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Inspiration

Neuroscience & Buddhist Psychology:Regulating Your Nervous System

Thich Nhat Hanh
Thich Nhat Hanh
May 6, 2026
7 min read
Watch · 8

TLDR: This session bridges neuroscience and Buddhist psychology to show practitioners how to recognize what state their nervous system is in at any moment, understand why modern stress overwhelms the hunter-gatherer nervous system we still carry, and use body-based mindfulness practices to stay within their window of tolerance. Rather than pathologizing greed, hatred, and delusion as character flaws, the teaching reframes these as outdated survival instincts that can be gently updated through practice—not through shame.

Read · 6 sections

Why Our Nervous Systems Struggle in Modern Times

We are walking around with a nervous system that evolved for survival in hunter-gatherer societies—a reality that has remained largely unchanged even as human civilization has accelerated far beyond what our biology can easily accommodate. Joann Rosen explains that nervous systems evolve very slowly compared to the pace of cultural and technological change. This mismatch creates what she calls "a pickle."

Our ancient nervous systems were built for specific threats: the need to eat everything available because the next meal is uncertain, to reproduce and protect offspring for group survival, and to make quick decisions when faced with sudden danger. These instincts trigger our nervous system to gear up rapidly, then relax—eat berries, sit by the fire. But modern life presents something our biology never evolved to handle: unrelenting stress. We face complex threats that require sustained thinking, social judgment, and emotional regulation. Our quick-decision nervous system struggles when the threat is abstract, ongoing, and demands nuanced response.

Rosen connects this insight directly to Buddhist psychology. The Buddha taught about greed, hatred, and delusion as the roots of suffering. But neuroscience reveals the biological basis: greed kept us alive by driving us to consume everything. Hatred—or more accurately, the capacity for aggressive self-protection—kept us safe from predators. Delusion, or the tendency to jump to conclusions, allowed rapid decisions that prioritized survival. "Those who didn't have voracious appetites perished," Rosen notes. Rather than shame ourselves for these tendencies, we can appreciate them as evolutionary inheritances and use practice to update them.

What Is the Window of Tolerance?

The heart of this teaching lies in understanding the nervous system's different modes. Rosen introduces a three-zone model: the green zone, the yellow zone, and the red zone. This framework, sometimes called the "window of tolerance," describes the range of activation in which our nervous system can function optimally.

In the green zone—what Rosen describes as the "eating berries and resting mode"—the nervous system has a sense of ease and calm. This is the window of mindful opportunity. Within this window, we can experience a full range of emotions: peace, contentment, joy, but also anger and sadness. The key difference is that our nervous system can hold these feelings without becoming overly activated or swept away. We don't lose ourselves in thinking, action, or speech. We remain present and can see clearly.

When we receive more energy input—from external circumstances or internal stress—we move into the yellow zone. This is the state of hyperarousal, where the nervous system is activated and alert. At this point, the question becomes: Do we have the capacity and support to mindfully work with what is arising?

If we exceed our capacity, we enter the red zone—a state of dysregulation where the nervous system becomes hyperactivated or, conversely, shut down (hypoarousal). In these moments, mindfulness practice becomes difficult. The nervous system has shifted into survival mode, and rational thinking takes a back seat.

How to Read Your Nervous System Signals Moment by Moment

The practice Rosen teaches is deceptively simple: become aware of your body's signals to discern which zone you are in. This requires dropping out of the head and into the body. She invites participants to notice sensations: tension, ease, temperature, the quality of your breath. Where do you feel activation? In your chest, your gut, your shoulders? Are these signals increasing or decreasing?

One concrete practice she offers: notice your feet. Our feet are far from our threat-detection systems (located primarily in the head and upper body), so grounding awareness in the feet can help regulate an overstimulated nervous system. She also mentions the practice of placing a hand on the heart or giving yourself a gentle pat on the back—simple gestures that activate the parasympathetic nervous system and signal safety to the body.

Rosen emphasizes that posture matters. The way we sit—how we fold our legs, how we hold our spine—affects our nervous system. "When we're sitting well," she notes, "our well-being increases because we can't take a full breath if we're collapsed." Good posture isn't about aesthetics; it's about supporting the physiology of calm.

She also addresses a key challenge: what happens when you notice difficult sensations and want to look away? The instruction is to "lovingly bring it back"—to gently return attention to the body sensation, not with force or judgment, but with the warmth of a practitioner learning to befriend their own nervous system.

The Role of Co-Regulation and Nervous System Healing

Human beings have been using singing, music, and shared presence as a way to regulate nervous systems and co-regulate with each other since hunter-gatherer times. This is not sentimental; it is neurobiology. When we are present with others—whether in song, meditation, or simple eye contact—our nervous systems communicate and influence each other. A nervous system in calm presence can help bring another nervous system into calm presence.

This has profound implications for trauma and healing. Rosen points out that many people carry unresolved trauma—from war, violence, accidents, or the simple accumulation of chronic stress. Trauma lives in the nervous system, not just in memory or emotion. A nervous system that has learned to perceive danger everywhere will remain hypervigilant and dysregulated until it learns, through safe experience and repeated exposure, that safety is possible.

Buddhist practice—particularly mindfulness of the body and the breath—provides a container for this relearning. By repeatedly returning to the present moment, noticing when we are safe right now, we gradually reprogram the nervous system. This is why Rosen emphasizes that the practice must be tailored to capacity. If someone is in the red zone, pushing them toward meditation that requires stillness can be re-traumatizing. Meeting people where they are—offering gentler practices, movement, or the support of community—is essential.

Integrating the Practice: Self-Knowledge and Realistic Assessment

The core question Rosen asks is simple but profound: "Do I have the capacity to mindfully work with this?" This requires honest self-knowledge. We need to understand what our current capacity is, what support we have access to, and whether we are taking on too much or, conversely, avoiding necessary engagement.

She frames this as a practice of discernment rather than judgment. The practice is not to become passive or withdrawn. Rather, it is to see clearly what is actually happening—both inside ourselves and in the world—and to respond with wisdom rather than reactivity. Buddhism asks us to see the present moment "in as full a view as we can." Neuroscience gives us practical tools to do this: by understanding our nervous system and its signals, we can make more conscious choices about when to push, when to rest, when to seek support, and when to step back.

Importantly, Rosen and Gabber reframe common Buddhist concepts in light of neurobiology. Greed, hatred, and delusion are not character flaws or moral failures; they are survival instincts trying to keep us alive through outdated strategies. The practice is not to eradicate them but to see them clearly, to understand what they are protecting, and to gently cultivate different, more skillful responses. This removes shame from the equation and allows practitioners to work with themselves—and with others—with genuine compassion.

Where to Go From Here

This teaching is embedded in the broader work of Plum Village and Joann Rosen's book Unshakable, which explores how Buddhist practice and trauma-informed neuroscience can work together. The Embrace program offers study groups and practices designed to help people integrate this understanding into their lives. For individual practitioners, the invitation is to begin noticing: Where am I right now? What does my body tell me? Am I in the green, yellow, or red zone? And if I'm struggling, what small, body-based practice might help me come back to ease? The Plum Village app offers guided meditations and deep relaxations that can support this ongoing discovery.

Transcript

[0:01] So, um,

[0:03] I would like to request that you leave

[0:07] your expertise

[0:09] at the door

[0:11] and you come in as a baby practitioner

[0:17] who's trying to understand what this

[0:19] practice is all about

[0:23] and

[0:25] see what happens. Um, of course you're

[0:29] free to uh take care of yourselves

[0:33] uh to

[0:35] uh follow the invitations or not or

[0:39] adapt them in any way you'd like to uh

[0:43] suit how you are in this moment. But as

[0:47] far as a professional,

[0:50] um I really want to encourage you if you

[0:53] can to leave that mindset

[0:58] um out of the room.

[1:01] Um and

[1:03] bring your awareness down out of the

[1:07] head if you happen to be um residing

[1:11] there.

[1:13] So, u we'll start with three sounds of

[1:16] the bell and then uh we'll offer a song

[1:22] and the words are on the board. If you I

[1:24] don't know if everybody can see them. Uh

[1:28] just so that you can

[1:31] know what the song is saying in case you

[1:34] can't understand the words.

[1:36] And if you would like to sing along,

[1:38] you're very welcome. Uh, and if you'd

[1:41] like to just uh

[1:44] be with the song, uh, that's fine, too.

[1:47] And, uh, to notice what happens inside,

[1:52] uh, from where you are in this moment.

[1:55] And perhaps as the bell sounds, you

[1:58] check inside and see where you're at,

[2:02] whatever that means to you in this

[2:03] moment.

[2:06] And uh then to just keep noticing and

[2:11] not only noticing what goes on inside of

[2:13] you, but you can peek around and see

[2:17] what's going on inside of others.

[2:21] Um

[2:24] maybe we should introduce ourselves

[2:26] first.

[2:28] Okay. So you introduce me and I'll

[2:30] introduce you.

[2:35] Uh dear community, this is my dharma

[2:38] teacher Joanne Rosen and great friend.

[2:41] Uh she's a

[2:44] longtime psychotherapist and um has been

[2:49] working very hard to kind of um

[2:54] bring together her practice as a Plum

[2:57] Village practitioner um as a therapist

[3:00] and her keen interest in neurobiology

[3:04] and trauma informed studies. Um and all

[3:09] of those things together have manifested

[3:11] in the book Unshakable and also um the

[3:15] study groups and other offerings of the

[3:17] embrace sa

[3:23] and this is Yousef Gabber um who has

[3:27] been a wonderful

[3:30] budding part of Embrace which we'll talk

[3:33] about later and uh Yousef just finished

[3:38] uh his masters in social work and so he

[3:41] really knows some neurobiology. I just

[3:45] know the really simplified simplified

[3:48] version and that was that's good enough

[3:51] for me. Um that's I think good enough

[3:53] for most of us as practitioners

[3:56] and uh great gratitude to those

[3:59] scientist those minds that have uh led

[4:03] us to this moment. So, we'll start with

[4:07] three sounds of the bell.

[4:52] And we will care

[4:55] for each other

[4:58] as the world around us unravels.

[5:03] And we will tend

[5:06] to the spark

[5:09] of hope that lives within our grieving

[5:13] hearts. And we are here

[5:17] now in this present moment lifting our

[5:21] voices and hearts.

[5:25] And we are here

[5:28] now. We have come together. We are

[5:32] tending the spark

[5:36] of hope.

[5:46] Oh, made it grow.

[5:57] And we will care

[6:00] for each other

[6:03] as the world around us unravels.

[6:08] And we will tend

[6:11] to the spark

[6:14] of hope that lives within our grieving

[6:18] hearts. And we are here

[6:22] now in this present moment lifting our

[6:26] voices and hearts.

[6:29] And we are here

[6:33] now. We have come together. We are

[6:37] tending the spark

[6:41] of hope.

[6:43] [Music]

[6:45] Oh,

[6:50] all made it grow.

[7:02] And we will care

[7:04] for each other

[7:07] as the world around us unravels.

[7:12] And we will tend

[7:15] to the spark

[7:18] of hope that lives within our grieving

[7:22] hearts. And we are here

[7:26] now in this present moment lifting our

[7:31] voices and hearts.

[7:34] And we are here

[7:37] now. We have come together. We are

[7:41] tending the spark

[7:45] of hope.

[7:55] All may grow.

[8:06] and we will care

[8:09] for each other.

[8:11] [Music]

[8:16] Just go inside and just notice

[8:40] The human being has been

[8:44] singing together

[8:46] as a way to

[8:49] regulate themselves and co-regulate with

[8:52] each other to feel each other.

[8:58] since uh we were hunter gatherers,

[9:03] which isn't a very long time ago in the

[9:09] world of evolutionary biology.

[9:14] We're walking around with the nervous

[9:17] system of a hunter gatherer

[9:21] because uh nervous systems evolve very

[9:24] slowly.

[9:28] human civilization,

[9:30] whatever that means,

[9:33] um has evolved much faster and our

[9:36] nervous systems have not been able to

[9:39] keep up.

[9:41] And so we find ourselves in a pickle

[9:45] because

[9:48] we're made to uh

[9:52] try and eat everything we can

[9:55] all day long.

[9:57] whether we're hungry or not because we

[10:00] don't know when the next food may be

[10:02] coming.

[10:04] Except that's not the way it is anymore.

[10:08] But our biology doesn't tell us

[10:11] necessarily when to stop until it's way

[10:14] too late.

[10:18] And we're uh also programmed to

[10:22] procreate

[10:23] and take good care of our babies so that

[10:26] they survive and uh can contribute to

[10:30] the group.

[10:33] And we are meant to make decisions very

[10:38] quickly.

[10:39] And our nervous systems

[10:42] gear up really fast to uh meet

[10:46] unexpected threats.

[10:50] And then our nervous systems are meant

[10:52] to relax and eat berries and sit around

[10:57] a fire if fire was developed by then.

[11:04] We're not meant, our nervous systems

[11:07] aren't ready for unrelenting stresses.

[11:12] Um, our quick decisions

[11:15] um are meant for much simpler

[11:18] situations.

[11:20] The ways that we are threatened in these

[11:22] days take a lot of thinking in terms of

[11:27] how to respond and be safe.

[11:32] So

[11:33] while Buddhism talks about greed, hatred

[11:37] and delusion,

[11:39] the roots of greed, hatred and delusion

[11:43] in our biology

[11:45] are just what kept us surviving.

[11:50] And uh as we

[11:53] developed

[11:55] different ways of living together,

[11:58] those instincts

[12:02] didn't really work for us

[12:05] and certainly don't work for us now.

[12:08] Um, we're we're made with the the

[12:12] possibility

[12:14] of being aware and uh checking our

[12:20] voracious appetites.

[12:23] Those who didn't have voracious

[12:25] appetites

[12:26] perished.

[12:28] So if we're a jolly overeater or we want

[12:33] to be an overeater,

[12:35] um we have to appreciate that that's

[12:37] what kept our species alive and take

[12:41] this spin off of greed and thank that

[12:46] appetite inside of us or the appetite to

[12:50] jump to conclusions so that we keep our

[12:53] safe. to take off that negative,

[12:57] shameful spin and rather greet it with

[13:02] an ability to begin cultivating

[13:06] away from the habits that don't serve

[13:09] us.

[13:13] So if you think about some habit that

[13:16] you have

[13:19] and you want to change it,

[13:22] we can become very self aacing and

[13:28] self-absorbed

[13:29] by judging ourselves that we're too this

[13:32] or that. and to just appreciate that

[13:36] those are coping mechanisms that are

[13:38] outdated

[13:40] and that our practice helps us update.

[13:45] Uh not that we want to um become

[13:50] friendly with everything in our

[13:52] environment that may be toxic

[13:55] um but at least to be able to stop and

[13:59] see it for what it is that that's our

[14:02] practice. So everything we do is to be

[14:06] able to see the present moment in as

[14:10] full of view as we can.

[14:14] That's enough of that.

[14:16] Let's see.

[14:20] So um to continue thinking about the

[14:23] present moment and our nervous systems

[14:26] going to put uh some of these up on the

[14:28] board.

[14:30] Yeah, that would be nice.

[14:37] So

[14:39] we know that uh as we go through life

[14:43] and engage in different situations,

[14:47] we get a lot of input from the world

[14:49] around us. And our nervous system

[14:53] uh is built to respond to inputs whether

[14:57] they come externally or internally. And

[15:01] it kind of has different

[15:04] settings or modes you might consider

[15:06] them for different quantities and

[15:09] qualities of energy that we are

[15:11] receiving.

[15:13] So in this chart you can see that green

[15:17] zone. And so what I'd like to invite

[15:19] everybody to do is just to take a moment

[15:22] and remember a time when you felt really

[15:25] well. not super high energy, joyous and

[15:28] happy, but just well and easy. Um, and

[15:34] just take a moment to think of think of

[15:36] that time.

[15:47] And if as you're

[15:50] thinking about that time some kind of a

[15:52] gesture perhaps a hand on the heart, a

[15:56] pat on the back or anything like that

[15:59] comes about

[16:02] just uh allowing that gesture to happen.

[16:07] So when our nervous system is

[16:11] uh has kind of um a sense of ease, calm,

[16:17] uh we're in that I'm eating berries and

[16:20] resting mode.

[16:22] This is what we call uh being inside of

[16:25] our uh window of mindful opportunity.

[16:28] Sometimes it's called the window of

[16:30] tolerance.

[16:31] And when we're here, we can experience a

[16:35] range of different emotions. They might

[16:38] be pleasant like peace or contentment or

[16:41] joy,

[16:42] but they might also be uh difficult

[16:45] feelings like anger or sadness. But our

[16:49] nervous system can still hold um those

[16:53] feelings without really getting too

[16:56] activated or hyped up. We don't get

[16:58] swept away in our thinking.

[17:01] or uh in our actions

[17:05] or in our speech.

[17:09] So now let's think a little bit about

[17:12] what happens when we get a little bit

[17:14] more energy and maybe that energy is a

[17:16] little bit more challenging for our

[17:18] nervous system. Mhm.

[17:21] Um, so if you'd like again an experiment

[17:25] to try, I invite you to just stretch a

[17:28] little bit in whatever way you'd like

[17:31] and stretch until

[17:33] you're uncomfortable,

[17:35] but not uh not too hard. Just kind of at

[17:39] that edge of comfort and discomfort

[17:42] and just taking a notice.

[17:47] What's it like to be there?

[17:56] So

[17:58] this

[17:59] place in our nervous system is described

[18:03] in this little egg model in the yellow

[18:05] here.

[18:07] And this is the zone when maybe our

[18:10] nervous systems, maybe we're receiving

[18:12] input in life. Things are happening

[18:14] around us that are challenging us in

[18:16] some way. It could be physical, it could

[18:18] be mental, it could be emotional or

[18:20] spiritual.

[18:22] But uh we have the space or capacity to

[18:25] handle the challenge. It doesn't

[18:27] necessarily mean um that we will be

[18:31] comfortable in that moment in in our

[18:33] life. But uh that moment doesn't carry

[18:37] us away or if it does, we're able to

[18:41] find a way to bring ourselves back into

[18:43] the present moment into our body. we can

[18:46] uh be with the discomfort and the

[18:49] difficult feelings. So that's kind of

[18:52] this yellow zone here.

[18:56] And um

[18:58] we're going to do one more stretching

[19:00] experiment.

[19:02] And please uh do not uh hurt yourself

[19:05] this time. Uh just take it easily, but

[19:08] experiment. See where you can find just

[19:10] your edge of stretching a little bit too

[19:13] far. just at the edge of ooh it's too

[19:18] much.

[19:20] And when you find that place just come

[19:22] back

[19:29] perhaps taking a moment to remember

[19:31] whatever that thing that gave you a

[19:33] sense of well-being earlier was.

[19:43] So when we receive energy in too great a

[19:46] quantity or too difficult a quality for

[19:49] us to handle, our nervous system goes

[19:52] into its instinctual kind of protective

[19:55] mode. Often times you'll hear this

[19:58] referred to as the fight, flight or

[20:00] freeze response. And that's out here in

[20:03] this red zone.

[20:06] really critically in this red zone. It

[20:10] is not possible to engage with the parts

[20:13] of our brain that mindfulness

[20:16] um is is alive in. And

[20:21] when we're pushed here, we can be swept

[20:25] away by our thoughts, by our feelings,

[20:27] by our actions. We might act

[20:29] unskillfully or in ways we regret. And

[20:32] um

[20:34] it is uh as Joanne was saying earlier,

[20:37] kind of our natural biological response

[20:40] to high stress. We're just trying to

[20:44] find the solution right then and there.

[20:46] And our brains, our bodies, our spirits

[20:49] are testing every possibility as fast as

[20:51] they can to get us back into a place

[20:54] where we feel comfortable and safe. Um

[20:59] but we don't necessarily have access to

[21:02] the full picture of what's going on uh

[21:06] to create that condition for us because

[21:09] again the body is just really trying to

[21:12] get back to its its comfort place.

[21:16] And

[21:21] if we spend

[21:23] all of our time or much of our time in

[21:26] this red zone,

[21:28] our window tends to shrink a little bit.

[21:31] You know, what we find comfortable

[21:33] becomes smaller and smaller because our

[21:36] nervous system is alerted to danger

[21:38] everywhere. On the flip side, when um we

[21:42] spend too much time in this comfortable

[21:46] green zone and we don't give ourselves

[21:50] opportunity to stretch, to grow, to

[21:52] challenge ourselves, our way of

[21:54] thinking, our way of being, um that

[21:57] window also shrinks. We get too uh

[22:00] comfortable. And then Joanne has used

[22:02] this analogy before and I really like

[22:04] it. the princess and the pee, you know,

[22:06] the one pee under her mattress, as tiny

[22:09] as it is, is enough to make her unable

[22:11] to sleep. So

[22:14] we have uh each of us at different times

[22:17] in our lives at different places in our

[22:19] lives um

[22:23] different needs to grow to be

[22:26] comfortable and also to notice when

[22:29] we've uh come into this red zone here

[22:32] and maybe are in need of some kind of a

[22:35] support to uh help us find our way back

[22:38] into a place where we can practice

[22:40] mindfulness where we and observe a

[22:44] bigger picture of what's going on and

[22:46] and how our bodies instinctually are

[22:50] responding to situations.

[22:53] And I think uh I'll give the microphone

[22:55] back to Joan now

[23:00] just to say um the red isn't bad. Um,

[23:07] it's what mobilizes us uh to run away

[23:10] and to fight. And those were really

[23:13] necessary. Um, they're less necessary uh

[23:17] in modern life and more necessary to

[23:20] stay in here, but uh it's not bad. And

[23:25] throughout the day, we fluctuate all

[23:27] over the place. And uh part of our

[23:31] practice is to be noticing where am I?

[23:36] Where am I? So I know whether I need to

[23:41] bring up the energy or bring it down.

[23:45] Let's take this away.

[23:57] One of the things that made me fall in

[24:00] love with Tai was the way he could make

[24:04] a circle.

[24:06] I won't be doing so well.

[24:14] So, we've uh had a lesson in this

[24:19] already this week. So, uh, just to

[24:24] what is this?

[24:27] The seeds, right? And there's a

[24:30] beautiful flower.

[24:33] And there's a kind of messy one. And um,

[24:40] uh, the right effort is to first know

[24:44] what is coming up. you're having an

[24:48] experience and do we like it? Does it

[24:51] feel good? Does it feel wholesome and

[24:53] nourishing or does it feel kind of

[24:56] creepy or

[24:59] And so we're always asking is this a

[25:02] wholesome seed or an unh wholesome seed?

[25:06] And one way we can uh test it is if it

[25:12] is creating a sense of well-being or a

[25:16] sense of illbeing.

[25:19] And so if it's over here uh well-being,

[25:24] we want we have two tasks. One is to

[25:27] name it. Um, joy, uh, gratitude,

[25:34] uh, compassion

[25:36] and to feel it, to just savor it, to

[25:40] create a neural pathway that goes

[25:45] and makes this stronger and quicker and

[25:50] more likely to come up in the future.

[25:53] And the other thing we can do with this

[25:55] neural pathway is call it up on purpose.

[25:59] We sit down on the cushion. We think of

[26:02] something that brought us a sense of

[26:04] well-being. And we hold it and we notice

[26:08] all its qualities, where it is in our

[26:12] body, what thoughts and images come up.

[26:16] We go through the scandas

[26:19] to to see what it's made of so that we

[26:23] can appreciate it in that moment and we

[26:26] can perhaps coax it up in the future

[26:30] maybe even in a different situation.

[26:34] Now with this one

[26:36] we know that if we give it its full

[26:40] attention like anger and we giving some

[26:43] shouts or some h um that also waters

[26:47] that seed and makes that neural pathway

[26:50] go quicker and more intensively and we

[26:54] don't want that to happen. So we

[26:57] surround it.

[27:02] we surround it.

[27:05] Well, so much for that. Obviously, I'm

[27:09] in the red and I can't surround it. That

[27:12] happens.

[27:15] Okay, we surround it with our

[27:17] mindfulness

[27:19] and then we're able to look at it the

[27:22] same way we looked at this. We notice

[27:25] where it is in our body, whether it's

[27:27] increasing or decreasing. Um what images

[27:31] and

[27:33] um

[27:35] thoughts that come up, what perceptions

[27:37] we have, what history we have with it.

[27:40] We see how it's made so we don't make it

[27:43] again. And then that seed is smaller and

[27:48] less likely to manifest.

[27:51] But the thing is, we don't always have

[27:55] mindfulness. When we're in this red

[27:58] zone, mindfulness isn't happening.

[28:01] What's happening is habit energy. We're

[28:05] on automatic pilot to save our lives.

[28:08] Whether that's realistic or not, uh we

[28:11] can get on a uh a red light and feel

[28:15] like we're going to die if it doesn't

[28:17] turn green really fast. And so that's

[28:21] kind of a mismatch between our nervous

[28:25] system that we're stuck with and and our

[28:29] civilization which we're also

[28:32] temporarily stuck with.

[28:34] So the question is always do I have the

[28:39] mindfulness

[28:41] to

[28:43] pay attention to this? And we all have

[28:46] kind of a tendency to go to one extreme

[28:50] or another. There are some people who

[28:52] say, "I'm going to dig in there and I'm

[28:55] going to feel this thing no matter how

[28:57] freaked out I am so I can make that

[29:00] thing go down." And that is not

[29:04] mindfulness.

[29:05] That is watering the seeds of tension

[29:10] and

[29:11] stretching way out here. It's just

[29:14] making it worse. And you feel it in your

[29:16] body. Your body is getting more tense or

[29:20] perhaps more like wiped out. And so when

[29:26] you go to surround it with mindfulness

[29:29] and that's not working very well, you

[29:32] have to stop and acknowledge I do not

[29:35] have the capacity

[29:37] to put mindfulness around this. So your

[29:40] job is to come back here and work on

[29:43] those seeds. Now it may take a little

[29:46] transition

[29:47] to go from here to here. And there there

[29:50] are things we can do in a pinch which uh

[29:54] Tai calls changing the peg. So we'll

[29:58] we'll talk about that later. But the the

[30:02] important part is that we're practicing

[30:05] all day long like a bell of mindfulness.

[30:09] If we hear a bell, where am I in here?

[30:12] Am I in here? Am I in here? Or am I

[30:15] here? That those of us who tend to

[30:20] overboard and hang on with our

[30:22] fingernails, we tend to like to be out

[30:26] here.

[30:28] And those of us who really know how to

[30:32] get in this green area and just like

[30:36] hang out there or hide there.

[30:40] We also have a tendency not to shy away

[30:45] from this to just keep going over here.

[30:49] So we need to know ourselves. What is

[30:51] our habit? Do we overdo or do we underdo

[30:56] when we're not in the middle?

[31:02] So,

[31:04] this is the foundation of our practice.

[31:11] And let's see what happens when we hang

[31:14] out here too much. So, let's get

[31:20] Yeah.

[31:31] Now it's your turn.

[31:36] So um we have this word in our common

[31:41] cultural dialogue now trauma right which

[31:44] is a very big word

[31:46] um and has many definitions.

[31:50] When we enter that uh red zone, there

[31:54] are kind of two different ways our

[31:57] nervous system goes. There's up here in

[32:01] the hyper zone. This is our fight and

[32:05] our flight response. Up here we get

[32:07] those um anxious, angry,

[32:11] um very scared kinds of feelings. And

[32:15] those are the high energy states that

[32:18] again survival instincts trying to bring

[32:21] us to a place of safety.

[32:24] The other end of the equation is the

[32:27] hypo states. So those are when we get

[32:30] really low and slow, lethargic or sad,

[32:35] depression, dissociation.

[32:38] And um when we get into those states uh

[32:42] those are kind of like conservation of

[32:43] energy states where like our nervous

[32:46] systems our body are feeling like I

[32:48] don't have uh any options. I'm going to

[32:50] b my time and wait until options become

[32:54] available.

[32:59] When we have like we do on the daily

[33:01] sometimes experiences that bring us into

[33:04] the red, if we have enough support,

[33:07] whether that's internal resources,

[33:09] community resources, spiritual

[33:11] resources, we can bring ourselves back

[33:14] into our window. But sometimes we

[33:18] experience stressors that we don't have

[33:20] adequate support for or are too

[33:23] difficult.

[33:29] I forgot something

[33:31] and so let's take it as an opportunity

[33:35] just like where are you at when I did

[33:37] that?

[33:42] Curious about what you forgot and uh

[33:47] maybe very mildly uh a little anxious

[33:50] for a moment but after you asked the

[33:53] question feeling calm.

[33:55] Well, I was right cozying up to the red

[33:58] myself. I was like, "Oh, this is too

[34:01] much too fast. This is actually what

[34:04] we're talking about, right?" It's like,

[34:07] "It's late at night. We've had a long

[34:09] day. Now we're going to talk about

[34:11] trauma." It's like, "Oh my gosh." So,

[34:15] um, I forgot to do the experiential

[34:19] part. Yes.

[34:23] Okay. So take just like

[34:27] and just notice where you're at in this

[34:30] moment in one of these diagrams.

[34:37] [Music]

[34:40] And for me just acknowledging

[34:43] that uh I got got a little too close to

[34:46] the red um is already bringing my

[34:50] cognitive online.

[34:52] it it's bringing myself into the moment

[34:56] and that helps me regulate a little bit.

[34:59] But we're going to walk through uh a

[35:02] number of the exercises in the

[35:05] Anapanosati sutra. This is the sutra

[35:09] that Tai discovered um which is actually

[35:12] part of the vapasa tradition

[35:16] um that he said this was the luckiest

[35:18] day of his life something like that.

[35:22] um because it's a road mapap for

[35:27] looking deeply for stopping and looking

[35:30] deeply.

[35:31] And the first thing we do is we find our

[35:35] balance. We sit up in a way that is both

[35:41] relaxed

[35:44] and alert. And what that is is

[35:49] bringing online

[35:52] the mindfulness is the optimal balance

[35:56] between

[35:58] onepointed concentration

[36:01] and kind of being aware of the whole

[36:05] picture. It's this kind of relaxed state

[36:09] in between. And so our body is the first

[36:14] place where we find that balance.

[36:19] And for each of us it may be different.

[36:22] And you can even experiment with like

[36:26] just slouch a little

[36:29] and just notice whether how your mind is

[36:33] and then sit up in a balance.

[36:36] So this this is neurobiology

[36:42] and tailor making it to you in this

[36:46] moment.

[36:50] And we're always looking for ways to

[36:53] feel solid. Some of you will have your

[36:57] arms crossed across your chest to feel

[37:00] solid. Others will hold their hands or

[37:05] um the the way we fold our legs to make

[37:10] ourselves feel solid. This is a basic

[37:15] well-being feeling

[37:17] in our neurobiology.

[37:22] So feeling where our body is contacting

[37:27] the earth, where it's contacting the

[37:29] chair, where we're feeling supported,

[37:32] how our spine holds up our head.

[37:37] So even to notice when you're in that

[37:40] red,

[37:42] where do I feel the weight?

[37:47] That can calm your nervous system. that

[37:49] can help regulate you up or down the way

[37:54] your body needs to have a sense of

[37:56] well-being.

[38:00] And then there's the eyes. The eyes must

[38:04] be open or closed, not to get

[38:07] distracted, but also not to feel like,

[38:12] uh-oh, if I close my eyes, something bad

[38:14] might happen. So that's adapting again,

[38:19] adapting to what brings you a sense of

[38:23] well-being because when we're sitting,

[38:28] we're trying to stay within the yellow,

[38:32] not necessarily in the green, but it's

[38:35] nice to start as close to the green.

[38:39] We don't always have control over the

[38:42] situation. So you feel your body and

[38:46] then uh some people may follow their

[38:50] breath

[38:52] as a way to anchor as a way to do

[38:56] something. They talk about an elephant

[38:58] in the marketplace needing a little

[39:01] piece of bamboo to hold on to so that

[39:05] trunk doesn't fly all over the place and

[39:08] cause havoc. And our mind is like that.

[39:12] We need something to anchor us.

[39:15] But some people when they follow their

[39:19] breath

[39:21] and they can't quite get a full breath

[39:24] and they keep

[39:27] focused on that, it gives the body and

[39:30] the mind a message that you're not quite

[39:34] safe because you can't take a full

[39:35] breath.

[39:37] So you notice how is breathing helping

[39:42] us to settle and we don't need to run

[39:45] away from it instantly if we don't like

[39:48] it but just to be curious. That yellow

[39:52] zone is a zone of curiosity.

[39:56] So we pick something that we can focus

[39:59] on easily that doesn't cause us

[40:04] constrination.

[40:06] that helps us just relax the mind. Just

[40:11] have one little thing to do.

[40:14] So

[40:16] you can pick whether it's the breath in

[40:19] this moment

[40:21] or perhaps uh

[40:25] the weight of your body on the cushion

[40:28] or perhaps

[40:32] um just allowing your gaze to find a a

[40:37] color that is pleasant and just relax

[40:41] with that color.

[40:43] Or sometimes if I'm not talking, you

[40:46] might be able to hear the birds.

[40:49] Just one thing.

[40:57] And we keep noticing as we do this, how

[41:01] does that affect us inside?

[41:06] So we have

[41:10] knowing about our breath or about our

[41:12] anchor

[41:14] and then noticing the body. That's

[41:19] the next step in the anapana sati sutra

[41:23] is to just be aware of our entire body.

[41:28] But we may need to do that one little

[41:31] bit at a time because trying to focus on

[41:35] the entire body may be too much.

[41:38] So you can maybe just focus on your feet

[41:42] and we won't go through the entire body

[41:45] just the feet in this moment but to give

[41:48] a notion of how we can tear it down to

[41:51] be very simple.

[41:54] Just noticing, do my two feet feel the

[41:58] same or do they feel different

[42:02] or can I feel them at all?

[42:05] Our daily life is so geared to looking

[42:08] outward

[42:10] that we don't take the time to be in

[42:13] tune with our body. And yet our body has

[42:18] all these subtle messages that we miss

[42:22] if we're not in tune.

[42:24] So we notice our feet. We notice the

[42:27] temperature.

[42:30] We notice what our feet are touching and

[42:34] what the quality of that texture might

[42:36] be.

[42:42] And we have the programming, the

[42:47] neurobiology

[42:48] to really slant our attention towards

[42:53] problems. So if we have an ache or a

[42:56] pain, chances are it's going to hijack

[42:59] your attention.

[43:02] So your job is not to let that happen.

[43:07] And when it does happen, because it's

[43:09] inevitable,

[43:11] to lovingly bring it back because as

[43:14] soon as you judge yourself, you scoot

[43:18] yourself towards the red because that's

[43:21] threatening yourself.

[43:24] So

[43:26] when Tai says, "If you're not enjoying

[43:29] your practice, you're doing it wrong."

[43:32] This is what he's pointing to.

[43:36] And it doesn't mean that it's all

[43:38] happiness and delight,

[43:41] but it can be all curiosity.

[43:45] So we we notice what's happening in our

[43:50] feet and when we get hijacked by uh our

[43:53] back, we go back to the feet and then we

[43:57] can move on to the legs and the organs

[43:59] and all the facial muscles and the like.

[44:05] But right now, just take a brief look

[44:09] through your body and see if you can

[44:12] find one part of the body that feels

[44:15] either pleasant or good enough, like

[44:19] doesn't hurt as much as yesterday,

[44:22] some good news about your body. There's

[44:26] always somewhere.

[44:29] So, and it doesn't need to be the very

[44:32] best part.

[44:34] Just somewhere that feels good enough.

[44:37] And allow your attention to rest there.

[44:47] And to notice whether the

[44:51] resting in a place of well-being or good

[44:56] enough

[44:59] makes a difference in the body or in the

[45:03] mind.

[45:15] And then

[45:18] I want to invite you to

[45:22] um listen to the frogs

[45:26] and just notice what happens as you

[45:29] listen to the frogs.

[45:42] Notice if the body is involved in what

[45:46] happens when you listen to the frogs

[45:49] and if there's some pleasant sensation

[45:54] in your body by listening to the frogs.

[45:59] Uh, you can even put a hand on that

[46:01] part.

[46:03] Hey frogs, keep it up.

[46:13] Okay, change to the birds.

[46:24] This is really magical, isn't it?

[46:28] So much power to ah the the frogs are

[46:32] laughing.

[46:35] So just notice

[46:38] this silliness and how does this

[46:40] silliness sit in the body? Or perhaps

[46:44] there was something that touched you

[46:46] today that brought you a sense of

[46:50] connection or delight.

[46:58] And as you bring it to mind to ask

[47:02] yourself, what are the best parts of

[47:04] this?

[47:15] Perhaps to isolate just one moment and

[47:19] feel

[47:20] how that might be alive in the body.

[47:26] This is gladdening the body.

[47:39] And in a similar way, we can gladden the

[47:42] mind.

[47:44] Uh also picking out some

[47:47] moment in time during the day that

[47:50] perhaps you didn't spend enough time

[47:53] savoring and that it's not too late to

[47:56] savor it. now

[47:59] to develop a lifestyle of watching for

[48:04] these moments of well-being

[48:08] and

[48:10] allowing yourself to

[48:13] savor and create the neural pathways

[48:16] that water those wholesome seeds.

[48:21] And that this little by little gives you

[48:24] more and more ability

[48:27] to sit with those

[48:31] moments of ill-being and surround them

[48:34] with mindfulness that develops

[48:38] uh by watering the wholesome seeds.

[48:45] So now we're going to return to trauma.

[48:53] And to just make uh clear that um we all

[48:59] uh experience trauma I guess. Um depends

[49:04] on your definition.

[49:06] Yeah. Uh it's really hot. If we let's

[49:10] shut all the doors and windows so we can

[49:14] all have the same experience of it being

[49:17] really hot.

[49:20] No. Okay, there we go.

[49:27] Just taking a moment inside of me to

[49:30] continue savoring because that was a

[49:33] very pleasant meditation. Thank you,

[49:35] Joanne.

[49:37] Um, okay.

[49:40] So, uh, we talked kind of a little bit

[49:43] about the up and the down. Yeah.

[49:49] when uh we get those stressors

[49:53] that uh

[49:56] like I was saying before, sometimes we

[49:58] get those stressors that we have the

[50:01] right support to bring ourselves back

[50:03] to. Maybe we have enough moments of

[50:06] savoring to kind of do that hopping back

[50:09] and forth and surrounding. or we have a

[50:13] good friend who uh holds our hand or

[50:16] pats us on the back, reminds us that

[50:18] it's going to be okay. Those moments

[50:21] help us come out of the red and back

[50:24] into the green.

[50:26] Sometimes we find circumstances

[50:30] that for any number of reasons

[50:33] um keep us in the red.

[50:36] And this is our nervous system again

[50:40] trying to protect us. But uh if we stay

[50:45] in that red zone on either end for too

[50:48] long and we don't have the adequate

[50:52] support or resources to bring ourselves

[50:54] back into the green, we um

[51:00] build that neural pathway into us really

[51:02] strongly. And uh that ends up sitting in

[51:06] our body, in our mind, in our feelings

[51:08] very strongly. And it's this kind of

[51:12] extended stay in the red that uh we call

[51:16] trauma in the in the brain and in the

[51:19] body.

[51:26] And there are a number of different

[51:28] kinds of trauma. And I don't think I

[51:30] need to break them all down.

[51:32] Yeah. Yeah,

[51:40] you don't have to do that one.

[51:44] Everybody raise a hand.

[51:46] Ah, yeah.

[51:53] So, uh, raise if you like to raise two

[51:56] hands, you can raise two hands. If you

[51:58] get tired, you can always put one down.

[52:00] Um so uh just to name a few of the kinds

[52:05] of um trauma, trauma is when we're stuck

[52:10] and when the threat is gone and when uh

[52:14] the body is continuing to uh feel the

[52:19] the danger. So um often times uh people

[52:25] who live through war

[52:27] uh or

[52:29] um feel that kind of uh stress, the

[52:34] unrelenting stress of living through

[52:36] war. So if you live through a war, just

[52:40] put down one of your hands. And if you

[52:43] were raised by somebody who was uh a

[52:47] person who lived through war, you can

[52:49] put down a hand. Um if you were raised

[52:53] in a place where uh your particular

[52:57] demographic,

[52:59] whether it was race, religion,

[53:02] um uh sexual orientation, preference,

[53:07] um

[53:09] was problematic.

[53:11] uh you can put your hand down. And if

[53:14] you were raised by someone who lived

[53:16] through that, you can put your hand

[53:18] down. And if you uh lived through

[53:22] poverty or you were raised by somebody

[53:25] who lived through poverty, you could put

[53:27] a hand down. And uh if you were raised

[53:31] in a family where somebody had a grave

[53:34] illness or you had a grave illness or a

[53:38] death in the family that was important,

[53:40] you can put your hand down.

[53:43] And uh

[53:48] if uh

[53:51] if you lived in a place where there was

[53:54] some kind of natural disaster

[53:58] um or uh what else

[54:05] what else is there that eats away at us?

[54:08] either all of a sudden uh somebody who

[54:13] was raised by someone who suffered

[54:16] sexual abuse or domestic violence or

[54:20] drug addiction or any one of those

[54:23] things yourself can put your hand down.

[54:30] If uh if you come from uh a uh

[54:36] profession where you are looking at uh

[54:41] doing things that are counter to your

[54:43] own ethics.

[54:45] Um it's called moral injury. You may put

[54:49] your hand down.

[54:52] If you come from a situation of great

[54:55] wealth

[54:57] or great beauty,

[55:01] you could put your hand down. Wow.

[55:06] Well, for those who still have their

[55:08] hands up, we'll just leave them up and

[55:10] you'll be suffering some other kind of

[55:13] trauma.

[55:15] Um, sometimes I leave things out that

[55:19] feel very important. Um, if you have

[55:23] been uh adopted or raised by somebody

[55:27] who was adopted, you can put your hand

[55:30] down.

[55:38] So, um, not too many hands are still up.

[55:43] Uh, we are all

[55:46] suffering something. We all live in a

[55:49] world that is on fire

[55:53] and that affects all of us. So in some

[55:56] ways or other

[56:00] we all experience this at some point.

[56:13] H

[56:14] moral wounding

[56:16] moral wounding. I I mentioned that uh

[56:20] yeah people in the who work for uh

[56:25] universities where you have to publish a

[56:27] certain kind of stuff.

[56:31] Do you want to uh

[56:34] an accident? Yes. Something that is big

[56:37] on your body. Absolutely. Um

[56:42] yes. Thank you.

[56:44] Neglect.

[56:46] Yes. Yes. Neglect is uh very similar to

[56:51] uh um it's something that grates on you

[56:55] that one little bit of neglect builds on

[56:58] the next on the next on the next. If you

[57:01] were

[57:05] uh neurodeiverse

[57:06] and your parents didn't recognize it and

[57:09] couldn't see who you were, um that can

[57:13] be very damaging and can put you on

[57:16] edge.

[57:18] So, what do you do when that happens?

[57:22] What do you do when you're stuck in the

[57:24] red?

[57:27] Um,

[57:29] so

[57:31] the idea is that you chip away with it a

[57:35] little tiny bit at a time. I I liken it

[57:40] to roasting a marshmallow.

[57:43] Um, you have a stick and a marshmallow

[57:47] and you put it on there. you put it in

[57:50] your attention and for those who like uh

[57:54] overdo it, you just stick it right into

[57:57] the fire and it turns

[58:00] on to flame and it's just an ashy mess

[58:05] and you wouldn't want to eat it. So, um

[58:09] then there's the person who keeps it

[58:12] really safe. They put it on the end of

[58:14] the stick and the fire is over there and

[58:16] they hold it like here and they're

[58:19] they're like waiting for it to melt and

[58:22] it is just not going to do it. So you

[58:25] have to bring it to the fire to go as

[58:30] close to the red as you can but still

[58:34] you're in the yellow. You're not

[58:36] completely carried away and you know

[58:39] what it feels like to be carried away.

[58:43] So you have to know that and you you put

[58:46] it into the fire with just one side just

[58:50] maybe noticing what happens in your feet

[58:55] and then if that's a little too much you

[58:59] bring it out of the fire.

[59:02] You notice how it's affecting your body.

[59:05] You can either start with your body or

[59:08] you can start with your your images. or

[59:12] your stories. It doesn't matter where

[59:14] you start.

[59:16] It helps to start with the body if

[59:19] you're comfortable with that. So

[59:22] something happens for me.

[59:25] I feel it. Oh, I feel it everywhere. Are

[59:28] you sure? Well, actually, I don't feel

[59:32] it in my ankles. Okay. Where do you feel

[59:35] it the least? A little bit. I feel it in

[59:38] my calves. Okay. I can feel it in my

[59:41] calves for a moment, but that's really

[59:43] enough. And I bring the marshmallow out

[59:47] so that it doesn't start to burn.

[59:50] And then I maybe I turn it a little bit

[59:52] and I think, okay, can what what image

[59:56] came up? Oh, I can't look at that whole

[59:59] thing. Well, can you look at one corner

[1:00:02] of it? And just maybe for a second, you

[1:00:05] put it in the fire. Then you bring it

[1:00:08] out.

[1:00:12] And you ask yourself, do I have the

[1:00:14] capacity to try it again for two

[1:00:18] seconds? Maybe yes and maybe no. You

[1:00:22] really don't want to push your capacity.

[1:00:26] So I think, oh yeah, I got it. I push it

[1:00:29] in. I was like, nope. And so I wait

[1:00:33] until tomorrow or I wait until next

[1:00:36] week. Meanwhile, I'm watering those

[1:00:39] wholesome seeds. Watering. I'm never not

[1:00:42] practicing.

[1:00:44] I'm noticing where I am all day long

[1:00:49] and I'm watering the wholesome seeds.

[1:00:52] And I don't do it alone.

[1:00:55] Um Yousef was saying

[1:00:59] much of

[1:01:01] trauma you know two people experience a

[1:01:04] similar thing and one comes out it's

[1:01:08] okay and another person comes out very

[1:01:12] traumatized

[1:01:13] is generally because there was emotional

[1:01:17] support.

[1:01:19] So when we have dharma sharing

[1:01:23] the the idea is that we sit

[1:01:27] non-judging we have a compassionate

[1:01:31] connection with a person who's sharing

[1:01:34] so that they feel some support

[1:01:38] and then we encourage them to share

[1:01:41] what's on their heart and stay in the

[1:01:45] yellow.

[1:01:46] Not just like

[1:01:49] Because

[1:01:50] you may not as a sharer

[1:01:54] have the capacity to bring yourself back

[1:01:56] into the yellow. And the people in the

[1:02:01] group, especially if they don't know you

[1:02:03] and you don't know them, they may also

[1:02:06] become disregulated

[1:02:09] and then they're feeding you back like

[1:02:13] this and or judging. And that's not a a

[1:02:18] good message

[1:02:19] to sit with. So in dharma sharing we try

[1:02:25] to stay within the yellow both as a

[1:02:28] listener

[1:02:30] and as a sharer.

[1:02:32] And that

[1:02:34] when that becomes too much for the

[1:02:37] sharer and they're carried away, we can

[1:02:42] sound the bell

[1:02:44] and give everyone a chance to re

[1:02:50] regulate themselves

[1:02:52] and that as sister Chung says, if one

[1:02:55] person in the boat can have a calm

[1:02:58] presence, then we can tune into that

[1:03:01] person. So that the dharma sharing is a

[1:03:06] deep practice in healing and that the

[1:03:11] the really

[1:03:14] skillful dharma sharing group can hold

[1:03:18] the mindfulness

[1:03:20] when a practitioner is not able.

[1:03:25] But sometimes

[1:03:27] that's really unrealistic.

[1:03:30] that it's just too much for the the

[1:03:32] sharer and that they may need one-

[1:03:36] on-one support of someone who can hold

[1:03:40] the mindfulness for them,

[1:03:43] who can remind them that like open your

[1:03:47] eyes, look around, listen to the birds,

[1:03:51] take a drink of water, wrap yourself up

[1:03:56] to have the very simplest of exercises.

[1:04:01] Um, and to know in advance that those

[1:04:04] are the things that help you reeregulate

[1:04:07] yourself and maybe even keep a list of

[1:04:11] those in your pocket.

[1:04:14] Um, and when we do like retreats or

[1:04:18] longer workshops,

[1:04:20] um,

[1:04:21] uh, we we practice those as well. But

[1:04:25] I'm realizing, oh my goodness, it's it's

[1:04:28] 9:05. Um,

[1:04:33] maybe you can give a pitch for the

[1:04:36] things that Embrace is doing while I

[1:04:38] look at my notes and see what I forgot.

[1:04:44] So, um, this, uh, material is the kind

[1:04:47] of thing that we dive pretty deeply

[1:04:49] into. um in the embrace sa um we've been

[1:04:53] having um kind of study groups using uh

[1:04:57] Joannne's book and um coming together

[1:05:00] over Zoom. We have a few different

[1:05:03] sections to accommodate for people all

[1:05:05] around the world. Um, and we take the

[1:05:08] chance to go through this material

[1:05:10] slowly to do exercises and guided

[1:05:13] meditations together to kind of embody

[1:05:17] some of the the the learning. Um, so

[1:05:21] that's been uh a lot of what the Embrace

[1:05:24] SA has been up to. We have a website

[1:05:27] online embraces.org or where you can

[1:05:29] find um more resources, videos,

[1:05:34] information about hopefully some

[1:05:36] upcoming study groups um and keep up

[1:05:40] with uh what else is going on.

[1:05:44] And just to say, we're not

[1:05:46] neuroscientists doing this. We're

[1:05:48] practitioners and we're learning

[1:05:50] together and supporting each other and

[1:05:53] just like pulling each other up. And uh

[1:05:58] I wanted to say briefly that um looking

[1:06:02] through a kind of a neuroscience lens at

[1:06:05] the five mindfulness trainings

[1:06:08] uh is very interesting that it gives us

[1:06:11] a container

[1:06:14] to

[1:06:15] be able to reflect on all of these

[1:06:20] energies that we inherited as our

[1:06:23] huntergatherer selves. and see how they

[1:06:26] interface with society as it is today.

[1:06:31] And so those mindfulness trainings are

[1:06:35] really like the container that we need

[1:06:40] in order not to snowball out into the

[1:06:44] red. That every one of those trainings

[1:06:47] is a training to say, "Are you getting

[1:06:50] close to the red? Would you be in the

[1:06:53] red if you did this? Uh, and how can we

[1:06:58] protect ourselves from getting into the

[1:07:00] red? And you know, we'll be bouncing in

[1:07:02] and out of the red because that's what

[1:07:04] we are as human beings. We're really

[1:07:08] limited as human beings.

[1:07:11] And I think that that's both the good

[1:07:14] news and the bad news.

[1:07:17] The bad news is that we are not what we

[1:07:21] think we are. And it's all of the wars

[1:07:26] and feuds and the terrible impacts on

[1:07:31] the environment and climate catastrophe

[1:07:36] are the natural outcome of uncultivated

[1:07:40] minds over

[1:07:43] millennia upon millennia upon millennia.

[1:07:46] And the good news is that the Buddha

[1:07:49] figured out how to stop it little by

[1:07:52] little with our practice.

[1:07:55] And that neuroscientists

[1:07:57] give us some glimpse into

[1:08:02] the things that the Buddha didn't have a

[1:08:04] chance to see. But uh if he were alive

[1:08:09] today, perhaps he would be sticking his

[1:08:13] head in a scanner.

[1:08:15] So, uh,

[1:08:18] I I highly recommend,

[1:08:21] um, whether you take them formally or

[1:08:23] not, there's such a good protection. And

[1:08:28] now we're going to,

[1:08:31] uh, try and get you into the red zone.

[1:08:36] Um, just because we want you to

[1:08:38] experience everything that we have to

[1:08:41] offer. Um, so, uh, so here's what we're

[1:08:46] going to do is, uh, we're going to make

[1:08:49] these. Now, don't start yet. Don't touch

[1:08:52] the paper. I'll say start and then you

[1:08:55] can start and you'll have all the time

[1:08:58] you need um, in one minute to do it.

[1:09:02] And, um, you'll notice some glitches

[1:09:06] along the way and just notice where you

[1:09:08] are in the process. So, here's what you

[1:09:11] do.

[1:09:12] You um fold it in eighs.

[1:09:15] So you just fold. Now don't do it. I

[1:09:17] said I'll tell you when to do it.

[1:09:20] Can you hold this for me? All right. So

[1:09:28] you fold it in eighs

[1:09:31] by going like this and like that. And

[1:09:33] then you take the center

[1:09:37] and you lick it

[1:09:40] like that to uh make the the um fibers

[1:09:45] weak. And then you go this way and you

[1:09:48] go and you and you fold it. I mean you

[1:09:52] unfold it and then you pinch it like a

[1:09:55] little mouth and then you go like that

[1:09:58] and it's done. Now you'll have

[1:10:02] 45 seconds to do yours. Uh, start now.

[1:10:08] And you have to get it really careful or

[1:10:12] you'll make the words lap over onto the

[1:10:15] wrong page. Um, it's 15 seconds already.

[1:10:20] Yeah. Okay. Keep going. and make those

[1:10:22] creases really strong so that it and

[1:10:26] then you want to make them like both

[1:10:29] ways. Uh,

[1:10:33] no, sorry.

[1:10:35] That's the idea. Okay, it's 40 seconds.

[1:10:40] Okay. Um, so just finish up now and

[1:10:44] notice uh No, no, not all the way. Then

[1:10:48] you'll rip the whole thing in half.

[1:10:51] That's very bad.

[1:10:53] Ah, we have a star pupil here. Why don't

[1:10:57] you flaunt it with everybody else and

[1:10:59] show them how you did that? Okay.

[1:11:02] Anybody feeling a little bit uh uh

[1:11:05] activated? You do you notice that it

[1:11:09] would be really cruel to do that just

[1:11:11] before you're going to sleep? H it's

[1:11:15] just like thinking of like you got this

[1:11:18] bad thing you're going to do tomorrow

[1:11:21] and you think about it just as you turn

[1:11:23] off the light. Ah another person to

[1:11:27] flaunt success. Okay. Now if you notice

[1:11:32] on your folding was it accurate or is it

[1:11:35] lapping over?

[1:11:38] You know what

[1:11:40] is off center?

[1:11:41] No it's not off center. I I made the

[1:11:44] assumption that the whole world has the

[1:11:47] same size paper as the United States and

[1:11:51] that's just wrong.

[1:11:54] It's just not the same size. And I just

[1:11:57] discovered it as we came in here. So, we

[1:12:00] have a nice 150 copies that are wrong.

[1:12:06] Oh well.

[1:12:08] Um, okay. Stop for a moment. Please

[1:12:11] stop.

[1:12:14] Stop

[1:12:17] and just look around and I want you to

[1:12:22] just like look at somebody smiling and

[1:12:25] ask yourself, is that a a real smile or

[1:12:28] a fake smile?

[1:12:31] You know, we're so fine-tuned, we can

[1:12:34] tell the difference even with a mask on.

[1:12:39] We can tell the difference between a

[1:12:41] genuine smile. We are a wonder

[1:12:46] the more you get into neurobiology

[1:12:49] and the way we co-regulate and how we

[1:12:52] can really sense not only the feelings

[1:12:57] that a person is having but their

[1:12:59] intention.

[1:13:02] We are miraculous

[1:13:04] and we need to cultivate it and then

[1:13:08] we'll have a different default

[1:13:11] and create a different world.

[1:13:20] Is that it?

[1:13:23] So, um

[1:13:27] um

[1:13:30] it's 9:14.

[1:13:32] I think it's it's time to stop, but just

[1:13:36] just go inside.

[1:13:39] Um

[1:13:41] and maybe pick out one moment that we've

[1:13:45] been together

[1:13:48] that

[1:13:50] spoke to you.

[1:13:52] in whatever ways you needed to be spoken

[1:13:55] to

[1:13:59] and just feel how that is in the body.

[1:14:06] And maybe there's some words

[1:14:10] that go with it or an image

[1:14:15] or

[1:14:17] a gesture.

[1:14:19] We didn't even touch on gestures hardly

[1:14:22] at all. And gestures are completely

[1:14:25] magic.

[1:14:27] Um,

[1:14:31] and

[1:14:34] just savor it for three breaths.

[1:14:39] And know that that neural pathway to

[1:14:43] this flavor of well-being

[1:14:48] is getting stronger

[1:14:51] and faster.

[1:14:54] And that you can do that with every

[1:14:57] encounter,

[1:14:59] whether you do it right at the time or

[1:15:02] you do it after the fact. You can build

[1:15:05] these neural pathways and strengthen the

[1:15:08] wholesome seeds and shrink those creepy

[1:15:13] little seeds

[1:15:15] that get in our way.

[1:15:19] And we can do it much better when we do

[1:15:23] it together as a SA.

Thich Nhat Hanh
AuthorThich Nhat Hanh

Vietnamese Zen master, poet, and peace activist. Founded Plum Village in France and was central to the engaged Buddhism movement. His teachings on mindfulness, interbeing, and walk…

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Got Questions?

Frequently Asked Questions

Your nervous system evolved for hunter-gatherer life and is built to respond rapidly to threats, but modern stresses are chronic and abstract rather than acute. Your biology hasn't caught up with your circumstances. Learning to recognize when you're in the yellow or red zone and using body-based practices to return to the green zone can help regulate this response.
The window of tolerance (or green zone) is the state where your nervous system has ease and calm, allowing you to experience emotions—whether peaceful or difficult—without becoming dysregulated or swept away. In this state, you can practice mindfulness effectively and respond skillfully rather than react automatically.
Notice your body: Is there tension or ease? How is your breath? Where do you feel activation or calm? Are your signals increasing or decreasing? Grounding in your feet or placing a hand on your heart are simple ways to check in. Over time, you develop familiarity with your own signals and can recognize the green, yellow, or red zones more easily.
Buddhist psychology identifies these as roots of suffering, but neuroscience reveals they evolved as survival mechanisms. Rather than shamming ourselves for these tendencies, we can appreciate them as outdated strategies and use mindfulness practice to gently update them toward more skillful responses.
Yes, but it must be tailored to your current capacity. Trauma lives in the nervous system and requires repeated safe experience to reprogram. If you're in the red zone (dysregulated), pushing toward stillness can be re-traumatizing. Gentler practices, movement, co-regulation with others, and gradual exposure help the nervous system learn that safety is possible.
Don't force it. Instead, use grounding practices: notice your feet, place a hand on your heart, adjust your posture, or simply sit with another person in calm presence. These simple, body-based practices help signal safety to your nervous system without requiring the complex awareness that meditation demands.
Humans have used singing, shared presence, and direct contact to regulate each other's nervous systems since ancient times. A calm nervous system influences others toward calm. In Buddhist sangha, practicing together—whether sitting meditation, chanting, or simply being present—creates this co-regulatory effect, which is why community practice is healing.

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