How to be mindful, when life won't let you
Got a quick story for you.
There once was a panicked woman who was trying to escape from a bunch of vicious tigers.
She keeps running... and panting... and running, but the tigers are getting closer and closer.
Every cell in her body is in survival mode, and things aren't looking good.
Then, she comes to the edge of a cliff and notices some vines.
As what appears to be her last attempt to thwart the danger up above, she climbs down and holds on to the vines.
But, there's a problem.
As she looks down, she notices that there are tigers below her as well 🐅
Not only that...
She notices a mouse gnawing away at the very vine to which she is clinging onto 🐁
Meanwhile...
She also sees a handful of juicy strawberries next to her, growing out of a clump of dirt.
She looks up — then looks down.
Then, she looks at the mouse.
Knowing she's out of options, she surrenders.
Her surrender catalyzes a sense of serenity that replaces her panic and anxiety.
Then she just takes a strawberry, puts it in her mouth, and enjoys it thoroughly 🍓
As she enjoys the strawberry, she completely forgets there are tigers above and tigers below her.
That moment of forgetfulness was a rare moment of presence.
The thing is...
We are all actually in a similar predicament, ALL THE TIME — in terms of our birth and death.
Each moment is just what it is.
It might be the only moment of our life.
It might be the last strawberry we’ll ever eat — or the last breath we'll ever take.
You never know.
...and if you need a stark reminder, simply look at everyone who unexpectedly left their physical body just in the last 24 hours.
I've bookmarked that link in my browser so it's only a click away... just in case I need a quick reminder of the fragility of life.
It's a digital equivalent of a Memento mori.
The fact of the matter is...
We are counting down the days, and the clock is ticking ⏳
We could get depressed about it, or we could learn to appreciate it and delight in the preciousness of every single moment of our life.
Today's edition of NSP is your reminder to delight and bask in the preciousness of every single moment of your life 😉
Have a lovely weekend!
Your friend,
—Dr. D
🧙🏽♂️❤️🧞♂️
P.S. The Psychedelic Science 2023 conference hosted by MAPS is happening in Denver, CO from June 19-23, 2023. I believe they still have some scholarships left, but if not, you should be able to use the promo code ROGAN20 to get 20% off your ticket.
📰 Story: Decolonizing Psychedelics Through Inclusive Retreats and Practices by VICE
📰 Story: The Therapy Part of Psychedelic Therapy Is a Mess by WIRED
📰 Story: European ‘shamans’ took psychedelic drugs 3,000 years ago by National Geographic (non-pay walled link)
📰 Story: I gave my dying father 5 grams of magic mushrooms by u/Karsplunk
🗓️ Events: Magic Mushroom Experts Descend on San Francisco for Two Expos in April
🔬 Study: A breakdown of imperial college's new DMT fMRI/EEG study by Andrew Gallimore
📺 Podcast: Rick Doblin was on Joe Rogan's Podcast [2:49:20]
📺 Podcast: How to surrender to happiness by Michael Singer [1:48:28]
📙 New book: God on Psychedelics: Tripping across the rubble of old-time religion by Don Lattin
🏛️ Policy: Oregon is now reviewing applications and issuing licenses for psilocybin facilitators, service centers, manufacturers and testing laboratories
🏛️ Policy: Bi-partisan Congressional Lawmakers push for including military members in Psychedelic studies
“When a cat falls out of a tree, it lets go of itself. The cat becomes completely relaxed and lands lightly on the ground.
But if a cat were about to fall out of a tree and suddenly made up its mind that it didn’t want to fall, it would become tense and rigid, and would be just a bag of broken bones upon landing.
In the same way, it is the philosophy of the Tao that we are all falling off a tree, at every moment of our lives.
As a matter of fact, the moment we were born we were kicked off a precipice, and we are falling, and there is nothing that can stop it.
So instead of living in a state of chronic tension, and clinging to many things that are actually falling with us because the entire world is impermanent, be like a cat.”
–Alan Watts, What is Tao? 🐈