Brian Johnson (optimize +1 series) presents a short meditation micro-lesson titled 'Brushing Our Brains.' He revisits Emily Fletcher's idea that thoughts are not the enemy and highlights Herbert Benson's analogy of treating meditation like daily tooth-brushing—do it without over-evaluating technique or immediate results. The episode encourages a relaxed, consistent meditation practice.
Chapters
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another optimize +1. In our last +1, we spent some time with Emily Fletcher and reflected on her meditation wisdom that thoughts are not our enemies. As she tells us, I quote, the single most important piece of meditation advice you can hold with you as you dive in is thoughts are not the enemy. Remember that the mind thinks involuntarily, just like the heart beats involuntarily. So please don't try to give your mind a command to be silent. Instead, know that thoughts are okay. They're actually a useful part of this process. And now you have your own trusty anchor to come back to when you notice you've taken a mental field trip. I just love this line. The mind thinks involuntarily just like the heart beats involuntarily. Isn't that great? Now, I briefly mentioned Herbert Benson and his wisdom on approaching meditation the same way we approach brushing our teeth. We alluded to his ideas in another plus one years ago, but I think it's worth chatting about his whole brush your brain wisdom a bit more as it so perfectly captures the spirit with which we want to approach our meditation practice and so many other areas of our life where we may get a little too tightly strung. Here's how he puts it. I quote, here is a typical, simple response that I give to such performance focused anxieties. Don't worry about how well you're doing. Don't worry about whether the relaxation response, what he calls meditation, is really working or whether your mental picture is maximizing your health benefits. Just do it. They also frequently use the analogy of brushing teeth. Most of us are concerned to one extent or another with dental hygiene, but we don't dwell on the tooth cleaning process. We just work away with that brush every day. Almost no one evaluates the brushing to say, that was a good brush or too bad, that was a bad brush. We simply do it. Similarly, if you're taking a pill your doctor has prescribed for your cholesterol or blood pressure, you probably don't wonder, am I putting this pill on the proper side of my mouth? Am I swallowing it correctly? Is it really going to work? Again, you just do it. And that should be your approach to mind body treatments. End quote. That's today's plus one. Working on a meditation practice. Let's relax, show up and brush our brains.
