Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche - Using panic attacks for meditation

A clip from "Joy of Living: A Public Talk" DVD, Recorded in August, 2007.

In this talk based on his groundbreaking first book, The Joy of Living (Harmony Books), world-renowned Buddhist teacher Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche invites us to join him in unlocking the secrets behind the practices of meditation. Working with neuroscientists at the Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior, he provides clear insights into modern research indicating that systematic training in meditation can enhance activity in areas of the brain associated with happiness and compassion. He has also worked with physicists across the country to develop a fresh, scientifically based interpretation of the Buddhist understanding of the nature of reality. Mingyur Rinpoche weaves together the principles of Tibetan Buddhism, neuroscience, and quantum physics in a way that will forever change the way we understand the human experience.

More information at: http://www.mingyur.org/

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• tibetan
• buddhism
• yongey
• mingyur
• joy
• mind
• neuroscience
• emptiness
• consciousness

[strong1forlife]

makyoakuma - i have been overcoming anxiety attacks through his teachings. whenever i get a slight symptom of anxiety, i greet my anxiety. i say hello anxiety. or hello fear. thinking of anxiety as a friend helps it go away more quickly. it becomes shy.

[oneseeker2]

wonderful teaching. much too short though. where can I find more of his teachings ect. Such a wonderful teacher, never once have I heard him teach or know of him!

[lottielue13]

think i might sound rather ignorant here but how during a panic attack do you greet it as a friend? is there some sort of technique?

[KegPatcha]

This is true for every emotion we call "negative". Make friends with whatever is there, at the end, is energy going the wrong direction. When we become friends of our strongest negative emotions, we can use this energy for awarenes instead of becoming desperate trying to get the emotion out of our system.

[jeffbriggs1987]

feel like theres an earthquake but theres not. ahhhh

[makeiteasyable]

nice.

[nikosntina]

@DirtyCommunist thank you. :)

[DirtyCommunist]

@nikosntina Oh, he wasn't suffering with it. He was living with it. He chose not to see it in a way that let it control him, that's why it went away. You can see past it too :D

[nikosntina]

if a Buddhist master is suffering from this, wtf am i suppose 2 do????

[0000MrTeatime0000]

Yea this method really works, I came across it myself by accident and it's how I ended my panic attacks. In a way it seems almost inevitable, they stopped me from being able to sleep at all. I was so exhausted the only option left was to accept how I was feeling. Just to observe. I didn't have enough energy left to do anything else!

[jerramy]

If I understood him right, was he saying about making panic your friend, that when you look at it and accept what you are feeling, don't judge it as being good or bad, just basically look it square in the face and allow those feelings to flow, you get into the place where you suddenly are separate from the panic - you are the observer - then you realize that you and panic are not one, panic is something that happens and you are the one observing it happening. I think it is that separation!

[Lisa7518]

Rinpoche thank you for sharing. True compassion and wisdom. At a 12 day Buddhist meditation retreat 20 years ago I faced my panic attacks too. Rode the panic attack until it was exhausted. After retreat I no longer suffered from panic attacks or night terrors, which plagued me for 30 years. I was 34 at the time.