The 30 Best TED Talks of All Time That Will Open Your Mind and Inspire You to Take Action

Seeing as TED 2015: Truth and Dare started today, and people all around the world are waiting to see what groundbreaking TED talks will be given this year, I thought I'd look back on what I believed to be some of the best all-time TED talks and my personal favorites.

For those not familiar, TED stands for Technology Entertainment Design and is a series of conferences started by Chris Anderson that happen throughout the year. But despite the title, TED has really turned into a place for just about every topic imaginable.

From technology to education, to meditation, speech, mathematics, medicine, happiness, and dozens more. There really is no topic TED hasn't covered. If it's "an idea worth spreading" as the TED motto goes, it fits TED.

But there's another reason I wanted to write about TED. "TED talks", as they're called, hold a very special place in my heart. You see, I began listening to TED talks some 2 1/2 years ago, a little over 1 year before I started Buddhaimonia.

At the time, I knew what I wanted to do- meditate, study Buddhism, and help others find peace, freedom, and joy in life through meditation and the other things Buddhism had taught me. But alas, with a growing family of my own, running off to a Zen monastery and becoming a monk wasn't a choice for me.

Because of that, I was forced to try to find my way within my everyday life as it was then. And I'm so grateful it happened the way it did because, otherwise, I think it would have taken me much longer to learn what I know now.

I'd later discover that being a monk is more of a particular occupation than it is a position which allows someone to have a better chance at attaining peace through enlightenment, as the best place to meditate and the only place you can find peace is right where you are now, and running off somewhere is only running from that.

Because I had no choice, because I felt backed into a corner, looking everywhere to try and find out what else I could do with my life with this thing that I loved but which sadly had no ability (by itself) to bring food to the table for my family, I began feverishly searching for answers. And it was because of that search that I happened upon TED.

For about a year, off and on, I was repeatedly struck and inspired by TED talk after TED talk. Mind you, none of them gave me the answer I was looking for, that is, how I could take what I knew and what I loved and find out how I could devote my time to it while still supporting my family, but I felt like my mind was being open to the whole world, and that I would eventually find my answer.

TED really does open you up to the world. There's so many people doing so many different amazing and positive things that just sitting around watching a bunch of TED talks really is a great way to discover- or get a better idea of- what you want to do with your life.

And then it happened. It was no more than a week after my second son Azriel was born that I listened to a TED talk by Neil Pasricha of 1000awesomethings.com. That was when it all changed.

I can't even remember at this point what inspired me, maybe it was his story about how he got a book deal from starting a blog. I had done a lot of writing and intended on writing a few books down the line, but knowing what it was like to try to make a living as a writer just turned me away from the whole thing.

Whatever it was, it was Neil Pasricha and his TED talk that inspired me to start what would eventually become Buddhaimonia. That is, along with a little pep talk from my wife, who always encouraged my writing.

So I hope these talks can have a similar effect on you as they did I. Whether that means inspiring you to take action on something important to you, discovering your calling, giving you an important insight, or all the above. Without exception, each one of these TED talks carries with it a powerful message that can not only open your mind but inspire you in so many ways.

1. Matthieu Ricard: How to Let Altruism Be Your Guide

What you'll learn: True goodness really does exist, and we need to start using it if we want to change what's wrong with the world. Compassion, loving-kindness, meditation. Definitely one of my favorite TED talks of all time.

2. Matthieu Ricard: The Habits of Happiness

What you'll learn: The power of meditation. Enough said.

3. Brene Brown: The Power of Vulnerability

What you'll learn: One of the most popular TED talks to date, Brene Brown's The Power of Vulnerability is an eye-opener into what really holds so many of us back in life and what can truly help us find peace. And this isn't just her talking at you, she brings with it years of research to back up her claims.

4. Brene Brown: Listening to Shame

What you'll learn: This is the follow-up to Brown's first talk, one of the most popular TED talks of all time. In this talk, Brown uncovers more insights from her research on vulnerability, shame, empathy, and courage. I'd suggest listening to both talks together as they really complete the picture of her incredible research findings.

5. Tony Robbins: Why We Do What We Do

What you'll learn: This is classic Robbins. He's someone who has contributed a lot to my life and who has an immense amount of wisdom especially when it comes to his talk title: why we do what we do. And what's exactly what you'll learn from his (far too short!) talk.

6. Shawn Achor: The Happy Secret to Better Work

What you'll learn: Interesting insights (via his own research and research from positive psychology at large) about what makes us happier and the surprise correlation it has with our professional success as well as our ability to work at our best in essentially all areas of our life.

7. Kevin Robinson: Schools Kill Creativity

What you'll learn: This is THE most popular TED talk of all time (still, some 9 years later). In this TED talk, Kevin Robinson will teach you why the old rigid school system can kill a child's creativity and steers us away from discovering our passion. This one hit me pretty hard, and judging by its popularity, it probably hit a lot of other people pretty hard too (not to mention the guy's hilarious).

8. Chip Conley: Measuring What Makes Life Worthwhile

What you'll learn: This was the first talk I heard of Bhutan and their GNH index (Gross National Happiness). Luckily, this is a conversation happening more and more often not just in the U.S., but throughout the world. In this talk, you'll learn why our current system (GDP) for gauging the "success" or overall health of a country is flawed and in need of reshaping.

9. Diana Nyad: Never, Ever Give Up

What you'll learn: The title says it all. Diana Nyad tells an amazing story of her 100-mile journey swimming from Cuba to Florida at the age of 64 (yes, you read that right) and in the process shows us all why we should never give up.

10. Kelly McGonigal: How to Make Stress Your Friend

What you'll learn: Stress might not be the dark force we all consider it to be. After all, it naturally arises from our mind-body. See what recent research uncovered that could turn our understanding of stress on its head (and what that means for your life in everyday terms).

11. David Steindl-Rast: Want to Be Happy? Be Grateful

What you'll learn: Joy and gratitude exist all around us in each moment, you just have to open your eyes.

12. Neil Pasricha: The 3 A's of Awesome

What you'll learn: Aside from just being a talk that means a lot to me, it has some really insightful points in itself. I love the part where he tells the story about how he and his father bought a date and looked up where it came from. I also love when he talks about the importance of awareness and what is typically called "beginner's mind" Buddhism. Lots of gems in this talk, definitely worth watching.

13. Graham Hill: Less Stuff, More Happiness

What you'll learn: Graham Hill's talks are short and sweet, and this is no exception. The title says it all.

14. Elizabeth Gilbert: Your Elusive Creative Genius

What you'll learn: This is one of my favorite TED talks of all time and it very closely echoes the understanding of art in Zen Buddhism. In this talk, you'll learn that art doesn't necessarily come from the individual, but that the source of our creativity might come from some place much more universal which we all tap into (as well as how this can release the pressure of the creative mind to keep creating better and better work).

15. Benjamin Zander: The Transformative Power of Classical Music

What you'll learn: Another one of my favorite TED talks of all time, and one I just listened to recently. When this guy says by the end of his talk he'll get you to love classical music, he's not lying- you will. Intrigued? That's just the beginning. Zander's talk shows us how music can open us up and unearth hidden feelings and emotions like few other things can.

16. Guy Winch: Why We All Need to Practice Emotional First Aid

What you'll learn: A simple but powerful message: we need to talk care of our minds as much as we take care of our bodies (with data as to why- if you really needed it).

17. Graham Hill: Why I'm a Weekday Vegetarian

What you'll learn: Another short but important talk from Graham Hill, this one on the reasons for going vegetarian. He sums up the information quickly, gets straight to the point, and offers an insightful solution for those who just couldn't ever imagine completely giving up meat.

18. Andrew Solomon: How the Worst Moments in Our Lives Make Us Who We Are

What you'll learn: Forewarning: Andrew Solomon talks are intense. Both this and his second talk below have the ability to make you cry- seriously. This talk will show you why our challenges aren't things to hide or regret, but rather the things which define our very identity and give us strength.

19. Andrew Solomon: Love, No Matter What

What you'll learn: Another amazing talk from Solomon. The title sums up the talk: how (and why) to love those around us, no matter what.

20. Krista Tippett: Reconnecting with Compassion

What you'll learn: A great talk on the importance of compassion and the universal religious appreciation for the quality itself. You'll learn why compassion is important and why it's a better answer to differences among people than simple tolerance.

21. Carl Honore: In Praise of Slowness

What you'll learn: Before I listened to this talk, I had no idea there were "slowness" movements in Italy. Aside from that, you'll learn why it's so important to not live your entire life just rushing around from place to place and to change our default setting from fast to slow, an idea echoed in everything I talk about here at Buddhaimonia.

22. Jill Bolte Taylor: My Stroke of Insight

What you'll learn: WOW. This is one of my favorite TED talks of all time, and man will this talk blow your mind. This is the second most popular TED talk of all time, still, despite the fact that it was given by Taylor around 9 years ago. In this talk, Jill Bolte Taylor describes how a brain hemorrhage and stroke might just have caused her to have a very unorthodox enlightenment. You heard me. Yes, I'm talking about a spiritual awakening. It's difficult to describe what you'll learn from this talk. Just watch it.

23. Benjamin Wallace: The Price of Happiness

What you'll learn: This talk might not be a surprise to some, but Benjamin Wallace gives a pretty interesting account of his personal experience with many of the finest "things" in the world and how they, well...might not have made him any happier than he was before.

24. Barry Schwartz: Our Loss of Wisdom

What you'll learn: This talk echoes a similar message to Matthieu Ricard's second talk, How to Let Altruism Be Your Guide. This talk will teach you why everyday wisdom is important, why we're losing touch with it, and how we can get it back.

25. Dan Pallotta: The Way We Think about Charity is Dead Wrong

What you'll learn: This is actually the talk I was listening to the day I had to leave my wife Edith and our newborn son Azriel at the hospital to pick up my son where his grandma (my mom) had been taking care of him while we delivered the baby. Needless to say, for that reason, it's etched pretty deep into my memory. But this talk stands on its own as one of my personal favorites as well and one which has a powerful and potentially world-transforming message.

This talk will teach you the disturbing truth about the stigma non-profits are treated with that downright kills their ability to grow to their full potential. It's a way of thinking that starts with us and can only be changed by us.

26. Daniel Kahneman: The Riddle of Experience vs. Memory

What you'll learn: This talk will teach you about our two "sides": the experiencing side of our brain and the memorizing part of our brain. It sheds a lot of light on happiness in general and why finding happiness can seem so confusing at first.

27. Matt Killingsworth: Want to Be Happier? Stay in the Moment

What you'll learn: A compelling set of evidence for living in the present moment. It's not like research supporting the benefits of meditation and mindfulness are lacking, but this talk specifically focuses on the aspect of being totally focused on the present moment experience and how happy it makes us feel versus living distracted (even distracted on positive thought!).

28. Joan Halifax: Compassion and the True Meaning of Empathy

It takes a strong back and a soft front. - Buddhist proverb (via Joan Halifax)

What you'll learn: Through her work, and her Buddhist practice, Zen Buddhist Roshi Joan Halifax has acquired a keen insight into the nature of compassion: what activates it, the benefits of it, and ultimately its part in life. A powerful and emotion-infused talk. Listen to this short 13-minute talk to discover why compassion is so important.

29. Dan Gilbert: The Surprising Science of Happiness

What you'll learn: In this talk, you'll learn what synthetic happiness is, why it's important, why we completely overlook it, and why it's a key ingredient in real happiness.

30. Tania Luna: How a Penny Made Me Feel like a Millionaire

What you'll learn: One word: gratitude. One talk with three powerful stories of three difficult lives coming together to discover a deep sense of happiness that's uncovered not when we get everything we've ever wanted, but rather when we learn to deeply appreciate our life as it is (even a penny).

This is just a sliver of the over 1,000 TED talks which have been given to date. If you're looking for inspiration or guidance then this is a great place to get it.

So, which of these TED talks impacted you the most? Did any give you a powerful insight that could change the way you live your life? I'd love to hear what you thought of them.

Why This Piece of Zen Wisdom is Critical to Helping Your Relationships Thrive

If you love a person, you say to that person, "Look, I love you, whatever that may be. I've seen quite a bit of it and I know there's lots that I haven't seen, but still it's you and I want you to be what you want to be. And I won't be happy if I've got you in a cage. You'd be a bird without song."

- Alan Watts

Intentional effort is a funny thing. The more you try to do something, the more it just seems to turn out wrong.

It's only when we've stepped out of our heads and into the moment, or in other words become one with the action itself, that the best comes out from us.

To act naturally means to act without attachment, without clinging to any idea or concept.

We often don't notice it in our everyday lives, but our actions are often layered with various preconceived notions and ideas that alter the very way we behave and act. And acting in such a way results in much of the pain and suffering we experience on a daily basis.

To do something in a way that we pierce through these various ideas we cling to and get straight to the heart of the natural effort is letting go, or non-attachment, in action.

When we attempt to act in a way that's in conflict with our true nature, conflict arises. This is closely linked with spontaneity, which is a way we can experience this natural effort without having yet overcome these various things which we're clinging to. It's for this reason that spontaneity can help us realize the futility in clinging.

To act truly spontaneously is to go straight to the heart of things, to act in a way that we're not weighted down by our attachments (natural effort). This is why being spontaneous can feel so good, especially when most else we do is preplanned.

I recently ran into a great example of this while watching The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I.

(Minor spoiler alert)

Near the beginning of the movie, when the rebellion is attempting to rally the various districts together to spur a revolution, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Julliane Moore's characters are attempting to build a set of propaganda videos starring the Mockingjay, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence).

After the first heavily scripted and fabricated attempts at a propaganda video starring Katniss fail, during a meeting reviewing the video Woody Harrelson's character Haymitch stands up and explains how the scripted nature of the video mutes the very fire and spirit which Katniss had become known for and it was only by allowing her to be herself that they would get the rallying propaganda message they were hoping for.

Of course, the likelihood of this just happening on its own was next to impossible. For this to happen they needed to place Katniss in a situation that naturally evoked her spirit. Needless to say, the strategy works like a charm.

(Minor spoiler alert end)

In Zen, a teacher attempts to do a very similar thing with his students. They place you into situations that attempt to evoke this naturalness and spontaneity in an effort to help you realize what's called "satori" in Japanese, or a "sudden awakening".

It's through the effort to essentially be spontaneous "on cue", which to be more specific really means to act naturally and effortlessly without forcing yourself on a situation, that one learns the way to live "successfully" and without conflict.

An extremely difficult task for sure, but one which leads to the greatest of rewards.

Why This Piece of Zen Wisdom is Critical to Helping Your Relationships Thrive

What does this have to do with relationships?

It has to do with everything really, but with regards to relationships specifically this is referring mostly to the way we create images in our minds of how the other person should behave and then attempt to push those images we've created onto the other person.

The result is that reality + imagination then come crashing into one another.

We often create unrealistic images in our minds of what we think our spouses should be and how they should act based on a combination of our life experiences and ideas we've been fed or developed, and when they don't live up to those expectations we clash, leading to repeated fights until the point where the tension can hold no further and things finally break.

Keep in mind that this doesn't necessarily mean that both people aren't "right" for each other, but rather that these images they're projecting off on one another are blocking them from experiencing each other fully as they truly are.

But this doesn't just show up in intimate relationships. This can manifest in parent-child relationships, friendships, and every other type of relationship as well.

Oftentimes we project images off on others based on what we're lacking or what makes us feel comfortable. But when that person doesn't follow through with the image we've projected onto them, a conflict naturally arises.

Examples of specific ideas we tend to keep are:

1. A husband being chivalrous when he's really a bit rough around the edges.
2. A wife being a housekeeper when she has no desire to be.
3. A wife, husband, or friend fitting in with a certain group of people which their spouse or friend wants to be a part of, when they have very little in common, no desire to build a friendship, and sees that their spouse or friend just wants to feel more important by associating with said group.

And this can also go in the reverse. In this case, we're building or holding onto relationships which are damaging to us, attempting to convince ourselves they're not bad for us by projecting a positive image of them in our minds:

1. A husband or wife holding onto a positive image of their spouse after they've treated them wrongly and will likely continue to do so ("he/she won't do it again").
2. A boy or girl or man or woman creating a positive image for someone they desire to be friends with because of some quality they admire but who is really a negative influence ("but they're so cool, I want to learn to be as cool as them").

Ultimately, being natural with regards to our relationships means to accept someone fully as they are and not forcing some idea about who they should be onto them.

Conflict always arises when we attempt to live by some idea which is apart from reality.

To accept someone fully just as they are is in line with the natural flow of life. Not pushing or pulling, not trying to make them something they're not, and not projecting your own issues off on them in an attempt to compensate.

I'll use my relationship with my wife Edith as an example. We have many similarities, but we also have some distinct differences, and we don't always agree with each other when it comes to each other's behavior. For this reason, at times in the past we clashed, most often for this very reason.

But if I was to project onto her some image of what I think she should be, she'd be just as Alan Watts said in the quote above- a bird without song.

This is because it's usually these various things which we try to change in each other or try to project onto each other that have to do with each other's fundamental uniqueness, and so to cut that off would be to cut off the lifeblood that makes the person vibrant and thriving.

To accept her fully, and for her to accept me fully, allows each of us to thrive individually which then results in our relationship together becoming both infinitely stronger and flexible all at the same time.

This is the very essence of a thriving relationship. That is, to accept each other fully without question.

This isn't always easy, and you won't always get it right. But as long as the effort is there, and you live mindfully, you'll be the constant observer of your own behavior and be able to catch when you slip.

As with everything, it's the intention and the effort that counts. Perfection is a non-existent construct of the human mind, an irrational idea which has no weight in reality.

Don't attempt to be perfect, rather seek to express yourself naturally. This can be a life-long endeavor, but it's the very source of everything we've ever wanted, whether we know it or not.

Take a moment today to think about your closest relationships. Are you projecting some idea about how you want someone to be onto that person?

Is someone projecting an image onto you and causing you to feel caged? Is there someone you've been fighting with? That fighting may be coming from these like images we project onto each other.

Take a moment to think about the relationships in your life and how this not only might be affecting them but also how you can use this principle of accepting those in your life fully as they are to improve your relationships and your life as a whole.

The Beginner's Guide to Letting Go and Becoming Enlightened Through Non-Attachment

Attachment is the origin, the root of suffering; hence it is the cause of suffering.

- The Dalai Lama

You've probably seen or read something like it before on the Internet.

A beautiful image with a short quote that says something to the significance of "let it go" (if you don't believe me, type "let go" into Google and look under the images tab).

And I'm not talking about the Frozen theme song, I'm talking about the idea of letting go of things in your life, whatever that may be.

But rarely is it actually explained how to actually "let it go". More often than not it's become no more than a slogan for happy living, with vague guidance at best.

What I do find interesting though is that most of us seem to realize intuitively how important it is to live without clinging to things, even if we're not exactly sure how that's supposed to happen.

But there's a vast amount of wisdom in Eastern thought that can help us learn how to let go of the many things which bind us and keep us from finding peace as well as keep us from experiencing the limitless freedom that exists in our everyday lives. That's where the teaching on non-attachment comes in.

The teaching on non-attachment, as described in Buddhist and Hindu thought, is often misunderstood- especially in the West.

It's usually misunderstood as the detaching from all worldly things in a physical sense. Which most of us aren't all that interested in doing (and, also intuitively, we feel is unnecessary). The common image of a monk or yogi living and meditating away from civilization doesn't help that misconception either.

In fact, when Buddhism first came to China somewhere around 2,000 years ago by way of these reclusive and hermit-like practicing Buddhists, the Chinese apparently didn't dig it all that much either. They didn't see the point of removing yourself entirely from worldly activities and becoming these sort of recluses from society.

But they were very much interested in Buddhism in general, and would go on to spur one of the most significant reforms in Buddhist history- the birth of what's called "Mahayana" (or "the great vehicle") Buddhism.

The reason I mention this story is to illustrate why it can be so dang confusing to understand what's meant by non-attachment in ancient Eastern thought. This is because technically there is a side of Buddhism that's about becoming that mountain recluse or hermit and living by yourself for the rest of your life.

Fortunately, the Chinese realized the truth early on that such a way of living only aided in the path to realizing peace and was in no way a requirement.

The truth is peace and the ultimate freedom can be obtained right here within everyday life.So then if stripping yourself of all possessions and worldly responsibility isn't the point of non-attachment, what is?

What is Non-Attachment?

The Buddhist teaching on non-attachment is ultimately about realizing the truth of yourself. That is, realizing that you're an expression of the entire cosmos. That you're in the cosmos, that the entire cosmos is in you in a very real and observable way, and that there is no separating the two (and everything that comes with the realization).

And the teaching on non-attachment is about living in such a way that you live without such obstructions that keep you from realizing this.

So, for instance, it's not about not being able to get married, something which Chinese Buddhists began allowing which Indian Buddhists didn't, it's about not attaching yourself to your spouse or the concept of marriage.

This means living in a way that instead of keeping this image of your spouse in your mind and falling in love with that image, consequently running into problems when that image changes, you let them free and accept them fully for who they are in each moment no matter what changes.

In Zen Buddhism, when students complete their study they're allowed to enter back into a "normal" life and do things such as marry and take jobs. This is because it's understood in Zen that non-attachment isn't about physical items, locations, and such, it's about the ideas we occupy our minds with.

It's about what we believe about ourselves and the world around us.

This means that you could lead a perfectly normal life on the surface, but from within live in a way that you don't attach yourself to any of the things that are a part of your life.

This doesn't mean you stop caring about them. On the contrary, you appreciate them so much more because you're ever-aware of that they won't last forever.

So just as you can hold a picked flower in your hand, being well aware that the flower will wilt and die in a matter of days, taking in the smell and beauty of the flower, you can live your entire life savoring every moment knowing that in each moment everything can (and often does) change.

How We Attach in Our Everyday Life

Any belief that you're this separate entity which exists detached from the rest of existence, and your attempts to cling to these ideas as well as your attempts to cling to expectations about the way the world is supposed to work, cause friction between yourself and the rest of the interconnected world and result in pain and the inability for you to find peace. Ultimately, in a nutshell, that's what it all comes down to.

But what does this look like in your everyday life? Putting aside all the cosmos this and interconnected that talk, how can we begin to notice this in our daily lives?

When it comes down to it, all attachment originates with the ego. The ego, a construct which was built through years of conditioning and is in no way a "real" part of you at all, is what convinces you that you're this separate entity disconnected from all other living and non-living things.

So how does this look in our everyday lives? Your ego is an image, it's who you believe yourself to be. And when reality doesn't match up to the image, friction happens and pain occurs. Pain caused by your attachment to the ego could come from:

• Not hitting your personal performance goals at work, leading you to question if your abilities are declining.
• Not performing as well during a basketball game with some old friends as you used to when you were younger, realizing you're not as fit as you used to be and maybe no longer the athlete you thought yourself as.
• Finding out your spouse cheated on you and your dream of having a family and living the rest of your life with this great person consequently shattering.

Also, when life doesn't = your expectations, the same happens:

• Losing a loved one and having to come to grips with the fact that this person who meant so much to you and who you're used to having in your life is gone forever.
• Being fired from the job you've had for the past 10 years and thought you'd spend the rest of your life at.
• A co-worker whom you trusted stabbing you in the back to win a promotion over you.

To see this more clearly, think about something that doesn't surprise you. Think about a sandwich. Let's say you really like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and you're used to having one every afternoon for lunch.

Provided everything goes as normal, you enjoy your sandwich and have a pleasant lunch. But if it turns out your husband or wife pranked you and threw some soy sauce in there when they made your sandwich (no wonder they offered to make it today...), you wouldn't have a very pleasant lunch.

The surprise of the PB&J not adding up to your expectation is what caused you the pain, not that soy sauce was in it.

If you were to have eaten that sandwich like you had never had a peanut butter sandwich before in your life, without expectations, not only would the real thing have tasted better, experiencing every bite like the first time, but you wouldn't have been disappointed when you were pranked with the PB&JS (peanut butter and jelly-soy) your spouse made for you because you would have had no expectation of how it should taste.

How to Let Go

The same basic ingredients apply in all methods of letting go, but there's multiple ways to go about doing it. One very important point I want to mention with regards to the entire subject though is to not attach yourself to any one method of letting go.

It sounds odd that you can find a new attachment through trying to let go of all attachments, but it's a very real thing to look out for. Don't get mixed up thinking the finger pointing the way to the moon is the moon itself.

What this means is, first and foremost non-attachment is a state of mind. New attachments will always threaten you, so to live with the state of mind of non-attachment, to realize the importance of living in a way that you go with the natural flow of things and respect the impermanence of all life, is the basis of realizing non-attachment.

Again, there are many ways to go about it all, but the first step is generally to begin working to identify the ego.

This is generally done through some form of meditation, particularly mindfulness as it allows you to observe yourself "silently" in a way and watch what unfolds and arises from within you. This can take time and can be challenging, but the process itself is very rewarding.

To strive to live with mindfulness in each moment, whether you're sitting on the meditation cushion, walking from one place to the next, or are at work, is to shine a light on your entire life and uncover the presence of the ego in each area of your life, even the furthest reaches that lay hidden deep in your subconscious.

To live with mindfulness is also to live fully engaged and yet unattached in that very moment. To be mindful is to be open and accepting of whatever may come in any moment, so mindfulness is a multipurpose tool in letting go of the many attachments we often hold.

But there's another way to help us let go in our everyday life. To look deeply at those things in our everyday life, especially ourselves, is to realize not only the interconnected nature of all things but also the impermanence (that is, the fact that nothing lasts forever).

This is a technique I go into detail about in Zen for Everyday Life, but because there are so many ways to use it I'd like to go over another way you can use contemplative meditation to begin helping you let go of the many things you cling to.

Meditating on the End of Your Life

Meditating on death sounded like a bit of a harsh title, but that's essentially what this meditation is about. Keep in mind, you don't have to go too deep here. If you do choose to do so though, be careful, you might not like everything you find (which is the same in all forms of meditation, but especially so for this). But I can promise you it will be healing.

This is just another way of taking contemplation, the act of looking deeply at a thing as far back as it will go, and using it on yourself to help you let go of the various attachments that inhibit you from finding peace.

To meditate on death, simply imagine it's your time and everything that will come with it. You could be in a hospital bed, your personal bed, or somewhere else.

For best effect, imagine the process is pretty far along, and you've been looking back on your life. You'll likely have to sit with this exercise for some time before things begin coming to the surface, but they will come.

Maybe you begin seeing flashes of your daughter, who you've fought with for years, come into your mind. You won't always know why, but by focusing your mind on this near-death event certain things will arise naturally.

Part of this process can be active in contemplation, trying to actively imagine what kinds of things you might regret, want to have done differently, or feel relieved you can finally let go of, and another part of it could be more passive by simply thinking about the situation to yourself for a moment and then proceeding to sit and follow your breath with mindfulness and then acknowledging whatever thoughts arise as a part of that.

However you decide to do it, meditating on the end of your life- the entire experience in as much detail as you can possibly imagine- can be a powerful and highly beneficial exercise.

The Power of Letting Go

What is it like to let go completely? You'll have to find out for yourself, but there's a few major changes that will occur as a result of you learning how to overcome all attachments and live freely:

1. You'll see the beauty in all of life and experience it in its fullness without any "distortion".

2. You'll be completely free in each moment and in the truest sense, no longer chained down to attachments.

3. You'll find peace through having learned how to let go, stop causing friction to your being, and ultimately expressing your true nature.

4. You'll gain the ability to adapt to any and all changes and keep your peace of mind.

5. You'll find a great sense of joy in every moment and realize life as one great big adventure because you're no longer held down by anything.

Walk the Path

If you want to learn how to let go and live truly free in each moment then my 3rd book, This Moment: How to Live Fully and Freely in the Present Moment, is a great resource that can begin you on the path and equip you with the tools you'll need. You can get This Moment and learn more about the book by clicking below:

The topic of letting go and non-attachment is surely a big one, far larger than any single post could cover, but I hope this has helped move you forward in some way towards greater freedom in your everyday life.

If this post has helped you or if there's some aspect of non-attachment you'd like me to go into greater detail about, feel free to let me know in the comments below.

Zen for Everyday Life, Available Now!

"I'm not releasing it until it's ready." I always said to myself.

That was before my original end of December goal date had passed and I still had weeks of work to do. That's when I began feeling the pressure.

For the most part, I created this pressure all by myself, but knowing that in the moment didn't do much to actually help me.

It all culminated one evening when I was recording a section of the audiobook. I was over 2/3 of the way done recording it and could feel the end finally drawing near.

It was then that I began to lock up. I mean literally lock up- I'd open my mouth and wouldn't be able to utter a word. It was one of the weirdest, and most frustrating, feelings I'd ever felt before.

Oddly enough, or rather fittingly, it was a regular meditation practice that helped me overcome the ordeal.

I got the idea- I was pushing myself too hard, something I'm usually keenly aware not to do, and needed to step away for a moment. And it was mindful breathing and going about the rest of the next 24 hours slowly in mindfulness that allowed me to completely recharge and get back to my usual self. The following night, I flew through the rest of the book smoothly.

No matter how much you work on yourself and no matter how much you think you've figured out, life will still throw you curveballs. But what truly matters isn't becoming invincible to these things or learning how to avoid them altogether, both impossible feats, what matters is what you do when these things happen.

There's no getting around it. No matter how much power, wisdom, or intelligence you have, gain, or develop you'll still experience adversity.

That was one of my primary reasons for creating Zen for Everyday Life. I wanted to create a resource which you could use to bring peace and joy to your life knowing that these adversities will still attempt to rear their ugly little heads. Especially for those of us living even semi-modern lives- with work, family, other responsibilities, and constant stimulus attempting to pull us this direction and that.

For this reason, Zen for Everyday Life was intended to be timeless as well as formless.

Timeless as in the principles don't just transcend time in a general sense, and have always been a path to peace and happiness, but also because the principles I discuss can be applied whether you're young or old and to the same effect.

And formless as in a resource which applied to all people no matter what race, gender, orientation, or set of beliefs. Zen for Everyday Life doesn't try to push a point of view on you, it simply shows you how to bring peace, joy, and a deep sense of meaning into your life as it is right now.

I hope you enjoy Zen for Everyday Life and look forward to hearing what you thought of the book:

Get 2 Free Chapters of My Book, Zen for Everyday Life

Zen for Everyday Life is a moment-to-moment mindfulness guide made to help you discover peace and happiness in your everyday life using more than 40 meditations and exercises. It’s a universal path to peace and joy made to complement your life as it is through the use of mindfulness.

If you’d like to get 2 free chapters, plus my free email course, enter your name and email below, click the yellow button, and you’ll get the download link sent straight to your inbox:

And you can buy as well as read more about Zen for Everyday Life by clicking below:

Get Zen for Everyday Life

Peace,

Matt

12 Pieces of Buddhist Wisdom That Will Transform Your Life

Get the FREE 12 Pieces of Buddhist Wisdom PDF Workbook Guide

Take 12 Pieces of Buddhist Wisdom on the go and get the workbook guide to begin putting into practice the 12 points in this post:

________________________________________

When I was little, my grandma had this little green Buddha statue.

It wasn't a statue of the original Buddha, but rather a statue of what's generally considered Maitreya, the "future" Buddha, usually represented as a hefty man sitting with his robe partly opened and often with beads around his neck. This particular statue was a pretty common image, one where his belly protruded out to reveal his belly button.

My grandma would always tell me, "Rub his tummy and you'll have good luck!" So naturally, as a kid, I rubbed his tummy every chance I got. I was supposed to rub his bellybutton specifically, as I remember trying to lay my finger on his tiny belly button and rub in a circle, despite the fact that the belly button was a fraction of a millimeter in diameter.

I, like many others in the West, grew up with a pretty distorted image of Buddhism. I thought the Buddha was a god, that it was just a bunch of charms and superstition for people trying to amass riches and other misguided pursuits, and I thought meditation was only for people who were interested in learning human levitation or something crazy like that.

But I also, like many others, had heard many a number of insightful Buddha quotes and sayings growing up that seemed to "pull" me in, and almost always ring a response like, "Exactly!" or, "That's so true!"

It's because of this that despite all my negative misconceptions, I continued to be interested in Buddhism growing up, until one day I actually picked up a book, stopped learning from the collective misconceptions of the Western consciousness, and began learning from the real thing.

Buddhism holds within it a treasure trove of wisdom, not to mention wisdom easily applicable in one's everyday life and by all people of various backgrounds, beliefs, and preferences.

Thich Nhat Hanh has said, "Buddhism is made up of all non-Buddhist elements." And this couldn't be truer. When it comes down to it, Buddhism is really just a collection of methods and ways of realizing the ultimate truths of this life, and the path to discovering true peace and happiness.

Whether Buddhist, a collector of universal wisdom, or just someone interested in finding practical ways to improve their life, this list presents 12 powerful and potentially transformative pieces of Buddhist wisdom which you can benefit from.

12 Pieces of Buddhist Wisdom That Will Transform Your Life

1. Live with compassion

Compassion is one of the most revered qualities in Buddhism and great compassion is a sign of a highly realized human being.

Compassion doesn't just help the world at large, and it isn't just about the fact that it's the right thing to do. Compassion, and seeking to understand those around you, can transform your life for a number of reasons.

First, self-compassion is altogether critical towards finding peace within yourself. By learning to forgive yourself and accepting that you're human you can heal deep wounds bring yourself back from difficult challenges.

Next, we can often be tortured because of the fact that we don't completely understand why people do certain things.

Compassion is understanding the basic goodness in all people and then seeking to discover that basic goodness in specific people. Because of this, it helps you from going through the often mental torture we experience because we don't understand the actions of others.

But even more than that, expressing compassion is the very act of connecting wholeheartedly with others, and simply connecting in this way can be a great source of joy for us.

The reasons for practicing compassion are numerous and powerful. Seek to live in a way that you treat everyone you meet as you would yourself. Once you begin trying to do this, it will seem altogether impossible. But keep at it, and you'll realize the full power of living with compassion.

2. Connect with others and nurture those connections

In Buddhism, a community of practitioners is called a "sangha". A sangha is a community of monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen who practice together in peace towards the united "goal" of realizing greater awakening, not only for themselves but for all beings.

The sangha is a principle which much of the world can greatly benefit from. People come together in groups all the time, but it's usually for the purpose of creating monetary riches or obtaining substantial power and rarely towards the united goal of attaining peace, happiness, and realizing greater wisdom.

The principle of the sangha can be expressed in your own life in many ways. The sangha is ultimately just one way of looking at life, through the lens of the individual "expressions" of the totality.

By living in a way that you're fully aware of the power of connecting with others, whether it's one person or a group of 100, and seeking to nurture those relationships in the appropriate way, you can transform your life in ways that will pay dividends for years to come.

3. Wake up

One of the most powerful points on this list, the power of simply living in a way that you're fully awake to every moment of your life pretty much couldn't be exaggerated even if I tried.

Mindfulness, greater awareness, paying attention, whatever you want to call it- it changes every facet of your life and in every way. It's as simple as that.

Strive to live fully awake to each moment of your daily life and overcome your greatest personal struggles, find a great sense of peace and joy, and realize the greatest lessons life can teach you as a result of living fully awake to the present moment.

4. Live deeply

To live deeply, in a way that you become keenly aware of the precious nature of life, is to begin down the path of true peace and happiness.

Why? Because to live in this way is to gradually become aware of the true nature of the world. This will happen essentially in "sections" of the whole, such as realizing your interconnectedness (you begin to see how everything is connected to everything else) and impermanence (you begin to see how everything is ever-changing, constantly dying only to be reborn in another form).

These realizations are the bread and butter of Buddhism and all spiritual practice. These "sections of the whole" are fragments of the ultimate realization, ways for us to understand that which can't be fully understood in the traditional sense.

By living in a way that you seek to realize these various "qualities of the ultimate" you find greater and greater peace in realizing the natural way of things. This cultivates in us the ability to savor every moment of life, to find peace in even the most mundane activities, as well as the ability to transform your typically "negative" experiences into something altogether nourishing and healing.

5. Change yourself, change the world

Buddhists understand that you can hardly help another before you help yourself. But this isn't referring to you gaining power or riches before you can help others or living in a way that you ignore others.

This is mostly referring to the fact that because we're all interconnected, by you helping yourself you create an exponentially positive effect on the rest of the world.

If you want to make an impact on the world, don't falsely convince yourself that it's "you or them". You don't need to drag yourself through the mud to help those around you. If you do this, you'll greatly hamper your ability to create a positive impact.

At the deepest level of understanding, by making it about you this also makes it about them because you know there's no separating "you" and "them".

Take care of yourself and seek to be more than just a help, but an example of how to live for others to follow and you'll create waves of exponential possibility that inspires others to do the same.

6. Embrace death

Death is an often taboo topic in Western society. We do everything we can to not only avoid the subject but pretend that it doesn't even exist.

The reality is, this is really unfortunate and in no way helps us lead better lives. Becoming keenly aware of your own impermanence and deeply understanding the nature of death with regards to our interconnectedness are both things which can help us find great peace.

In Buddhism, students in many sects at one point or another "meditate on the corpse" as it were (a practice which is said to have originated at least as far back as the Buddha's lifetime).

This is literally what it sounds like. They meditate on the image of a corpse slowing decomposing and imagine that process through to its end, eventually resulting in a deep and profound realization about the true nature of death.

That might sound a little intense to you, but the truth is if you live your entire life acting as if you're never going to die or ignoring your own impermanence then you won't ever be able to find true peace within yourself.

You don't necessarily have to meditate on the image of a corpse, but simply opening up to yourself about death so that you're no longer shielding it from your mind (which you're likely doing unconsciously, as that's how most of us were brought up in the West) can begin to be a great source of peace and help you appreciate the many joys in your everyday life.

A true appreciation for life can never be fully realized until you come face-to-face with your own impermanence. But once you do this, the world opens up in a new and profound way.

7. Your food is (very) special

Meditation practice offers the ability to transform every experience in your everyday life, which I discuss in my forthcoming book Zen for Everyday Life, and food is one of those everyday experiences which is greatly transformed and often in very interesting and rewarding ways.

Buddhist meditative practice, particularly mindfulness and contemplation, helps you realize the precious nature of the food in front of you. Indeed, with how integral a part food plays in our lives, to transform our relationship with food is to transform a key aspect of our entire lives, both now and in the future.

By contemplating on the food in front of us, for example, we can come to realize the vast system of interconnectedness that is our life and how our food coming to be on our dinner plate as it is depended upon numerous elements coming together in a very specific way.

This helps us to deepen our relationship with food, cultivate a deep sense of gratitude before each meal, and learn to respect the delicate but ever-pressing balance that is life.

8. Understand the nature of giving

Giving is more than the act of giving Christmas and Birthday gifts, it's also about those gifts which we give each and every day which we don't typically see as gifts at all.

Buddhists hold a very deep understanding of the nature of giving, particularly in that life is a constant play between the act of giving and receiving. This doesn't just help us find peace in understanding the way of the world around us but it helps us realize the amazing gifts we all have within us that we can give others in every moment, such as our love, compassion, and presence.

9. Work to disarm the ego

The easiest way to sum up all "spiritual" practice is this: spirituality is the act of coming in touch with the ultimate reality or the ground of being, and as a result, spiritual practice is the act of overcoming those obstacles which keep us from realizing that.

The primary obstacle in our way? The ego.

To put it short and sweet, the reason the ego is the major obstacle in spiritual practice, or simply the practice of finding true peace and happiness (whatever you choose to call it, it's all the same), is because it's very function is to pull you away from the ground of your being by convincing you that you're this separate self.

The process of unraveling the ego can take time, as it's something which has been with us, intertwined with us, for years. But it's infinitely rewarding and altogether necessary if we want to realize our best life.

10. Remove the 3 poisons

Life is filled with vices, things which attempt to bind us to unwholesome ways of living and therefore do the very opposite of cultivating peace, joy, and greater realization in our lives. Among these, the 3 poisons are some of the most powerful. The 3 poisons are:

1. Greed
2. Hatred
3. Delusion

Together, these 3 poisons are responsible for the majority of the pain and suffering we experience as a collective species. It's perfectly normal to be affected by each of these poisons throughout your life, so don't knock yourself for falling for them.

Instead, simply accept that they're something you're experiencing and begin working to remove them from your life. This can take time, but it's a key aspect on the path towards realizing true peace and happiness.

11. Right livelihood

We should all strive to work and make our living in a way that's more "conscious" or aware. This generally means not selling harmful items such as guns, drugs, and services that harm other people, but it goes deeper than that.

There's ultimately two aspects to this: making a living by doing something which doesn't inhibit your own ability to realize peace and making a living doing something which doesn't inhibit others ability to realize peace.

Facing this can lead to some interesting situations for some people, and as Thich Nhat Hanh has mentioned this is a collective effort as opposed to a solely personal one (the butcher isn't a butcher only because he decided to be, but because there is a demand from people for meat to be neatly packaged and made available for them to be purchased from supermarkets), but you should strive to do your best.

Following the teaching on right livelihood can help you realize the harmful effect that your own work is having on you and therefore coming up with a solution can result in a largely positive shift in your life as a whole. Only you can decide if a change needs to happen, though.

Whatever the case, seek to make a living doing something that promotes the peace and happiness of yourself and those around you as much as possible.

12. Realize non-attachment

This is a difficult point to put into so few words, but a profound one I felt would be greatly beneficial to mention nonetheless.

To realize non-attachment in a Buddhist sense doesn't mean to abandon your friends and family and live alone for the rest of your life, never truly living again just so that you don't become attached to these desires.

Non-attachment refers to living in a way that you exist in the natural flow of life and generally living a typical modern life, building a family, working, etc., while simultaneously not being attached to any of these things. It simply means to live in a way that you've become aware of and accepted the impermanence of all things in this life and live in a way that you're ever aware of this fact.

It's perfectly normal for a Zen student in Japan, once having completed his training, to actually de-robe and go "back into the world" so to speak. This is because, once they've reached this level of realization, they see the beauty in all things and are compelled to live fully absorbed in all the beauty and wonders of this life. From this point on, they can truly "live life to the fullest", while not clinging to any of these things.

Keep in mind, this doesn't mean that you stop feeling emotions. On the contrary, these emotions are welcomed and expected and fully experienced with mindfulness in the moment of their impact. But this is simply the natural course of things.

Once these emotions subside, though, and when we have no mental formations or obstructions to block our path, a natural healing process takes place that heals the wound and allows us to continue on living in peace and joy instead of dragging us down into darkness.

Strive to live free, fully aware of the wonders of life and in the very midst of all of those wonders, while not clinging to any of it. To do this is to realize the greatest joy life has to offer. ________________________________________

Get the FREE 12 Pieces of Buddhist Wisdom PDF Workbook Guide

Take 12 Pieces of Buddhist Wisdom on the go and get the workbook guide to begin putting into practice the 12 points in this post:

________________________________________