Upgrade Your Mindset

This year, I am exploring the Eightfold Path as a method of living more fully. "Right View," also called "wise view" or "right understanding," is often listed as the first “fold” of the eightfold path. Although the folds are not designed to be practiced in a specific order, Right View’s primary position speaks to the importance of cultivating this quality to support the other elements of the path.

Right View refers to our frame of reference for taking in the world. It encompasses what we believe to be true about the world around us and our ability to accurately notice and understand what’s going on within ourselves. In essence, Right View is a mindset of wisdom.

Right View: Mindset of Wisdom

Our mindsets are the collections of beliefs, emotions, thoughts, attitudes, and assumptions we hold. Together, these qualities impact how we make sense of everything around and within us, driving our corresponding behavior. There is no "right" mindset; however, there are mindsets that are more helpful for navigating life's challenges with flexibility and ease. Indeed, it is well worth the effort to explore how our mindsets play out in our daily lives.

We can learn to view the world with greater accuracy and gain insight into the beliefs and biases that drive our behaviors. Without such exploration, we often get stuck repeating the same mistakes without understanding why.

Psychotherapy is one of the best methods for upgrading our mindsets. We can also explore our mindsets independently through meditation and mindful examination of the world around us; secular Buddhism encourages this kind of self-guided exploration. The Buddha also offered teachings about certain essential truths – such as the four noble truths, impermanence, and cause and effect - that are helpful when incorporated into our process of developing wisdom. These teachings are the foundations of Right View.

Buddhist Teachings Supporting Right View

Thích Nhất Hạnh was a Vietnamese Thiền Buddhist monk who said,

Our happiness and the happiness of those around us depend on our degree of Right View. Touching reality deeply – knowing what is going on inside and outside of ourselves – is the way to liberate ourselves from the suffering that is caused by wrong perceptions. Right View is not an ideology, a system, or even a path. It is the insight we have into the reality of life, a living insight that fills us with understanding, peace, and love.

The first teaching of the Buddha, the first of the four noble truths, is that life comes with experiences of unsatisfactoriness. We all experience discomfort, illness, and struggle; this is simply the truth of being human. When we don’t accept this reality, we tend to run away from experiences that are uncomfortable. We also find ourselves clinging tightly to pleasurable experiences, like overindulging in food or sex.

When we repeatedly seek out pleasurable experiences and avoid the discomforts of life, we end up with dysfunctional habits and addictions. This is the second noble truth: that our clinging (to what feels good) and aversion (to what doesn't) creates additional, unnecessary, suffering in our lives.

The goal of Right View is to become more aware of the realities of the world and to accept them. Over time, as we see reality with greater clarity and acceptance, we learn to relax our tight grip on life. We can experience hardship and allow it to pass naturally. We can enjoy the moments of pleasure we are gifted without dreading their ends or engaging in fruitless efforts to prolong them. This brings peace and reduces unnecessary suffering.

Practicing Right View

• First, understand that Right View is an ongoing process, not a singular goal. The teachings are easy to understand intellectually; however, true understanding requires personally meaningful practice over time.
• This week, notice when you feel resistance to life. It often comes in the form of anger, frustration, a sense of unfairness, or sadness. Notice what stirs up these feelings, from minor irritations (e.g., traffic, a partners' bad mood) to major difficulties (e.g., breakup, illness of a loved one.) Notice with curiosity how your resistance manifests in your mind and body: Are you tensing your muscles? Telling yourself how unfair life is? Casting blame? Notice the logic and reasoning that underlie your reactions. Try to avoid judgment of any reactions you have. Show yourself compassion for the hardships in your life and your reactions to them.
• For each situation of resistance you identify, ask yourself: What can I control here? What is outside of my control? Which facets of unsatisfactoriness and suffering are inevitable (e.g., life’s inconveniences, aging, illness,) and which am I creating through resistance (e.g., despair over aging, anger and fear about illness?) When you identify a source of suffering caused by your own resistance, ask yourself: How am I adding to my suffering? What do I believe that isn't matching with reality? Is there a new way to see the situation? Is there a belief that needs to be updated? Is there some facet of this experience that I can accept? Use a guided meditation for practicing acceptance to help you actively engage in this process.
• Write your observations and reflections down. Set a reminder to revisit your notes and practice this exercise again next week. After another week of practice, do you notice any themes? Have you noticed repetitive ways of thinking that are not serving you? Practice relaxing into acceptance again. This includes accepting yourself.

Wishing you compassion and insight as you begin down this path. I'm right here alongside you.

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