david michie - why mindfulness is better than chocolate (extract)

YO U R G U I D E TO I N N E R P E A C E , E N H A N C E D F O C U S and

D E E P H A P P I N E S S

Cover design: Alissa Dinallo

M I N D , B O D Y , S P I R I T

Mindfulness practice can help you reduce stress, improve performance, manage pain and increase wellbeing. These are the reasons why elite athletes, performing artists and business leaders are taking up the practice, and why it is being introduced into the worlds most successful companies, banks, business

schoolseven the US Army.

David Michie introduces mindfulness practice and offers innovative solutions to common obstacles. Drawing on ancient Buddhist teachings and contemporary science, he also takes us beyond mindfulness lite, offering lucid instructions on how to experience the pristine nature of ones own consciousness

directlyan encounter that is truly life-changing.

Written with warmth and good humour, Why Mindfulness is Better than Chocolate is the ultimate guide to self-discovery.

It will make chocolate taste better too!

David Michie demonstrates a fine knack for capturing the essence of this important topic and presenting it in a fun and

accessible way. Dr Timothy Sharp, The Happiness Institute

DAVID MICHIE is an internationally published writer and meditation coach. He is author of the bestselling Hurry Up and Meditate, Buddhism for Busy People, Enlightenment to Go and The Dalai Lamas Cat series. He brings to this book his expertise in mind training as a practising

Buddhist, and his professional experience of the corporate world.

2 3 . 1 3 m m C M Y K M AT T L A M I N AT I O N

www.davidmichie.com

YOUR GUIDE TO INNER PEACE, ENHANCED FOCUS and

DEEP HAPPINESS

Why Mindfulness is Better than Chocolate.indd 3 4/04/14 3:01 PM

First published in 2014

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Contents

1. Is mindfulness really better than chocolate? 1

2. What is mindfulness and why does it matter? 15

3. How to meditate 29

4. The benefits of meditation and mindfulness 49

5. How mindfulness benefits organisations 89

6. Ten tips for getting into the meditation habit 116

7. How to apply mindfulness in your daily life 134

8. Our mindfulness journey 147

9. How mindfulness makes us happier 167

10. What is mind? 195

11. How to meditate on your own mind 224

12. Healing and the mind 255

Epilogue 284

Acknowledgements 290

Further reading 293

Notes 295


11Is mindfulness really better

than chocolate?

All of human unhappiness is due to the inability to sit still in a room alone.

BLAISE PASCAL

Is mindfulness really better than chocolate? Come to think of it, is anything better than chocolate? Or is the title of this book nothing more than a shameless ploy to grab your attention?

As it happens, the idea that mindfulness is better than

chocolate is based on compelling research. More than 2000

people in the United States took part in an innovative study

using smartphone technology. Panel members were sent ques-

tions at different times of the day and night asking what they

were doing, what they were thinking and how happy they felt.1

The analysis, published by Harvard University psycholo-

gists Matthew Killingsworth and Daniel Gilbert in Science


2magazine, revealed three important facts. First, people were

not thinking about what they were doing 47 per cent of

the time. Second, people were unhappier when their minds

were wandering than when they were not. And third, what

people were thinking was a better predictor of their happiness

than what they were doing.

The researchers summarised: A human mind is a wander-

ing mind, and a wandering mind is an unhappy mind. The

ability to think about what is not happening is a cognitive

achievement that comes at an emotional cost.

Long ago, Buddhists reached much the same conclusion.

An ancient tale tells of a novice who asked an enlightened

monk to reveal the secret of happiness. The monk told him,

I eat, and I walk and I sleep. When the novice replied that

he also did these things, the monk replied, When I eat, I eat.

When I walk, I walk. When I sleep, I sleep.

Buddha and the Harvard Psychology Department are

most definitely on the same page when it comes to mindful-

ness. And the Harvard findings are rich with implications for

human behaviour.

But what concerns us right now is chocolate.

The study shows were at our happiest when our mind is

not wanderingthat is, when were in a state of mindfulness.

But the nature of peoples activities had only a modest impact

on whether their minds wandered. It would seem that whether


3were washing the dishes or eating the most mouth-wateringly

delicious Belgian praline, were just as likely to have a wander-

ing mind. Eating chocolate is no guarantee that were thinking

about what were doing.

Which is why mindfulness will always trump chocolate as

a means of delivering happiness.

Perhaps not surprisingly, theres one human activity

where mindfulness is consistently high: sex. Only 10 per

cent of people reported their minds wandering during

this activity, so if Id called this book Why mindfulness is

better than sex, I would have found myself on much shakier

ground.

Incidentally, one cant help speculating on what those

10 per cent of people who reported wandering minds during

sex were actually thinking about. Could the old clich of

grocery lists be true? More research, please!

I will admit, however, to being a little mischievous in

creating a false dichotomy between mindfulness and choco-

late. Theres no reason to choose between the two. On the

contrary, the highlight of my mindfulness seminars is often an

exercise I call the Lindt technique, where I invite participants

to mindfully enjoy a Lindt chocolate. Their instructions are to

focus exclusively on the sensation of eating a chocolate, every

element in forensic detail, from opening the foil wrapper to the

appearance and heft of the sphere, the explosion of delicious


4flavours, and savouring the smooth, liquid heart of the choco-

late as it bursts in the mouth.

Are you salivating yet?

For two or three minutes a blissful silence ensues.

Mind fulness applied to the eating of chocolatetheres some-

thing that can give even the proverbial grocery lists a run for

their money!

Mindfulness in the mainstream

Both mindfulness and meditation have become very fashion-

able of late. Just as the cheesecloth and hashish brigade of the

1970s have long since matured to become pillars of the estab-

lishment, so too our understanding of meditation has evolved

in recent decades from hippie-trippy mysticism to mainstream

practice.

Although the difference between meditation and mind-

fulness will be described in more detail later, at the outset

its important to note the distinction between the two words.

When were being mindful, were paying attention to the

present moment, deliberately and non-judgementally. When

were meditating, were being mindful of a specific object

such as the sensation of the breath at the tip of our nostrilsfor

a sustained period of time. Meditation is, if you like, the

training ground for mindfulness. Regular meditation enhances


5our ability to be mindful. We can all enjoy mindfully drinking

a cup of coffee without the benefit of meditation practice, but

our capacity for mindfulness is greatly enhanced if we meditate

regularly.

Doctors these days are as likely to recommend medi-

tation for stress management as they are to prescribe

medication. Many of the worlds highest profile consumer

companies, such as Google, Apple, Facebook and Twitter,

actively support meditation in their workplaces, as do some of

the largest financial institutions, accounting firms, manufac-

turers and other corporations. No best practice management

school is complete these days without a mindful leadership

program. The worlds most elite athletes, sports stars and

performing artists employ techniques borrowed from the

mindfulness toolbox. Mindfulness is a foundation practice

across the increasingly popular practices of yoga, tai chi and

a variety of martial arts. Meditation programs are demon-

strably among the most successful deployed in prisons to

reduce re-offence rates. A wave of research since the turn

of the century at laboratories in California, New England,

Europe and Australia is focusing on the emerging disci-

pline of contemplative neuroscience. Even the US Marines

have got in on the act, coaching soldiers in meditation-based

exercises before deploying them in the worlds most

dangerous war zones.


6Mindfulness practices are millennia old, originating in

eastern traditions, notably Buddhism, which has extensively

practised, debated, documented and taught a range of tech-

niques for a variety of purposes. Given that Buddhism has at its

heart a reverence for all forms of life, the idea of teaching medi-

tation to soldiers about to parachute into battle may well raise

the eyebrows of some. But in describing the exercise as like

doing push-ups for the brain, the US Army general respons-

ible pithily summarised the way meditation has been reframed:

just as a healthy body demands regular exercise, goes this

paradigm, a healthy mind requires the same.2

This move to the mainstream has inevitably been accom-

panied by a flurry of books. Without any particular plan to

build a library on the subject, I have on my personal book-

shelves alone a section of books on mindfulness and meditation

about a metre long, picked up here and there in recent years.

These books espouse a variety of approaches ranging from the

determinedly practical to the quirkily esoteric.

Books I dont have on my shelves include those by an

ever-expanding group of self-styled teachers and mind-

fulness gurus who go to quite some lengths in the pursuit

of mystification. A liberal sprinkling of and signs is

usually warning enough. The requirement to spend large

sums of money on weekend intensives should also cause the

brow to wrinkle. For the truth is that mindfulness is a simple


7subjectdifficult to practise, no question, but straight-

forward to explain.

Given all this, does the world need yet another book on

mindfulness?

The dumbing down of mindfulness

Some months ago I was delivering a mindfulness seminar to a

group of engineers at a business school. The participants were

an engaged bunch, and a meditation exercise was followed

by a lively Q&A session, during which I was asked: Why do

Buddhist monks meditate? After all, they dont have any stress.

All they have to do is hang around for the next meal to arrive.

On the surface of things, this is perhaps a reasonable

question. And going by the smiles and nodding, it was clear

that this observation chimed with quite a few others in the

room. If we assume for a moment that the questioner was essen-

tially correct, and that the life of a Buddhist monk is one long

picnic waiting for the next course to be served, it may indeed

seem mystifying why stress management would be called for.

But for me the question really summed up the tragically

diminished idea many people have of what mindfulness and

meditation are all about. Yes, theyre great for managing stress,

but that isnt why Buddhists do them. Stress management isnt


8the main reason, nor even a particularly important part of our

motivation. To put things in a current, western perspective,

it was as if my questioner was asking why people who arent

on Facebook bother with internet access. Why else would you

want to go online?

I felt the need to write this book because Id like to share

the real treasure of mindfulnessits truly transformative

power, the authentic reason Buddhist monks meditate. This

explanation is left behind, overlooked, dumbed down or never

even explored by some contemporary mindfulness teachers

and not necessarily with bad intentions. Mindfulness Lite is

an easier sell to a wide audience, and cant the world use as

many mindful people as possible, albeit of the push-ups for

the brain variety? Besides, the benefits of meditation are so

numerous and now so well established by researchers that you

dont need to take people too far along the journey for them to

start noticing the favourable physical and psychological effects,

so why go further?

At the heart of this reluctance to venture into the heart-

land of meditation, Im guessing, is also a certain fear. When

people are given the tools to observe the true nature of their

own minds for themselves, the experience is a subtle but in evi-

table game-changer. When the rug is well and truly pulled

out from beneath the confection of the self we have come to

believe ourselves to be, we can never experience ourselves in


9quite the same way again. Like being able to see the alterna-

tive perspective in one of those famous optical illusions, we can

never go back to our former innocence. Our view of our self

changes forever.

East and West

In writing this book, Im doing so not as a Buddhist monk

tempting though the prospect of a lifetimes free catering

may benor as someone claiming any preternatural mental

abilities. The prosaic truth is that Im a regular middle-aged

corporate consultant with many of the usual personal, business

and financial responsibilities. In the midst of this typically

busy 21st-century life, I have nevertheless found, in meditation

and mindfulness, practices that have transformed my expe-

rience of reality dramatically for the better. And I know from

talking to other meditators that its the same for them, too.

My own meditation journey has been informed by Tibetan

Buddhism, in particular the lineage established in Australia

by the pre-eminent Geshe Acharya Thubten Loden and, more

directly, through the teachings Ive received from my kind and

precious teacher, Les Sheehy. While the knowledge and expe-

rience I have acquired has been guided by them, any failure in

my attempt to pass on their profound wisdom is very much my

own doing.


10

While I will refer to Buddhist sources and insights where

relevant, its important to note that the study of our own minds

isnt about theory or belief. Its about seeing whats there for

ourselves. Ill also refer to research from scientific endeavours

in fields as varied as psychology, neuroscience, medicine,

genetics and quantum physics.

One of the joys of being alive in the early part of the

21st century is witnessing the convergence of so many differ-

ent dynamicsancient and contemporary, outer and inner,

eastern and westernin arriving at a holistic understanding of

consciousness.

For some people, the proliferation of empirical studies

showing the benefits of mindfulness encourages personal

exploration. Others have a more intuitive understanding of the

value of this practice. I hope in this book to share ideas that

will inspire both intuitive and analytical thinkers, both left-

brain and right-brain thinkers.

I have also intentionally interwoven chapters on mindful-

ness theory with those explaining how to practise meditation.

As fascinating as concepts of mindfulness are, the only way

they can have a powerful personal impact is if we apply them.

Ideas, theories and evidence only get us so far. Then we need

to move beyond concept.

In my previous non-fiction books, Buddhism for Busy

People, Hurry Up and Meditate and Enlightenment to Go,


11

Ive shared some of the experiences of my own journey, and

I do so in this book, too. This isnt because Im the repository

of especially arcane insights, but because I hope youll find

in this more personal accountrather than a straightforward

exposition of the subjectthemes and discoveries you can

relate to, landmarks that may be useful in your own exploration

of the mind.

An outline of the mindfulness journey

We begin our exploration with the nuts and bolts of mindful-

nesswhat it is, why it works and how we can benefit from it

in basic but profound ways. Stress management? Certainly!

Boosting our immune systems and pushing back our biological

clocks? That too! The physical and psychological benefits of

mindfulness, even if taken no further than this, are well worth

getting out of bed ten minutes earlier for every morning.

We then move onto the possibilities offered by mindful-

ness in changing the content of your ongoing conversation

with yourself. Chatter, chatter, chatter. Were all up to it. But

are there recurring themes in this constant stream of self-talk

that dont serve you well? For example, are you a worrier,

constantly anticipating all the things that could possibly go

wrong then convincing yourself that the worst outcome is

almost certain? Or are you a victim, feeling you can never make


12

any headway because of your circumstances, past events or the

people in your life? Or are you someone who struggles to find

any compelling purpose or happiness beyond filling your days

with as many pleasurable distractions as possible?

The combination of mindfulness with what has become

known as cognitive behaviour training is one of the most

powerful transformation modalities. Creating space amid

all the mental agitation, discovering that we can become the

observers of our thoughts rather than their unwitting slaves

this is another extraordinary consequence of a more mindful

life. Its a consequence that allows us to get proactive about

what goes on in our mind, take charge of our own mental

trajectories and thereby exercise choice over the destinies to

which our every thought propels us.

The main eventmind itself

And then we come to mind itself. What it is. What it is not.

Were no longer doing push-ups herewere onto something

much more exciting! Ill guide you through the practical steps

by which you can experience your own mind for yourself, not

as a concept or intellectual idea, but directly and firsthand.

Youll be empowered to experience the nature of your own

consciousness, and if youre anything like most people whove

never tried this before, youll find, in those first glimpses of


13

the pure nature of your own mind, an extraordinary truth.

Youll see for yourself how your mind is, quite literally,

infinite. How it has no beginning and no end. How, far

from being some existential void, its imbued with the most

profound happiness-giving qualities.

Youll experience the paradox that even though you set out

to explore your mind, the result is as much a feeling as it is a

perception. Its an experience beyond concept and for which

words are therefore wholly inadequate, but that may be hinted

at using such terms as oceanic tranquillity and radiant love.

Even the briefest encounter with this state is life-changing,

because when we can free ourselves from the agitation or

dullness that pervades our minds and encounter our own true

natures, if only momentarily, we can never go back to believ-

ing ourselves to be nothing more than a bag of bones. We have

experienced a dimension of being that transcends all our usual

ideas of self.

We have come home.

When we begin to explore our own mind, we usually do so

for reasons of self-discovery. But an interesting thing happens,

because in experiencing our own true nature, we come to

recognise that just as we are, others are too. Our everyday

experience of people is one in which we habitually observe and

judge based on what we see, at a conventional level, as their

apparent characteristics.


14

Discovering that these characteristics are, ultimately, as

temporary and insignificant as our own, a shift occurs. Others

may continue the way theyve always seemed to be, but now

we know better. Aware of the more important way in which

they exist, as well as the difficulties and challenges they must

inevitably endure because of their profoundly self-limiting

beliefs, our compassion quite naturally arises. Mindfulness is

no longer just about me. It becomes panoramic.

I can think of nothing more enduringly fascinating or

life-enhancing than the practice of mindfulness. No matter

where you are on your own journey, I hope you find in this

book fresh insights and inspiration to encourage your further

exploration. In particular, its my heartfelt wish that you may

abide, however fleetingly, in your own unobstructed mind.

For there youll discover that your own true nature is one of

timeless and transcendental bliss.

Chocolate, schmocolate. Show me the meditation cushion!


David Michie demonstrates a fine knack for capturing the essence of this important topic and presenting it in a fun and accessible way. In Why Mindfulness is Better than Chocolate he perfectly explains what mindfulness is, why its important and, most notably, how we can practise and integrate it into our lives. I know for a fact that mindful-ness can enhance health and happiness; this book will help any reader become more mindful.

Dr Timothy Sharp, The Happiness Institute

A practical and informed exposition of meditative techniques, complemented by a lucid scientific overview.

Gordon Parker AO, Scientia Professor of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales

Essential reading for leaders who want to train their minds to engage in strategic thought.

Emeritus Professor Gary Martin, CEO, Australian Institute of Management WA

A delightful read, providing practical tools and examples around mindfulness and meditation; steeped in tradition, yet brought to life in the modern world. The topic is supported with considerable research examples which resonate with me as a practitioner in the field of positive psychology and it was a joy to see it done so clearly.

Sue Langley, Emotional Intelligence Worldwide

A fascinating and illuminating journey into the many rewards that practising mindfulness can bring: from stress release, to greater focus, to a deeper understanding of your own mind.

Beth Phelan, World Happiness Forum


YOUR GUIDE TO INNER PEACE, ENHANCED FOCUS and

DEEP HAPPINESS

Also by David Michie

Buddhism for Busy PeopleHurry Up and Meditate

Enlightenment To GoThe Dalai Lamas Cat

The Art of Purring


9781743319130_C_CMYK.pdfWhy Mindfulness is Better than Chocolate_FINAL.pdfAlso by the authorTitle PageDedicationContents1 Is mindfulness really better than chocolate?2 What is mindfulness and why does it matter?3 How to meditate4 The benefits of meditation and mindfulness5 How mindfulnessbenefits organisations6 Ten tips for getting into the meditation habit7 How to apply mindfulness in your daily life8 Our mindfulness journey9 How mindfulness makes us happier10What is mind?11 How to meditate on your own mind12 Healing and the mindEpilogueAcknowledgementsFurther readingNotes

Why Mindfulness is Better than Chocolate_FINAL.pdfAlso by the authorTitle PageDedicationContents1 Is mindfulness really better than chocolate?2 What is mindfulness and why does it matter?3 How to meditate4 The benefits of meditation and mindfulness5 How mindfulnessbenefits organisations6 Ten tips for getting into the meditation habit7 How to apply mindfulness in your daily life8 Our mindfulness journey9 How mindfulness makes us happier10What is mind?11 How to meditate on your own mind12 Healing and the mindEpilogueAcknowledgementsFurther readingNotes




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david michie - why mindfulness is better than chocolate (extract)

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