The Echo Chamber of Groupthink
And the loneliness of the critical thinker
Stop. Sit and close your eyes. Focus on your breath.
Notice your inhale. Feel the coolness of the air as it enters your nostrils. Exhale, now, and allow your entire body to relax. Sit in this awareness of your breath, for a total of ten breaths, then slowly open your eyes.
The breathing practice that I just described is often the starting point in mindfulness classes.
Most people find it next to impossible to stay focused on their breath for ten breaths.
Go ahead and try it yourself.
Do you find that ten breaths seems to take forever when you are asked to keep your focus on the breath?
Actually, the average respiratory rate for adults is 12–20 breaths per minute. Yet focusing on ten breaths can seem interminable.
I’ve been practicing and teaching mindfulness for over 30 years, inspired by reading the works of Thich Nhat Hanh.
The term “engaged Buddhism” was coined by the Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh as a way of asserting that Buddhism not be passive or otherworldly, but that Buddhists should be deeply, compassionately involved in every aspect of society where suffering arises.
