 https://vimeo.com/431630745 - check this link for a video of the podcast Check out https://podcast.cyphercon.com/home-episode-slider/ Explore interviews with hackers involved with CypherCon, Wisconsin’s Hacker Conference. CypherCon attracts over 1000 attendees every Spring in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We live in times of extreme uncertainty and rapid changes and we also have the art, science and technology of hacking our own minds. By applying simple skills, we have the ability to experience love, peace and joy. Most of us run away from thoughts or feelings that are painful for us. In some cases, we can benefit by examining and acting on those painful and uncomfortable feelings. Meditation techniques are touted as “stress relaxation” techniques but, actually, we have several focus and awareness exercises along with bio-feedback devices that can help us be in relaxed and empowered mind-states to make us feel love, joy and peace. As a simple analogy to brain hacking is the process of ethical hacking, a powerful tool used by cybersecurity professionals to protect their organization. The table above shows the five common steps to most ethical hacking processes. The main objective is to find important vulnerabilities in systems and organizations and strengthen them. Brain Hacking is a similar process. We try to find “roots” of our pain and suffering and see if we can remove them. Challenges, difficulties, shocks and pain are inevitable but we can respond to situations and alleviate our suffering. In Brain Hacking 101, we will discuss the first three steps to train our brain to feel love, joy and peace often. Step 1 – Reconnaissance / Cultivating Awareness Reconnaissance – an 18th century French word that means recognize or explore. The ethical hacker starts her research about the organization and IT networks and see what information is available in public domain and in the dark web. The easiest analogy in human self-hacking is to start observing our mind and body – awareness practice. It may be as simple as journaling our life story or talking to a trusted friend about our challenges Step 2 – Scanning/ Mindfulness – awareness without judgment In ethical hacking, scanning involves working on the actual IT system or walking around the physical building. Such scanning may help the hacker find obvious vulnerabilities – such as guest account without password or an opening in the fence. The equivalent in brain hacking is to record our stories with compassion and without judgement. Acknowledging that we are in pain and we suffer. Step 3 – Gaining Access/ Access to Love, Joy and Peace Normally, by this time, the ethical hacker gains access to a user account using multiple tools.. Practicing mindfulness (awareness without judgement), similarly, allows us to be aware of the underlying love, joy and peace most of us have. Sometimes, it may be fleeting. Nevertheless, it is there for us to access. Step 4 – Maintaining Access/ Building our CORE values Once the ethical hacker gets access into the system, she may try to get to high level users (admin account) or try to access to other user accounts and resources. A person who practices meditation regularly, often, feels their behaviors and core values align. There is a deeper connection in important relationships, a sense of optimism and resilience and higher energy levels. We get better at understanding our own flaws and challenges and become more compassionate to the struggles of others. Check this article on more details about CORE - https://www.meditation-magic.com/blog/three-practices-to-a-stronger-and-more-resilient-you Step 5 – Reporting & Remediation/ Transformation After the ethical hacker has completed her testing, she will create a formal report and suggest an appropriate remediation and mitigation plan. The hacker takes care not to mess with any valuable data or resources. Similarly, continued mindfulness practices often helps find a path to purposeful and meaningful life. It is not a perfect life but a life that helps us to understand that we live in an interconnected world and we, often, can thrive through service and dedication to a cause greater than us. I am interested in exploring more. What do I do next? Check out these resources and commit to a daily contemplation/meditation practice. Best wishes on your journey! I look forward to your comments, suggestions and questions. Meditation Basics from Dr K – Vimeo/ Blog Links Dr K Meditation - Finding Joy in Uncertain Times - https://vimeo.com/415370883 https://vimeo.com/431630745 - check this link for a video of the podcast Check out these blog articles for more information https://www.meditation-magic.com/blog/easy-way-to-start-meditating-daily https://www.meditation-magic.com/blog/three-grateful-ways-to-access-joy-and-happiness https://www.meditation-magic.com/blog/key-to-happiness-cultivate-our-capacity-for-kindness https://www.meditation-magic.com/blog/common-misconceptions-about-meditation-and-mindfulness-practices References Jon Kabat-Zinn, Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life Daniel Goleman and Richard J. Davidson, Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body Sam Harris – great podcasts, books and app - https://samharris.org/books/
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 “We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.”
― Viktor E. Frankl When I was young boy, bugged by numerous questions, my father suggested that I look around. His admonition to me was “You can always find a book that has the answers you are looking for”. I am yet to prove my father wrong. Dr Viktor Frankl’s “Man Search for Meaning was one such book. A survivor of the Holocaust, Dr Viktor Frankl, a Viennese psychiatrist from the tradition of Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler, focused on suicides and I have read that book several times and I always get different and deeper answers. Dr Viktor Frankl suggests that we can discover the meaning of life in three different ways:
“It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life—daily and hourly. Our answer must consist, not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual.” Inventor of Logotherapy (logos = “meaning” in Greek) – Dr Frankl asked the most depressed patients he encountered a seemingly simple six word question… ”Why do you not commit suicide?” From here, Dr Frankl explored how his patient actually found joy in, what made their life worth living … in other words, what the meaning was in their life. Once that discovery was made, he could start helping them to improve their mental health and to move away from thoughts of suicide. Three key questions for you to explore
What is your purpose in life? Check out the Venn Diagram on top (Graphic from https://blogs.nasa.gov/womenatnasa/). Write or discuss with a loved one - friend, family or even a stranger!
Additional resources Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl One of the ten most influential books in America. —Library of Congress/Book-of-the-Month Club "Survey of Lifetime Readers" It is just 200 pages long and you can read it multiple times. Adam Leipzig has figured out that it takes five questions in under five minutes to discover what you are meant to do with your life. Check out this TEDx talk https://www.goodnet.org/articles/ted-talk-week-your-life-purpose-in-5-minutes Who Was Viktor Frankl? Jewish Biography as History Dr. Henry Abramson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axXsz2TVoAw Nice biography/Summary https://biographics.org/viktor-frankl-biography-life-search-meaning/ Other Dr K’s favorite Viktor Frankl quotes “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” “Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible.” “It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life—daily and hourly. Our answer must consist, not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual.” “In some ways suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of a sacrifice.” “I do not forget any good deed done to me & I do not carry a grudge for a bad one.” “For the first time in my life I saw the truth as it is set into song by so many poets, proclaimed as the final wisdom by so many thinkers. The truth - that Love is the ultimate and highest goal to which man can aspire. Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love.” |
Touch Labyrintha guided finger meditationEngage your senses with soothing music, guided imagery and a labyrinth tracing activity which leverages the power of touch. Click the album cover to learn more. 
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