Scott

Thanks for Podcast 182. I never thought I’d hear ‘kettlebells’ mentioned in a critical care talk. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed your presentation and wished that I could have made it to Dublin, but alas, someone had to man the home fires.

I’ve recently read Eric Greiten’s “Resilience” which I thought covered the topic well and more.

Also, as far as mind-body hacking is concerned, Wim “the Iceman” Hof’s material is fascinating. What is particularly intriguing is his claim to be able to alter immune function and resistance to endotoxaemia. I don’t know whether you’ve tried cold water therapy but I’ve found it does have merit from personal experience. I was first introduced to it via Vladimir Vasiliev’s Russian Systema along with breath control (refer to Vasiliev’s book :”Let Every Breath…Secrets of the Russian Breath Masters”). I think you’ll find it enhances your meditative practice, and your resilience will go through the roof.

Kind regards,

Robin

Great lecture Scott. Frankly, not something I thought I’d be interested in – but found it both moving and compelling. Any recs for online guided meditation?

Hi Scott, I thought you may be interested in this description of the “physiology” of mediation from Dr Paul Fleischman. The article can be here: http://www.dhammadownloads.com.au/Our_Best_and_Most_Lasting_Gift.pdf “Meditation is the systematic cultivation of homeostatic regulation of thoughts and emotions, and it fits a pattern that all body functions have, which is to re-regulate themselves towards an approximate middle. Meditation provides some recurring attentional metronome, some “calling us back,” some stay against our mental dissolution into disorganization and daydream. Meditation is a low-stimulus, reduced-input, self-containment, that provides an opportunity for the mind to self-regulate. When the mind begins to follow its straying peregrinations, the meditator (sometimes) returns to focal attention, some ground zero, some screensaver. The unregulated mind will tend to regenerate its old, conditioned, patterned se- quences and excursions of anger, anticipation, striving, frustration, anxiety, despair, or seductive ensnarement, but meditation means not acquiescing to the patterns of the past. Meditation is the renewed return, recalling the mind back to what is immediate. This practice of recalling the mind to a refresh setting is a subtype of the homeostatic regulation that is the El Dorado of life. Meditation exercises the mind in the way that the body preserves itself, optimizing its… Read more »

It’s great that you have introduced mindful meditation to many who are likely unaware of its benefits. I’ve been a nurse in an academic medical center for 22 years an have finally gifted myself with daily meditation. The impact it has made in my thinking and stress reduction continues to be a powerful positive influence in my work – life balance. The benefits of 20 or 30 minutes a day are easily recognizable. After using several apps, books and websites, I have found Diana Winston’s weekly guided meditation series to be far superior than anything else I have used. “Mindful Meditation at the Hammer” at UCLA can be found on iTunes U and I highly recommend beginners to try this resource. If you live in LA you can drop in at the Hammer Museum and do it live. Here is the website.
http://marc.ucla.edu/meditation-at-the-hammer

[…] Stoicism is an ancient Greek philosophy founded in the early 3rd century BC by Zeno of Citium. This school of philosophy guides us towards a life of tranquility and virtue.  Tranquility is a state marked by the absence of negative feelings like anger, sadness, worry, and stress, and the presence of positive feelings – in particular joy.  Virtue is the aim for excellence as a human being living in accordance with nature.  Some of its historical proponents were Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius. More recent practitioners are Tim Ferriss, Ryan Holiday, and Scott Weingart. […]

[…] EMCrit: Kettlebells for the Brain […]

[…] and mindfulness practice. There are two great inspirations behind this: Scott Weingart’s ‘Kettlebells for the Brain’ and Ian Miller’s […]

[…] want to know more.  Tim advocates that yoga and meditation can improve compassion which links to Scott Weingart’s talk at SMACC. Having said that, meditation and yoga takes time and we are busy […]

[…] You can learn more about mindfulness meditation in Scott Weingart’s SMACC talk “Kettlebells for the Brain” […]

[…] kan kaldes ”awareness” og formentlig opøves ved hjælp af mindfulness meditation (jf bl.a. https://emcrit.org/emcrit/kettlebells-brain/ ). Mere specifikke strategier er ”slowing down” / stop regler, som fx ”time out”, der både […]

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