Contents:

For better experience, listen to the following soundtracks:

1. Gravitational Forces - ITG Studios

Negative visualization. Stoic approach. How to use this technique for your benefit.

Are you taking things for granted?

From your job to your relationships, we often forget to appreciate the things we have - until they're gone.

In this newsletter, we'll explore the ancient technique of negative visualization and how it can help us develop gratitude towards life.

Why am I writing about it?

Well, as this quote says..

Because we all take a lot of things for granted!

Here’s for the culture!

If you have seen a “Shrek Forever After" movie, where Shrek signs a magical contract with Rumpelstiltskin, which allows him to become an ogre for a day, but in exchange, he gives up a day from his childhood

 However, things don't go as planned, He got lost in a terrible dream, where he lost his family and wife - his life.

 Shrek was Practicing Negative Visualization. 

Read till the end and Rewatch this film.

Negative visualization is an ancient technique, which was developed to help us develop gratitude towards life.

This is a psychological technique that you can use on yourself.

It basically works like this:
You visualize yourself deprived of something that you consider to be a great value in your life. It can be ANYTHING:

1. Family: Imagine loosing a family member.

2. Job: Imagine losing your job, being unemployed, and struggling to make ends meet.

3. Home: Imagine losing your home, being without a roof over your head, and having nowhere to go.

4. Relationships: Imagine losing someone you love, or having a falling out with a close friend or family member.

5. Business: Imagine loosing something you’ve been working for a lot of years.

6. Health: Imagine being diagnosed with a serious illness, being in constant pain, or being unable to do the things you enjoy.

7. Money: Imagine having nothing left in your pocket.

The thing is: You don’t do it in the neurotic way, but you practice this technique in a rational way.
It is not about feeling anxious when feeling about loosing something of value.
it is about thinking about life in a pragmatic way.

What do I mean by that? Generally speaking, you are not protected from loosing things and people you appreciate in your life.

Because, Life is difficult, full of unexpected events. Many of these events can make you weak. We don’t want that.

That’s when this technique comes into play. This technique is pretty simple. And very powerful.

It reveals some fundamental truths about out human psychology. Something that is called “Hedonic adaptation”.

Let me give you an example:

When going to the pool, you might experience the “cold feeling” that water gives you. But after some time, you get comfortable and water doesn’t feel cold to you anymore.

Same thing happens with your possessions: you just get used to them!

What our body and mind actually register - is that change or difference between the opposites:
You were poor - and now you are rich. You feel good.
Your body and mind register the difference, because it is big!
The thing is: you will get used to this new state. In other words, you are going to acclimate to these new conditions of your life.

Hedonic adaptation always play tricks on us. It is precisely the thing why we can’t be always happy in our life. We are chasing things: “OH this thing, or NO - NOW this thingy”

You want more money, this person to love you, more friends, less friends, another job, start a business.
I don’t say that you should NOT pursue these things - because you definitely should.
I am urging you to develop appreciation towards these things.

And stoics, knew HOW to do that!

So now, How does this Negative Visualization helps us to develop appreciation?

First important dimension to cover here is this:

How imagining me loosing my job, career, wife and home and family will NOT make me feel depressed? Because it might.

But here is a trick: you have these things - and many people don’t.

Because in some parallel universe, you don’t have these things. No family. No car. Very sick. No friends.
But it is not your life. Consider yourself lucky.

Let’s say, you might now have a promotion you want, but you still have a job. Many people do not have a job. You are more lucky than many other people.

I also love to practice this technique when doing some mundane things.

You can also break down some very simple things to practice negative-visualization:

You have 2 hands - Imagine not being able to brush your teeth because you don’t have your hands. How often do you remind yourself that you have 2 hands, the precision of their movement.
You have 2 legs - you can walk. Imagine loosing them in a car crash.

Have a list of 10 things to practice negative visualization.

You can also break down your morning routine to dedicate some time on practicing this technique.

You love drinking coffee - good! Imagine you couldn’t.
Going for a walk with your dog AGAIN - well, imagine you couldn’t.

Why does this technique work?

Well, basically, you think you are entitled to have all these things. To have this beautiful life that you live. This wonderful family and friends. This job you call “dull”.
In fact, you don’t. You think you do. But you don’t.

All this beauty of your life can vanish in a matter of seconds. It can go away in a moment. FOREVER.

It is just a miracle - that you happen to have many of these things.

START TO APPRECIATE THINGS YOU HAVE

Hope you enjoyed the first part of the newsletter.
Always happy to receive feedback from you. Feel free to DM me on Twitter.

Now, to the second part

Zen Koan. Road to enlightenment.

Have you ever felt lost and unsure of where you're headed in life? You're not alone.

I've been lost. Many times actually. I might be lost right now. I am, definitely.

But WHY am I excited about it rather than scared?

There is a notion that you must find yourself, your place in life.

This idea spreads to many different dimensions of our life: job, partner, place to live, mindset, you can continue the list - it feels overwhelming already.

Life goes and you find yourself stuck, maybe even hating your place.

What do you need? - You need a direction. You can find a direction by asking the right questions: by that I mean that they should be profound, a bit overwhelming.

The beautiful thing is that you can learn how to ask right questions by diving into philosophy (it literally translates as “Love of wisdom”).

But we are really cool, so we will do things differently here..

Introducing you a ZEN way to deal with rational thinking.

What is a Zen koan?

A Zen koan is a riddle or paradoxical statement that is used in Zen Buddhism to help practitioners attain enlightenment.

It is a tool that helps the student to transcend the limitations of conventional logic and reasoning, and to attain a state of heightened awareness or enlightenment.

Koans are often used in Zen meditation and are designed to provoke thought and stimulate the mind.

They are often phrased in a way that is intentionally ambiguous or contradictory, and the goal is to help the student to see beyond the limits of dualistic thinking and arrive at a state of non-dual awareness.

I’m telling you - that’s really cool. Let’s have our doze of zen now.

There is a continuation to it: “..If you meet the patriarch, kill the patriarch. If you meet friends, kill friends. If you meet parents, kill parents.”

This means that you need to come into direct contact with the essence of the matter and the situation where you are now and not mediate them by clinging.

Do not expect anything. See through the phenomenon. This is the only way you can put some of the old expectations and shrines back in place.

Each Zen koan is meant to provoke deep contemplation and challenge the listener's preconceptions.

At its core, the koan is about the danger of becoming too attached to any one idea or belief, even if it is a spiritual one.

The Buddha is revered as an enlightened being in Buddhism, but the koan suggests that even the Buddha himself cannot offer a true path to enlightenment.

By "killing" the Buddha, one is metaphorically killing the idea of the Buddha as a singular path to truth, and opening themselves up to the possibility that enlightenment can come from unexpected places.

In essence, the koan is a reminder that we should not become too attached to anything particular, even the spiritual dogmas.

True understanding and wisdom come from within, and cannot be found by blindly following any one person or idea.

Solving the koan is about going down into one’s own inner-self - this magical secret place - and ask there for a direct encounter with the world, independent of convention.

Zen koan is structured in such a way so you can finally start searching for the answers inside of yourself.

Listen to yourself. You already have all the answers!

Hey, thanks for reading! Always looking forward to hearing your feedback.

Will be happy to hear your feedback!

I’ve got a question for you: What would you like to see more in my newsletter? Feel free to DM me anytime. Will be happy to chat.

Till next time!

Preview of the 4th letter:

1. How to meditate on Death

2. ..