Hack Spirit

3 Buddhist beliefs that will soothe your soul (and make you much happier!)

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There’s no denying that life is tough.

We might appear that we’re happy, but deep inside, it’s total chaos. It’s almost like we’re “ducks” – calm on the surface but paddling furiously underneath.

But the worst thing we can do is avoid the difficult aspects of life.

According to Buddhist philosophy, happiness involves embracing and accepting all the different aspects of life, even if they’re negative.

Otherwise we’re turning a blind eye to reality and resisting the natural forces of the universe.

So below, we’re going to go over 3 truths about life Buddhism says we’d all benefit from accepting.

1) Dukka: Life is pain and causes suffering.

This is the first noble truth of Buddhism. You might think that this sounds quite negative. But there’s more to it than simply “Life is tough, so accept it.”

The truth is, we create more suffering in our lives by avoiding difficult emotions.

Buddha is right: Every single one of us will at one point experience unpleasant emotions like anxiety, stress, and sadness.

We often try to avoid these feelings through attaching ourselves to material items and fleeting states of being like excitement. However, doing this often a recipe for more disappointment and sadness in the future.

So rather than fearing suffering, if we choose to be aware of it and accept it, it can ultimately reduce our suffering. Alan Watts says it best:

“There will always be suffering. But we must not suffer over the suffering.”

How can this benefit you in your daily life? Realize that there is power in accepting that death, sickness, suffering and loss are part of life.

You can stop attaching to the thought that life should be easy and pain-free. By doing so, you’re becoming more open to change and uncertainty, which paradoxically will make your life more enjoyable and fun.n

2. Anitya: Life is change.

Anitya means “impermanence” which states that nothing is ever fixed. Everything is changing. The weather changes, our emotions change, we are born and eventually pass away; the only law in the universe is that change is constant.

This concept can help us when we are experiencing difficult emotions as we know they won’t last forever. Our pain will pass.

When we experience joy, we know that the feeling is fleeting, so we better make the most of it while it lasts. Greek philosopher Heraclitus mirrored the belief when he famously said, “You can never step in the same river twice.” All we have is the present moment.

How can this benefit you in your daily life? While embracing the idea of impermanence feels scary, it can actually be quite liberating. It helps us appreciate all the good things we have in life while realizing that the bad won’t last forever.

It’s also the law of the universe, so by embracing this idea, you are literally flowing with all that there is, rather than fighting against it.

3. Anatma: The self is always changing.

In the west, we tend to believe that there is a concrete, constant self tucked away somewhere in us.

Buddhism, however, says that there is no fixed, stable “self”. Our cells, memories, thoughts, experiences always change over time. We give ourselves names, titles and personalities to make it feel like there is a sense of “self”. But this is another idea given to us from our society.

According to Buddhism, our lives are a story we can change. As Thich Nhat Hanh says, “Thanks to impermanence, anything is possible.”

How can this benefit you in your daily life? In the west, we are often told to “find ourselves.” However, by embracing this idea, we can instead create ourselves. If we are having an off day, we can realize that tomorrow will be different. Every day offers new possibilities for us to expand who we are.

Looking to reduce stress and live a calmer, more focused life? Mindfulness is the easy way to gently let go of stress and be in the moment. It has fast become the slow way to manage the modern world – without chanting mantras or finding hours of special time to meditate.

In Hack Spirit’s new eBook, The Art of Mindfulness, we explain how you can use mindfulness practically to help you clear your mind, let go of your worries and live peacefully in the present moment.

By devoting full attention on what we are doing in the moment, we can alleviate suffering, fear and anxiety.

With the power of mindfulness at our fingertips and the beauty of looking deeply, we can find insights to transform and heal any situation.

These 5 habits will make your life 10 times better (according to science)

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What are the best habits for a healthy mind and body?

I see this question asked ALL the time.

Here’s the thing…With pretty much any “habit” someone is promoting, it doesn’t mean it will benefit you as well. We’re not all the same. What works for some people might not work for you.

So, how can you work out the “healthy habits” that give you the best chance of helping you?

Scientific research, and lots of it!

Research is designed to eliminate factors you can’t control, and also be statistically significant for the majority of participants. And the more positive research there is, the higher chance it will actually benefit you.

So, in this post, I’m going to go over 5 natural habits that science says will probably work. Enjoy!

1) Running

Humans are built to run. We evolved to run great distances hunting prey and gathering food.

So it’s no surprise that research suggests running could be one of the most effective habits for your health, physically and mentally.

A 2014 study that appeared in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that “running, even 5-10 minutes a day, at slow speeds, even slower than 6 miles per hour [10:00 minute pace], is associated with markedly reduced risks of death from all causes and cardiovascular disease.”

A 2017 study found that, in general, runners have a 25%-40% reduced risk of premature mortality and live approximately 3 years longer than non-runners.

It’s not just your physical health, either. Running, and other forms of exercise, can reduce anxiety symptoms and help you relax, according to studies cited by the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. In some studies, running may work as well as medication to relieve anxiety.

Running has also been found to help people with depression. Science has found that depression is related to low levels of neurotransmitters such as serotonin and norepinephrine, both of which are stimulated by exercise.

So, what’s the “perfect” amount of running per week? According to Carl. J. Lavie, MD, “Running for 20 to 30 minutes, or about a mile-and-a-half to three miles, twice per week would appear to be perfect.”

2) Intermittent Fasting

If you were to do intermittent fasting, you would not eat from say, 7 PM until 11 am (16 hours) and during 11 am to 7 PM, you would eat as much as you want.

There are other ways to practice it. You could not eat for 24 hours, once or twice a week.

Of course, it doesn’t mean you can just eat junk food and you will experience the benefits. It’s still important to eat healthy food.

There’s starting to be a lot more research on intermittent fasting.

First, intermittent fasting has been found to boost metabolic rate (increase calories out) and reduce the amount of food you eat (reduces calories in).

According to a 2014 review, intermittent fasting can cause weight loss of 3-8% over 3-24 weeks. The people also lost 4-7% of their waist circumference, which indicates that they lost lots of belly fat, which is harmful in the abdominal cavity that causes disease.

Studies also show that intermittent fasting can reduce oxidative damage and inflammation in the body. This should have benefits against aging and development of numerous diseases.

Also, intermittent fasting has been shown to improve several risk factors for heart disease, such as blood pressure, cholesterol levels, triglycerides and inflammatory markers.

3) Lift weights

Weightlifting is not something that readily comes up when it comes to health. But it can actually be very beneficial for your body and mood.

Research suggests that lifting weights can add years to your life. A 2014 UCLA study suggested that the more muscle mass we have, the less likely we are to die prematurely.

The lead researcher said in a statement, “the greater your muscle mass, the lower your risk of death….Thus, rather than worrying about weight or body mass index, we should be trying to maximize and maintain muscle mass.”

Your sleep also improves when you do resistance training. In a small 2012 study in older men, researchers found that resistance training reduce the number of times the study participants woke up during the night.

4) Stop using Facebook

You may not like this one, as you’re probably reading this article from Facebook.

But research is starting to show that staying off Facebook will probably make you happier.

Researchers in Denmark asked people to stop using Facebook for one week to see if it made them happier. Compared to the control group who continued to use Facebook, they appeared more satisfied with their life once the experiment was complete.

The lead researcher of the study attributed the results to people’s tendencies to compare themselves to others on social media. The researcher stated:

“Facebook distorts our perception of reality and of what other people’s lives really look like. We take into account how we’re doing in life through comparisons to everyone else, and since most people only post positive things on Facebook, that gives us a very biased perception of reality…If we are constantly exposed to great news, we risk evaluating our own lives as less good.”

There have also been plenty of studies that have found correlations between heavier Facebook use and depression, feelings of envy and isolation and lower self-esteem.

There’s no doubt that Facebook is great for keeping in touch with people, but there’s no shortage of messaging apps. So instead of mindlessly scrolling Facebook, your time might be better spent using constructive apps that help you learn and gain knowledge.

5) Get outside in nature

We’re spending a lot more time indoors, thanks to urbanization and technology controlling our lives.

Unfortunately, this means we’re not getting enough time out in nature. However, there’s plenty of research to suggest that getting out in nature, whether it’s forests, mountains or the sea, can reduce stress and make you happier.

A study in Japan found that participants who were assigned to walk in a forest (compared to an urban center) were found to have significantly lower heart rates and increased relaxation and less stress.

Another study in Finland found that urban dwellers who strolled for as little as 20 minutes through an urban park or woodland reported significantly more stress relief than those who strolled in the city center.

The reasons are unclear, but scientists believe that we evolved to be more relaxed in natural spaces.

Looking to reduce stress and live a calmer, more focused life? Mindfulness is the easy way to gently let go of stress and be in the moment. It has fast become the slow way to manage the modern world – without chanting mantras or finding hours of special time to meditate.

In Hack Spirit’s new eBook, The Art of Mindfulness, we explain how you can use mindfulness practically to help you clear your mind, let go of your worries and live peacefully in the present moment.

By devoting full attention on what we are doing in the moment, we can alleviate suffering, fear and anxiety.

With the power of mindfulness at our fingertips and the beauty of looking deeply, we can find insights to transform and heal any situation.