Welcome.
The world seems to be full of controversy and dispute.
Different political and ethnical groups have completely different views that collide and facts are interpreted differently.
Sometimes you might even ask if other people's brains are wired differently or if they get completely different facts from yourself.
No,
That's not the reason.
As brain research has shown,
The brain's action is controlled by a human's emotions and basic needs.
That means if you feel differently about a fact or have other experiences in the past than somebody else,
The brain will weigh and pick other information and will process it based on the emotions the information generates.
And now add the effect that social media picks information according to your preferences.
So there is even a different selection of often highly emotional content provided to both groups on top of this effect.
So,
It seems there is no objective truth.
And that's the reason why people are thinking extremely differently while believing they are sticking to the bare objective truth.
They are at least 120% right,
Or so they think.
So everybody with a different opinion must be at least stupid,
Maybe even ill-willed or your enemy,
Right?
That's the basic pattern for controversy and conflict.
It's just us against them.
If you see it from a Buddhist standpoint,
You could even say mankind is deluded which causes suffering.
That sounds pretty depressing,
Doesn't it?
Or is there something we can do about it?
Wait,
There is a technique teaching how to separate perception and cognition from judgment and emotional reactions.
That is mindfulness meditation.
When sitting or walking in meditation,
You try to be mindful of everything that arises,
But you do not judge or evaluate it,
Or at least you try.
You just let it come and go.
Mindfulness meditation is an open-focus technique that means that you allow all perceptions,
Memories,
Emotions and so on,
But do not follow these thoughts nor judge them.
You just notice them and let them pass.
And this open focus makes it easier to transfer what you've learned to daily life.
And while mindfulness meditation has numerous benefits,
You learn to discern between information and emotions connected with it.
You do not automatically judge everything you perceive or get to know,
And with increasing concentration you can also see clearer what's happening.
Thereby,
With less emotion and reactivity,
Your brain is processing facts more objectively or realistically.
That helps a lot to see the views of both sides in a conflict which is a prerequisite for compromise and peace.
From a Zen standpoint,
The source of suffering is duality,
For example good versus bad,
Friend versus enemy.
So with further meditation training you might even transcend this duality.
This process is also termed insight or enlightenment.
While there is so much conflict in the world that we in most cases cannot do anything about it,
Experienced meditators can increase mutual understanding and show a way towards peace.
And the more of us there are,
The better the world might get.
That is what connects us meditators all over the world.
So I wish to thank you for your practice.
Let's make the world more peaceful step by step,
Even if the amount of violence or conflict seems to be overwhelming.
Thank you.
