Dedicated to liberation in all its forms, Deconstructing Yourself is passionate about fearlessly investigating, attempting, and questioning all things to do with awakening, meditation, mindfulness, brain hacking, consciousness, neurofeedback, and more.
Your host Michael W. Taft interviews some of the most interesting thinkers, authors, and teachers around, as well as other offerings. In this hard-hitting, radical, and fun podcast we look at secular post-, non-, un- Buddhism, Vajrayana, nondual Hindu Tantra, philosophy, the neuroscience of the sense of self, neurofeedback and the consciousness hacking movement, aspects of artificial intelligence, entheogens, and much more.
If you’re looking for fresh directions, free from dogma and conformism, think of the Deconstructing Yourself podcast as the radical cafe where you can hear from the most interesting luminaries either from the outside edges of dharma, or a fresh take from more traditional teachers. If you’re interested in more, check out the Deconstructing Yourself website at https://deconstructingyourself.com.
Pragmatic dharma teacher Kenneth Folk and host Michael W. Taft discuss what it means to be mindful, various definitions of being mindful in the moment, the trouble with remaining mindful during an entire sit, and more.
Kenneth Folk is an instructor of meditation who has received worldwide acknowledgement for his innovative approach to secular Buddhist meditation. Learn more about him and his work at Kenneth Folk Dharma.
Show Notes
0:48 Introduction and overview
4:00 Deconstructing “mindfulness”
11:47 Kenneth’s new mindfulness practice
15:02 Mindfulness vs. checking the box; auditor vs. meditator
23:58 Is mindfulness enlightening?
30:03 Defining engagement and the problem with prescriptions
31:52 Sense doors and applying mindfulness to thoughts
36:06 Alternatives to meditation for experiencing mindfulness and awakening
42:37 Is there a “right” way to experience awakening?
47:25 Getting to a 100 percent attention
52:45 Liberating working memory from the feeling of being the observer
55:06 Concentration hacking: making experiences sufficiently interesting
59:27 Flow and how it relates to mindfulness
1:06:23 How important is the ability to concentrate?
1:12:04 Do you need clarity, concentration, or both?
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