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flamingswordLovingKindness meditation is a way I am learning to dial down my rage and extend empathy strategically. It is not New Age sweetness and light bs, it still allows you to see that people do hurtful and morally wrong things, it still leaves you able to be an effective activist. It just doesn't leave you useless with rage and delusions of hopelessness.
Thought labeling or thought naming exercises worked really well for me before I figured out how to get my brain to be quiet for short periods. It works best for me if I write down the thoughts occurring to me, and then just put a check beside them if they occur multiple times during the 5 minutes that are all I try to make my brain behave. You might think that doesn't sound like much, but it took me years to get this far. (Don't compare your progress to other people. Compare your progress to yourself, and let other people worry about themselves unless they ask for help.)
Insight meditationis also a form of meditation that is a bit different from the calming practices. The observance of breath, or of watching your thoughts but not chasing after them is one of the most common exercises to start with. After that training, you can turn your observation skills on the way the world and other people seem to be behaving.
One of the things the rationalist community tries to teach people is to stop and think for five minutes about anything that might have far reaching effects. Want to ask your boss for a raise, or your girlfriend to marry you? Think about it for longer than it takes you to decide what to do for dinner. Write an entire page, the pros and cons, different ideas on how to go about it, different ideas on how to test whether you might have it all wrong. Collect and synthesize data. Analyze and form multiple interpretations of that data. Decide how to approach your problems and decisions.
Thought labeling or thought naming exercises worked really well for me before I figured out how to get my brain to be quiet for short periods. It works best for me if I write down the thoughts occurring to me, and then just put a check beside them if they occur multiple times during the 5 minutes that are all I try to make my brain behave. You might think that doesn't sound like much, but it took me years to get this far. (Don't compare your progress to other people. Compare your progress to yourself, and let other people worry about themselves unless they ask for help.)
Insight meditationis also a form of meditation that is a bit different from the calming practices. The observance of breath, or of watching your thoughts but not chasing after them is one of the most common exercises to start with. After that training, you can turn your observation skills on the way the world and other people seem to be behaving.
One of the things the rationalist community tries to teach people is to stop and think for five minutes about anything that might have far reaching effects. Want to ask your boss for a raise, or your girlfriend to marry you? Think about it for longer than it takes you to decide what to do for dinner. Write an entire page, the pros and cons, different ideas on how to go about it, different ideas on how to test whether you might have it all wrong. Collect and synthesize data. Analyze and form multiple interpretations of that data. Decide how to approach your problems and decisions.